hands, or any exposed skin, is now used with good effect."
Bureau of Industrial and Labor Statistics for State of Maine, 1896
[Bottom left photo caption reads]
Elbridge Cleaves c.1890 (far left behind man in apron) Like many, Cleaves started his career young - at 14 - on a Hemlock bark crew, years before this photo.
[Top right photo captions read]
4-foot slabs of Hemlock tan-bark "yarded up," on their way to the tanning vats. [Left] A mature Hemlock
In 1880, the biggest tannery in the U.S. was in Winn, 53 miles to the east. Locally, F. Shaw Brothers invested heavily, locating tanneries along the European & North American Railway at Eaton, Brookton, Forest City, Kingman, and many more towns.
End of an Era
After the 1880's, the invention of a cheaper process using chromium compounds revolutionized tanning, making Hemlock obsolete. Boston newspapers reported the sudden collapse of F. Shaw Brothers on the front pages in 1883. The leather industry's decline had started; by the 1900's, lumbering had far outstripped tanning in importance.
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