s and boilers, making a specialty of the
"Fitchburg" steam-engine, the great merits of which are everywhere
acknowledged. The company, notwithstanding its comparatively recent
organization, has a firm foothold in this country, and abroad also.

D.M. Dillon manufactures boilers and paper machinery. A.D. Waymouth and
Company, and C.W. Wilder manufacture respectively the Waymouth
wood-turning lathe and Wilder's patent lathe.

In 1866 Charles Burleigh of Fitchburg invented the Burleigh rock drill,
and the next year the Burleigh Rock Drill Company was organized with a
capital of $150,000, to make and sell this machine and the Burleigh
Patent air-compressor. These drills have completely revolutionized the
business of rock-tunneling. They were first used in the Hoosac Tunnel
and, proved highly successful. Since then they have been employed at
Hell Gate, in the Sutro Tunnel, and at various points in Europe.

[Illustration: STILES BLOCK, MAIN STREET.]

The Rollstone Iron Foundry, the Fitchburg Iron Foundry, and M.J.
Perault, manufacture castings of all kinds. W.A. Hardy operates a brass
Foundry on Water street. There is no space to indulge further in details
regarding machinery. In addition to the above are numerous individuals
and firms here engaged in the manufacture of mowing machines and
agricultural implements, boiler makers' tools, electric machinery and
apparatus, files, grist and flouring-mill machinery, hay, straw, and
machine, knives, wood-working machinery, machinists' tools, water
motors, watch tools, paper machinery and the like.

The paper manufacturing interest in Fitchburg is valuable and extensive.
The credit of successfully establishing this industry here belongs to
Alvah Crocker, who, in 1826, built a paper mill of his own. Paper had,
however, been made here to some extent previous to that time. In 1850
the firm of Crocker, Burbank and Company was formed, of which Mr.
Crocker was the head until his death in 1874. The present members of the
firm are C.T. Crocker, S.E. Crocker, G.F. Fay, G. H. Crocker and Alvah
Crocker. The firm now operates five large paper mills in West Fitchburg.
A sixth, the Snow Mill, was recently destroyed by fire. About 32,000
pounds of news, book and card paper are produced by these mills every
twenty-four hours.

In 1865 the Fitchburg Paper Company was organized. Rodney Wallace,
having purchased the interests of the other three original members of
the company, is now the sole prop