Another large North Wilbraham business was the Cutler Company, a grain, and milling business that was first established in Ashland, Massachusetts, in 1839 by Simeon Newton Cutler. Cutler ran the mills and in 1844 was joined by his son Henry, grinding all the corn from the local farmers. They even expanded the operation to buy corn from the West. All seemed prosperous until 1867 when Simeon Newton Cutler suddenly died. To add to this misfortune, an arsonist burned down the mill in December of that same year. A man by the name of John Anderson was quickly caught, arrested, and convicted of the crime and was sent to state prison, and a new mill was built with Simeon’s son Henry taking over the company. The new mill even had a spur track to the Boston and Albany railroad line which was so important in moving goods in and out.
Again, the business prospered. Grain was a profitable venture until another problem appeared. In 1876, the Metropolitan Water Works wanted the Sudbury River as an additional water supply for Boston. Ashland balked, but Boston won in court, and all the businesses along the Sudbury River were forced to “dispose” of their water privileges. To add to the calamity, the area was to be converted into a reservoir. Henry N. Cutler moved his company to North Wilbraham in 1877. The site of the old mill is now Reservoir No. 2 of the Metropolitan District Commission.
Henry N. Cutler was attracted to North Wilbraham by favorable railroad facilities and available water power. In December of 1876, the land was bought and water rights were leased for 99 years for a new mill to be built, approximately 200 feet downstream of the Collins Manufacturing Company (paper mill), on the Chicopee River. Henry N. Cutler contracted with the Flynt Company in Monson for the foundation work and a wood frame building approximately 100’ by 40’ to be erected. Also, tenements for 25 to 30 “hands” including residents for the mill manager were to be built. This business was going to be exclusively wholesale and no sales were made less in quantities of a rail car load.
On April 2, 1877, a limited partnership, Cutler, Thompson, and Cutler, was formed which included Henry N. Cutler, George E. Cutler, E. Herbert Cutler, and Benjamin T. Thompson. This partnership was only good until April 2, 1879, when it was scheduled for termination.
In 1877, two houses were built on Maple Street by Henry N. Cutler and his wife Harriet. They lived in the one located at 36 Maple Street with their four children. In addition to his role as the treasurer of the Cutler Company, Henry was a prominent philanthropist. As a side note, he owned another home on Boston Road (since demolished, located between the current fire and police stations), which became the town library in 1913. As a library trustee, Cutler also left a bequest of $1,000 a year to purchase books. The other house is located at 40 Maple Street and was rented out to mill employees. This house was eventually sold in 1895.
The business had grown from year to year, necessitating the building of several storehouses and the addition of new equipment. In 1913 the average daily shipment was about eight carloads of grain and feed. The making of milling machinery was also carried on to a considerable extent. The North Wilbraham’s office managed several retail grain stores in other places in New England. Like the Collins Paper Company, the Cutler Company has contributed much to the growth and prosperity of the northern part of our town.
As with any early manufacturing companies, they were very dangerous places to work. On July 3, 1902, James A. Butler, who lives across the river in Ludlow, was the victim of a serious accident at the Cutler mill. In attempting to repair some machinery, he slipped, and in falling, extended his right hand into a meal conveyor badly lacerating a finger. He was attended by Dr. Damon who had his practice on nearby Chapel Street.
On December 22, 1910, Thomas P. Murphy, age 21 years, who was employed as a machinist, got caught up in machinery that he was working on at the Cutler mill. His left leg was “torn off” during this horrific accident. He was attended by Dr. Calkins and transported to Mercy Hospital in Springfield. He died of “blood poisoning” on January 2, 1911. He was the son of Patrick and Johanna Murphy of Wilbraham. As you may well remember from reading one of my Historical Tidbit stories of the past, Maurice Murphy, the younger brother of Thomas, died in a strange accident at the paper mill canal eight years earlier at the age of eight. So tragic that the brothers died so young and very near the same area of town.
At the beginning of the end, in the mid-1930s the Quabbin reservoir considerably lessened the volume of water from the Chicopee River and forced a drastic reduction in the milling business. Then the flood accompanying the 1938 hurricane washed away the turbine. By that time the company had been absorbed by the C.M. Cox Company of Boston and shortly moved from the old mill into the newly erected freight house of the Boston and Albany Railroad. On January 1, 1952, all of its Wilbraham facilities were closed and the business transferred to Palmer.
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