Cigar Makers and
Feather Merchants
Anne W. Cissel
The young "Town of
Mechaniks" naturally
had its share of
blacksmiths, wagon
makers, millwrights,
and barrel makers, and
these occupations
would continue for
over a century. But
the waters of Hunting
Creek also powered a
factory making woolen
cloth and carpets
which existed in 1817.
This factory was
located on 7 acres
just west of town. The
Mechanicstown Woolen
Factory was still
advertising striped
and plain woolen goods
and stocking yarn in
1857. By that time,
most home spinning had
ceased and fabrics
were commonly sold by
the yard; "ready made"
clothes were still in
the future.
The town seamstress
and cloak makers were
joined later by makers
of women*s hats called
milliners; these
commercial crafts were
some of the few
thought suitable for
women. Milliners Kate
Hesson and
Carrie Boblitz used
fur and feathers to
decorate their
creations, and for
these they turned to
Graham and Matthis
feather shop on Main
Street. In addition to
the ornamental kind
for show, the feather
merchants also carried
common duck eider and
goose feathers to
stuff the town*s
mattresses and
pillows.
The benefits of the
nearby railroad depot,
relocated to (now)
Carroll Street,
contributed to the
rise of several new
industries in the
1870's. Waesche*s
Crescite Fertilizer
works, Smith*s Burial
Casket Factory, and
the Cassell,
Stocksdale Planning
(Lumber) Yard
clustered along the
railroad tracks in the
areas of the present
Boundary Avenue. One
industry directly
related to the
railroad was the
machine shop
manufacturing
Richard O*Toole*s
invention, an alarm
bell for railroad
crossings. Though
short-lived, the
American Signal Co.
was another example of
the town*s inventive
and progressive
citizens.
The most interesting
of the new trades was
the rise of
Mechanicstown/Thurmont
as the center of the
Cigar-making industry.
By 1883, there were at
least three Cigar
Factories in town. J.
H. "Harry" Freeze
reportedly sold his
stock of 150,000
cigars to dealers from
Washington in one
month in that year.
Mahlon Whitmore
operated his
well-known
cigar-making business
on Water Street
employing as many as
12 people. Cheap
cigars sold at the
price of 2 for a
penny, while the
"half-Spanish" were
more expensive.
Gradually the cigar
makers attached their
own brand or house
names to their
product. E. Webb Unger
and
W. A. Conner were also
town tobacconists in a
trade that lasted
until the 1920's.
Probably many Thurmont
attics today still
hold relics of this
industry in a cigar
box full of old,
treasured keepsakes
and memories.
If you have any Information or
historical news clippings on
business in
the Thurmont Area, Please send them to us so we can
included them in our archives. E-mail us at:
history@mythurmont.net
Read more articles by
Anne Cissel