William Mason (September 2, 1808 – May 21, 1883) was a master

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

and builder of textile machinery and railroad

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

s. He founded

Mason Machine Works The Mason Machine Works was a machinery manufacturing company located in Taunton, Massachusetts, between 1845 and 1944. The company became famous for an early invention by its creator, William Mason, the self-acting mule, first patented in 1840 ...

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

. His company was a significant supplier of locomotives and rifles for the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

. The company also later produced printing presses.

Youth and education

Mason was born in 1808 in

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton, Connecticut, Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in ...

, the son of a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

. As a boy, Mason spent time in his father's shops. He left home at the age of thirteen and worked as an operator in the spinning room of a small cotton factory in

Canterbury, Connecticut Canterbury is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,045 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The area was settled by English colonists in the 1680s as ''Peagscomsuck''. It c ...

. He was a born mechanical genius and could repair the most complicated machine in the mill. At the age of sixteen he went to

East Haddam East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 8,875 at the time of the 2020 census. History Until 1650, the area of East Haddam was inhabited by at least three Indigenous peoples: the Wangunk, the Mohegan and the N ...

, where a mill for the manufacture of thread was being established, to start the machines. At seventeen he worked at the machine shop connected with the mill, where he stayed for three years. It was here he set up the first

power loom A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...

in the country for the manufacture of diaper linen. He also constructed an ingenious loom for the weaving of

damask Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin ...

table cloths.

Cotton and weaving machinery

In 1833, Mason joined Asell Lamphaer at

Killingly, Connecticut Killingly is a New England town, town in Windham County, Connecticut, Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 17,752 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It consists of the borough of Danielson, Connecticut, Dani ...

, to make the ring-frame for spinning. He remodeled and perfected the "ring" along with an improved frame. In 1835, Mason moved to

, to join Crocker and Richmond, manufacturers of cotton machinery. He worked almost entirely on ring frames. The firm failed in 1837 during the financial crisis. The business was taken over by Messrs Leach and Keith. Mason was employed as foreman. On October 8, 1840, his greatest invention, a "self-acting mule" was patented. Competition required improvements and on October 3, 1846, he received a patent for "Mason's Self-acting Mule."History of Bristol County, Massachusetts, J. W. Lewis & Co., 1883, p 866
/ref> Though the company would also later venture into the production of locomotives, rifles and printing presses, the production of textile machinery would be its most important sector until the later 19th century.

Mason locomotives

Leach and Keith suffered a failure in the winter of 1842 owing Mason a large amount of money. James K. Mills & Co. of

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 ...

, a leading commission firm, came to his rescue and helped him to buy out the former partners. In 1845, new buildings were erected and the plant became the largest one devoted to the manufacture of machinery in the country. It made cotton machinery, woolen machinery, machinists' tools, blowers,

cupola furnace A cupola or cupola furnace is a melting device used in foundries that can be used to melt cast iron, Ni-resist iron and some bronzes. The cupola can be made almost any practical size. The size of a cupola is expressed in diameters and can rang ...

s, gearing, shafting,

railroad car A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a ...

wheels made with spokes, and after 1852,

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

s. Mason wanted to improve the symmetry of the American locomotive. A first engine was turned out in 1853. In 1857 his firm failed but he managed to reopen the plant soon afterwards. The textile business recovered rapidly but the locomotive business was less prosperous. By 1860, he had produced a total of only 100 engines. The figure was doubled by 1865 due to the wartime demand and the pace continued for the next several years. Also during the

, 600 Springfield rifles were turned out weekly. Mason's locomotives were genuinely handsome without ornaments. His influence was exerted over all locomotive builders at the time and later. In 1856 he built two locomotives for the Cairo and Alexandria Railroad of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

in which a commentator said that the engines' excellence was due to the accuracy of execution attained by an admirable set of tools and a skillful set of workmen. Opinion by master mechanics was that they were the easiest engines to keep in repair. In 1871, the

Mason Bogie Mason Bogie locomotives (also known as Mason Fairlie locomotives) are a type of articulated steam locomotive suited for sharp curves and uneven track, once commonly used on narrow gauge railways in the United States of America. The design is a de ...

was introduced. The business was organized as the

in 1873 with a capital of $800,000.

Death and legacy

Mason died May 21, 1883 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

. He is buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in

. The 700th engine was being completed. Only 54 more engines were completed by 1889 and delivered in 1890. The company continued to build cotton machinery. William Mason was a painter and a good violinist. He established a bank in Taunton for his employees and made gifts to charity. He is remembered as a pioneer in the building of locomotives which ranked foremost in the country.

References

* ''Taunton and Mason: Cotton Machinery and Locomotive Manufacture in Taunton, Massachusetts, 1811-1861'', by John William Lozier, Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis at Ohio State University 1978. Copies also at Old Colony Historical Society in Taunton and at The Baker Business School Library at Harvard University. * Mason Machine Works. ''The Mason Machine Works, Taunton Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Inventors and Builders of Cotton Machinery''. Taunton, Mass.: The Company, 1898.

External links

Photograph of William Mason

Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. * ''The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography'' By James Terry White, published 190
William Mason article Volume 10, Page 386.
* ''History of Bristol County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men'', compiled by Duane Hamilton Hurd, published 1883
William Mason article on page 886.

The Emergence Of Ring Spinning In The American Textile Industry. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, William 1808 births 1883 deaths American people in rail transportation American railroad mechanical engineers People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War American Civil War industrialists People from Taunton, Massachusetts Locomotive builders and designers Businesspeople from Massachusetts Engineers from Massachusetts People from Mystic, Connecticut Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Taunton, Massachusetts)