Melodeon Manufacturing in Pittsfield
Story supplied by Clark W. Nicholls about his Great-Great-Grandfather William Pierce, born September 4, 1821, died January 27, 1901 at age 79. Story taken from clippings published in Pittsfield newspapers available on film for viewing at the Local History & Genealogy Department at Berkshire Athenaeum.
Mr. Pierce's Sudden Death Recalls Old-Time Industry
Published in The Sunday Morning Call; February 2, 1901
When melodeons were manufactured in Pittsfield they looked more like kitchen sinks than like musical instruments not pianos and organs of today. One who remembered Pittsfield of fifty years ago and carefully watched her growth.
The funeral of the late William Pierce was held Thursday at 2 o'clock from his former residence on Union Street, and the large attendance of relatives, neighbors and friends, especially of the elderly people of the city who had known him best in life, was indeed a high testimonial to the esteem in which he had been held. There was a profusion of beautiful floral pieces and cut flowers, the local greenhouses having contributed of their finest and daintiest blooms. The service was conducted by Rev. Gove Griffith Johnson, pastor of the First Baptist church, assisted by Rev. L. A. Palmer, pastor of the Morningside Baptist church. Rev. Mr. Johnson spoke in eulogy of the life of the deceased, prayer was offered by the Rev. Mr. Palmer, and the entire service was made simple but impressive. Choice selections of the favorite hymns of the deceased were sung by a quartet composed of Mrs. Marshall Wellington, Mr. and Mrs. N. J. Lawton and William M. Prince, and the bearers were William T. Petherbridge, C. C. Gamwell, Myron Hall and Charles Talbot. The interment was in the family plot in the Pittsfield cemetery.
The details of Mr. Pierce's sudden demise are already known to most of our readers, and it remains a comfort to the dear ones left behind to know that the end came peacefully. There was no evidence of suffering. His body lay on the floor of a small room opening out of his office in his North Street business block; heart failure had there overtaken him, and he rested as if asleep. He had evidently been busying himself at some trivial piece of work and had not intended remaining long in his office, for his overcoat and hat were still on.
Union Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts; circa 1900
To review his long and interesting career is to review the advent, development and subsequent abandonment of one of Pittsfield’s old-time industries, and industry of 50 years ago. In fact, it was a little more than a half century ago that Mr. William Pierce came to Pittsfield and established an industry now almost forgotten, namely, that of manufacturing melodeons. "Odd looking things" they would be called today, for the strides of a few decades in this busy world of ours mark many curious changes; but in those days the family that could afford one of them was considered fortunate, indeed, and the people who couldn't afford them were presumed to spend their spare time envying their more thrifty neighbor or lotting on the days when they, too, could have music in the house.
And why odd looking? To begin with, the melodeons of those days were not the most elaborate piece of furniture that ever was. As Mr. Pierce expressed it to The Call some years ago, they looked more like old wooden sinks. than like musical instruments. The cheaper ones were only four octaves each, and the entire length of the case was only about three and one-half feet, though the instrument sold for $45 and was really very sweet sounding as instruments run in those days, but it was not to be doubted that the music executed upon the more elaborate and costly instruments.
Besides these little four-octave melodeons, there were larger and better ones which brought higher prices. The four and one-half octave instruments brought $55, and those of five octaves sold for $60. Many of the cases were veneered in rosewood which was brought from the West Indies and sawed into strips at Cohoes, NY whence it found its way to this city. From the manufacture of these simpler instruments the firm naturally branched off into the manufacture of organs, and in this work it developed into one of the best known firms of its kind in this section of the country, and even today their instruments may be found scattered throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and Pennsylvania, and to knowing to what other ends of the earth may have found their way. How many thousands of instruments were made here, Mr. Pierce said he couldn't tell; but in the states mentioned they were sold in quantities.
For a quarter of a century the business was continued with success, tho it has now been nearly a quarter of a century since it was abandoned. In fact, it is one of the old-time industries which, like the drum and gun manufactories, most Pittsfield people have lost sight of and forgotten. A few will remember that the factory used to be in the present Chapel foundry building on Fenn Street, and that the ware rooms used to be on North Street where the Central Block now stands, and there may be a few who will remember that the firm name was first Cox & Pierce and afterwards Pierce & Cutting. Amasa S. Cox was the business partner of Mr. Pierce, and the latter stated he believed it was largely through him that the firm happened to locate in Pittsfield. He looked over the territory carefully, saw that it was then thrifty, that its manufacturing industries were meeting with success and that there were springing up hundreds of homes throughout this section of the state, and, as there was no other firm of the kind in the locality, it was deemed a good place to establish in business. After one and one half years, Mr. Cox was succeeded in the firm by Leonard M. Cutting, and the firm became Pierce & Cutting. A little later, Mr. Cutting died with hemorrhage.
Mr. Pierce then continued in business alone, and would probably have remained in it even until later years had it not been for the fact that a competitor came into the field and manufactured an instrument which Mr. Pierce saw was the equal of his own make, but which was sold in the market for less than it actually cost to manufacture. He foresaw the end and so changed his tactics, gave up the manufacture and commenced to buy and sell instruments of other makes. His competitor was the Wood organ and that firm failed.
From the making of those little, old, sink-like melodeons there have been great strides in the industry, and to compare the elaborate and highly polished and costly organs of the present day with the sawed-off affairs of a half-century ago, would reveal no resemblance, except for one. Each would be found to have keys and each would have pedals, but with pedals and keys would end all comparisons. The organs of today are handsome pieces of furniture, and a small fortune may be packed away in the fine piano finish of the modern instrument which is in reality based on the principles of the little four-octave affair of 50 years ago.
Mr. Pierce was a native of West Boylston and nearly 80 years of age when he died, and yet even during the last days of his life he retained his faculties to a remarkable degree and walked our streets as firm and erect as many men of 50. He had watched Pittsfield grow from a place of about 6,000 inhabitants to a city of nearly four times that number; the Dr. Todd church is now used for a dance hall, and is replaced by a structure of stone; the few business streets of handsome and pretentious structures; churches and schools have sprung up and scores of streets have been laid out and lined on either side by nice homes.
One of the most remarkable changes, which he witnessed, is the change in the values of real estate. When Mr. Pierce bought the present Colt property at the corner of North and Union streets he paid only $9,000 for it, but it was only a few years ago that he sold a little less than one-half of his purchase for $15,000. Today it is held at considerably more. Across the way, at the corner of Melville and North streets, Mr. Pierce could have bought the whole corner for $1,800. Today, all of our readers know that it can hardly be bought for any price. It was in 1855 that he erected the Pierce block in which occurred his death. When it was first put up it was considered as almost out of town (just South of the present YMCA), but now, so great has been the city’s growth, it is in the heart of the business center. The block was enlarged by him about 10 years ago. He was the proprietor of two double tenement houses on Union Street and of 36 acres of land adjoining the Elmwood property, which has recently been improved and is considering one of the most desirable tracts of land in the real estate market of Central Berkshire.
Politically, he was in his younger days a Whig. He had been a Republican since the formation of that party, but had never cared to hold public offices.
On December 25, 1844, Mr. Pierce was united in marriage with Elizabeth Henderson, of West Boylston, daughter of Luther Henderson. She became the mother of seven children, four of whom are still living, William Alton and Mrs. B. A. Packard of this city, Harvey C. of Arlington NJ, and Harry G. of Radford VA. Two sisters, Mrs. J(ane) P. Newton of this city and Mrs. A. M. Wilcox of Uxbridge and two brothers, L. M. Pierce of Springfield and Edward Pierce of West Boylston, survive.