In the late 1700s John Milton Holley, and his father Luther Holley operated a blast furnace, and foundry where the Holley Manufacturing Company later stood. This was in Salisbury, Connecticut. A general store was also operated in connection with the foundry.
In the spring of 1836, Alexander Hamilton Holley purchased the property his father and grandfather had owned, rebuilt the company store, but did not revive the foundry. He tore the foundry buildings down in 1843.
Since there was excellent water power spource on the property, he decided to erect a new building for manufacturing cotton thread. He traveled to Waterbury, Connecticut. to purchase a thread business, but found that the owners had already made other arrangements. It was while in Waterbury that his interest in “spring cutlery” was aroused. He found a small group of English workmen whose efforts to introduce that business to the United States had failed. Holley bought them out, and brought the workmen, machinery, and stock back to Salisbury. In 1846, the name of the Furnace Village area was changed to Lakeville.
He built a new building in 1844 and began making pocket knives. He soon took Nathan W. Merwin into partnership. The company was named Holley and Merwin. In 1850, they were joined by George B. Burrell. The business then became Holley & Company.
In 1854, they incorporated under the name Holley Manufacturing Company. Holley continued in successful style until about 1900. After this time, larger firms slowly took over their national sales. New mass production methods used by these firms eventually led to a complete loss of the market.
In 1915, large scale production was ended. They continued on a small scale until the late 1930s. The factory may have been reopened during WWII. The Holley board of directors dissolved the firm officially on June 30, 1947.
(Featured image) Holley box label, c 1900.
c 1854-1930s