Holtzer-Cabot 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 ...

, MA company founded in 1875. They specialized in small

motors An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

fire alarm system A fire alarm system warns people when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other fire-related or general notification emergency, emergencies are detected. These alarms may be activated automatically from smoke detectors and heat detectors or may also ...

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

-related products, and various other electric devices. The company closed in 1972.

History

Charles Holtzer founded the company as "Holtzer Co." and began manufacturing simple electrical devices such as

doorbells A doorbell is a signaling device typically placed near a door to a building's entrance. When a visitor presses a button, the bell rings inside the building, alerting the occupant to the presence of the visitor. Although the first doorbells wer ...

and electric igniters. In 1880, Seth W. Fuller partnered with Holtzer, and the company became known as "Seth W. Fuller & Holtzer", and later as "Fuller, Holtzer & Company". George E. Cabot joined the business, and Fuller left in 1889. The company then changed its name to "Holtzer-Cabot", which remained their name until their closing. In 1891, the company built an

electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quie ...

that sat four people and moved approximately 16 MPH. It was the first to feature a steering wheel, and is known as the first successful electric vehicle in America, though other unsuccessful prototypes had been built before. Around the turn of the 20th century, the company branched out to create various telephone/telegraph-related products, clocks, and fire alarm systems. They invented the first shunt-type fire alarm system, where a local alarm pulled in a building would also trigger the nearest municipal street

fire alarm box A fire alarm box, fire alarm call box, or fire alarm pull box is a device used for notifying a fire department of a fire. Typically installed on street corners, they were the main means of summoning firefighters before the general availability ...

. Most of their fire alarm systems were installed in hospitals, factories, and institutions. In 1927, Charles Holtzer died. Throughout

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 ...

, the company branched out even more, but struggled to retain business. In 1972, the company officially closed and sold the remainder of their lines to Eastern Air Devices based in Dover NH (Now known as Electrocraft). The original factory in

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 ...

, MA still exists, but has now been converted to an apartment complex.

External links

Jamaica Plain Historical Society: "Holtzer-Cabot Electric CompanyCommunityWalk: "Holtzer-Cabot Electric Company
Manufacturing companies established in 1875 Fire detection and alarm companies Defunct companies based in Massachusetts Manufacturing companies based in Boston