by Shannon Butler
In the mid-19th century, the Adriance family rose to prominence with their mowing and farming tools business. Reapers and mowers made this family one of the wealthiest in all of Poughkeepsie. It all started with John Adriance Sr., who dabbled in everything from the Dutchess Iron Works, to jewelry sales, to working on a mowing machine called the “Forbush.” He did well for himself, but it was his son’s strong sense of business and his ability to see a good idea (and buy up the patents for it) that made the family truly wealthy.
John P. Adriance was born in Poughkeepsie in 1825 and educated locally. First, he attended the Dutchess Academy, located at the time on the site of what is now the Vassar-Warner Home on the corner of South Hamilton and Hooker Avenue. Afterward, he attended the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School on College Hill. He started as a young clerk at Storm and Uhl’s hardware store, where he learned the art of running a business as well as understanding the needs of industrialists and farmers alike. Within a few years, he made his way down to New York City, where he became part of Sears, Adriance, and Platt, a firm that operated several different hardware stores.
In 1845, the firm sent him to run one of those stores in Manchester, New Hampshire, and under his leadership, the store succeeded. He came back to New York in 1852. It was then that his doctor informed him that he should find a business that would keep him outdoors for the benefit of his health (he appears to have struggled with illness and heart conditions for some time). So, in 1852, he went abroad, but it didn’t take John long to find his way back to business. He was inspired by a mowing machine that he saw in operation in New England. He must have taken his doctor’s advice about getting outside seriously, as he and his firm purchased the patents for the “Manny Mower” in 1854, and so began his career as a pusher of mowers (forgive the pun).
In 1857, he purchased the patents for an award-winning mower, originally made by Aultman and Miller of Canton, Ohio. Mr. Adriance named the mower the “Buckeye” (paying homage to its home state). This is the machine that made Adriance a very wealthy man. He returned home to Poughkeepsie in 1859 and leased some property in the area known as Red Mills to manufacture his Buckeye. By 1863, the firm’s name changed to Adriance, Platt, and Company with John P. Adriance as president and Isaac S. Platt as VP. That same year, they moved their operations to a new facility (seen in image 05 at right) that covered several acres in the downtown area and 500 feet of riverfront property. The workshops on the property employed several hundred men.
Now you might ask, “How could this industry do so well during the middle of the Civil War?” Farming was still essential, perhaps more than ever, to keep civilians and hungry soldiers alike fed. Also, the war didn’t stop people from coming to Poughkeepsie to educate themselves at any of its fine schools, like the Eastman Business College. This meant that there were plenty of people seeking employment. So the factory continued to flourish and expand, even as the nation seemed to fall apart. By the 1870s, the company was shipping mowing machines all over the world, including places like South America, England, France, and Russia.
You can see from some of the lovely catalog details on the right that Adriance knew how to make mowers and reapers attractive to the average buyer, which certainly served the company well. Adriance, however, eventually succumbed to his heart ailments and died at the age of 68 on June 18th, 1891. The community benefitted from his wealth when his children used some of his fortune to create the Adriance Memorial Library a few years later. The company continued to beat the competition well into the 20th century. It was eventually purchased by the Moline Plow Co. from Illinois, who maintained the factory in Poughkeepsie. At its height, they employed over 1,200 people.
However, by the 1920s (which saw an agricultural depression that lasted well into the 1930s), the company fell on hard times and were forced to close down. The facility stood vacant for several years until January 1939, when a massive fire ripped through the property. Today, there is nothing left of the giant factory. If you happen to eat dinner at Shadows on the Hudson, you will be sitting where the southern portion of the factory once stood.
References:
The History of Poughkeepsie by Edmund Platt – LH 974.733 Pla
Poughkeepsie Eagle News – 09 Oct 1889, 19 Jun 1891
The Moline Plow Fire by Chief James C. Davison – LH 352 Mol
Adriance Platt & Co. Catalogs – LH 974.733 P. Box 1 and 2
Images:
01 – John P. Adriance, photo by Vail Brothers studio – LH Collection 129A
02 – Adriance Harvesting Machine – LH Collection 843-1PC6
03 – Mowing scene from Adriance, Platt & Co catalog – LH 974.733
04 – Image of Adriance, Platt & Co factory – LH Collection 337-1PC3
05 – Image of Factory from catalog – LH 974.733
06 – Front page of 1889 catalog – LH 974.733
07 – Front page of 1891 catalog – LH 974.733
08 – Front page of 1902 catalog – LH 974.733
