The B. F. Sturtevant Company was a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based manufacturer of

fans Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...

. It became a leader in the manufacture of industrial

air cooling Air cooling is a method of dissipating heat. It works by expanding the surface area or increasing the flow of air over the object to be cooled, or both. An example of the former is to add cooling fins to the surface of the object, either by maki ...

and

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...

systems.

Origins

The company was founded in 1860 in Boston by inventor Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant (1833–1890); the plant was located near the present Government Center area. The company at first manufactured wooden pegs used in

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

. The process created much

sawdust Sawdust (or wood dust) is a by-product or waste product of woodworking operations such as sawing, sanding, milling, planing, and routing. It is composed of small chippings of wood. These operations can be performed by woodworking machinery, ...

, and Sturtevant invented a

mechanical fan A fan is a powered machine used to create a flow of air. A fan consists of a rotating arrangement of vanes or blades, generally made of wood, plastic, or metal, which act on the air. The rotating assembly of blades and hub is known as an ''imp ...

that was effective at keeping the work area sawdust-free. By 1864 Sturtevant was manufacturing the first commercially successful blower, and by 1866 the company employed 50 workers and worked exclusively on making fans. In 1869 the company introduced the "Sturtevant system," still the basis for much interior heating of buildings. Sturtevant adapted

hot blast Hot blast refers to the preheating of air blown into a blast furnace or other metallurgical process. As this considerably reduced the fuel consumed, hot blast was one of the most important technologies developed during the Industrial Revolution. ...

technology for indoor heating, using

ductwork Ducts are conduits or passages used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to deliver and remove air. The needed airflows include, for example, ''supply air'', ''return air'', and ''exhaust air''. Ducts commonly also deliver '' v ...

to spread the warmed air. In 1876 the company moved its plant to the

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...

neighborhood of Boston, and soon began work with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. In 1879, Sturtevant introduced a system for ventilating the hulls of ships. In 1879, Sturtevant supplied the USS ''Alliance'' with mechanical draft fans that improved fuel efficiency so much that Navy ships were able to retire their back-up

sail A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...

systems.

20th century growth

Sturtevant died in 1890 and his son-in-law,

Eugene Foss Eugene Noble Foss (September 24, 1858 – September 13, 1939) was an American politician and manufacturer from Massachusetts. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives and served as a three-term governor of Massachusetts. E ...

, took over the business. After a 1901 fire, the plant was moved to

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

in 1903, into a new ten-building, facility designed by Lockwood, Greene & Co. It was now the world's largest manufacturer of electrical fans. The company had expanded into industrial ventilation, heating, air conditioning, dust and fume removal, power, drying and vacuum cleaning. In 1906, Sturtevant installed the first industrial air conditioning system at

Walter Baker & Company The Baker Chocolate Company was an American company that produced chocolate, headquartered in Dorchester, Boston. It was the first company to produce chocolate in the country. Following the deaths of its founders and officers, the company was sold ...

in Dorchester, and, at a Chicago hotel in 1910, the first residential air conditioning system. They opened a factory in

Galt, Ontario Galt is a community in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario on the Grand River. Prior to 1973, it was an independent city, incorporated in 1915, but amalgamation with the town of Hespeler, Ontario, the to ...

in 1913. Foss left the company in 1909 to run for

Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...

, for which he served three one-year terms. By 1917, Foss's personal money problems threatened the company, which was put into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

with the rest of his assets. The company survived and, flush with

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

contracts, flourished. In 1919 Sturtevant opened a factory in

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

, followed by one in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

in 1922, and

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

in 1923. Sturtevant, Wisconsin was named for the factory works opened there in 1923. Sturtevant introduced its highly efficient backward-curved Silentvane fans in 1922, which would be used in the ventilation of the

Holland Tunnel The Holland Tunnel is a vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River that connects the New York City neighborhood of Hudson Square in Lower Manhattan to the east with Jersey City in New Jersey to the west. The tunnel is operated by the Port Author ...

. Its Inlet Vane Control system, introduced in 1927, adjusted to load requirements, allowing simpler motors and reducing power consumption. In World War II, almost every new United States fighting ship was built with Sturtevant ventilation.

Post-war decline

In 1945, near the end

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Sturtevant was taken over by Westinghouse. The new owners reconstructed and modernized the Hyde Park facilities in 1946, but in 1954 Westinghouse moved the air conditioning business to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and Sturtevant Boston returned to its roots as an industrial fan manufacturer. In 1985 Sturtevant was sold to the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

-based American-Davidson, who quickly sold the industrial fan line to

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

-based Acme Engineering & Manufacturing. The international boycotts of South Africa affected American-Davidson, which closed what was left of Sturtevant in 1989.

References

External links

Air Duct CleaningAir Conditioning Repair
{{Authority control Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning companies Manufacturing companies established in 1860 1860 establishments in Massachusetts Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1989 1989 disestablishments in Massachusetts 1945 mergers and acquisitions Westinghouse Electric Company 1985 mergers and acquisitions