Taylorsville Canning Factory

Bernard Taylor Brock and his daughter Gertrude resided in Germantown, presumably with Bernard’s wife, though references to her are scarce. Bernard operated a grocery store on Front St in Center City. Starting around 1901 they spent their summers in Taylorsville living in the the Delaware House.

Taylorsville Canning Factory

In 1902 Bernard proposed the opening of a tomato canning factory in Taylorsville. A meeting was held on March 22nd, 1902 for interested growers. This article from the August 9th, 1902 Newtown Enterprise gives good info on the opening of the factory, its general operations, and the impact on the community. The factory was situated on the canal, behind the house whey they summered and was originally a planing mill and sash factory.

August 9, 1902 Newtown Enterprise

The canning factory’s first season was from September to October, 1902. Each subsequent summer they advertised for help in the Enterprise, and the factory opened for similar spans of time over the next two years.

"SM" on the 1891 Atlas

Something occurred financially in 1904 that led to Bernard initiating bankruptcy proceedings and ultimately losing the canning factory, which never operated again. The factory seems to have only been open and operational for less than 6 months total over 3 years, though the business of growing and harvesting tomatoes wasn’t limited to those months.

After the factory closed, the father daughter duo continued to spend time boarding at the Delaware House for the next 8 years, while continuing to reside in Germantown. They were also noted as staying at the Temperance House and the Taylor Mansion House during various visits.

Store of J. E. Howell, later Bernard Brock

In 1908 Bernard Brock and Willis Hydes took over John E. Howell’s mercantile business, located next to the Mahlon Taylor mansion house. Howell resigned as postmaster at the same time, and Bernard took over the position. Bernard’s daughter Gertrude married William Gladstone Hydes, the son of his new business partner.

Bernard served as postmaster of Taylorsville until 1912, when he sold the store back to Howell and removed to Germantown. I’m not sure where he lived in Germantown, but I saw their house referred to as “The Colonial” multiple times, sounds cool. There was a public sale of his goods in March of that year at his residence in Taylorsville. 

After that the mentions of their visits drop off significantly then there’s nothing at all for a decade until Bernard died February 12th, 1936 at his home in Germantown from pneumonia. Oddly, I don’t believe I saw a single mention of his wife until his obituary said that she had died “a few years ago” and didn’t even mention her name. The obit also incorrectly said that the factory and his residency as postmaster were in Brownsburg.

I would absolutely love to get my hands on a label from the factory.

In the meantime, here's a label from the Newtown Canning Company with a good story behind it.

Newtown Brand Tomatoes fire-singed label.

A Relic from a Fire

Label from Newtown Canning Co.

Newtown Enterprise - Saturday, December 8, 1906 Newtown Has Two Fires

...The second alarm was at about 9:20 o'clock in the evening, when the storehouse of the Newtown Canning Company was discovered to be on fire. The blaze was first noticed by some of those employed at the electric light plant which is not far away. For sometime previous persons living in the vicinity had noticed a smell of burning wood in the air but could not located any fire. The firemen were on on the scene and through their efforts prevented the fire from communicating to the main cannery building. A large crowd collected to watch the work of destruction. 

The burned building was of frame, and extended in a southerly direction from the west end of the main building, the south-west corner of which it touched. The origin of this fire is a mystery and will probably ever remain so. Various theories have been advanced for it, one of which, of course, is incendiarism. Another is that mice may have ignited matches carelessly left lying about by some workman. It seems to be agreed that the fire started at the northwest corner of the building and on the inside thereof. There had been no fire about the place recently and the door was locked to keep out prowlers.

The contents of the storehouse included six or eight cases of 3 pound cans of corn, a remnant of the pack of 1905; also bean and pea sorting machines, which had never been unpacked, there having been no occasion to use them; and two apple parers and corers. The latter machines, we are told, were little, if any, injured by the fiery ordeal through which they passed. 

It is thought the damage will amount to about $500. The plant cost the canning company $12,000, and while the stock was stored there an insurance of $9,500 was carried on buildings and contents. This has been reduced, after the sale of the stock, to about $3,500 - in two policies - $2,000 in the Farmers' and Mechanics' Mutual Insurance Company of Bucks County and $1,500 in the North British and Mercantile.

Negotiations were in progress at the time of the fire for the sale of the property.

Mailed December 5th, 1906 the day after the fire

Prominent Newtown citizen W. Aubrey Merrick was sent this flame singed canning label with the note:

As you couldn't come to the fire I'm sending as much of it as I can to you. Elizabeth.

The fire happened on the 4th and the label was mailed the next day. The label shows a small portion of the building that burned.