Freight Scales

Fairbanks-Morse and Company (Scales)

Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, feed mills, locomotives, and industrial supplies until it was purchased by Penn Texas in 1958 and later, in 1999, by Goodrich Corp. It used the trade name Fairbanks-Morse. 

Fairbanks Morse and Company began in 1823 when inventor Thaddeus Fairbanks opened an ironworks in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, to manufacture two of his patented inventions: a cast iron plow and a heating stove. In 1829 he started a hemp dressing business for which he built the machinery. Though unsuccessful in fabricating for fiber factories, another invention by Thaddeus, the platform scale, formed the basis for a great enterprise. That device was patented in June 1832, and a generation later, with his brother Erastus Fairbanks, the E. & T. Fairbanks & Company was selling thousands of scales, first in the United States, later in Europe, South America, and even Imperial China. Scales were integral to business as marine and railway shippers charged by weight. Fairbanks scales won 63 medals over the years in international competition. It became the leading manufacturer in the US, and the best-known company the world over until Henry Ford and the Ford Corporation assumed this title in the 1920s.

The Howe Scale Company 

The Howe Scale Company made scales in Rutland for 105 years and quickly grew to the area's largest industrial employer and it's most important corporate tax payer. It quit operations in 1982 and today Howe scales are still in use throughout the world.

In 1857 John Howe Jr of Brandon, Vermont was operating a foundry in Brandon and was approached by Strong and Ross to manufacture their scales at the Brandon foundry. He agreed and the three entered into a partnership calling their new company The Howe Scale Company. In 1864 Howe bought out his partners, including those early patents, and continued operations on his own. Howe scales became well known and respected and at the 1867 Paris Exhibition it beat worldwide competition by winning all the medals (gold, silver and bronze) in the scale category.

In 1869 Nathan T. Sprague, Jr. of Brandon bought out the company, continued the manufacturing operations and the new company was named The Brandon Manufacturing Company. Since the name Howe was by then very well known and respected, Sprague continued to use it on the scales. 

Then in 1872 there was a major fire and rather than totally rebuild the Brandon plant, Sprague considered relocating to Rutland, Vermont. One of Sprague's investors was John Boardman Page of Rutland, who also happened to be a director in the Rutland and Burlington Railroad. Page must have been constantly pushing for moving to Rutland to benefit from close proximately to the railroad as well as enhancing Rutland's economic development. Sprague did rebuild the Brandon plant after that fire and all operations remained in Brandon. Then by 1877 Page had increased his investment in the company so as to have controlling interest and the company was moved to Rutland and renamed The Howe Scale Company.

John Boardman Page ended up having a very illustrious political career including serving 16 years as treasurer of the town of Rutland, three terms as a member of the state house of representatives, state treasurer from 1860 thru 1867 (throughout the entire Civil War) and two terms as the youngest and most popular governor of Vermont.

Many Howe scales are collectible and can range is value from less than $50 for a simple country store scale to over $1,000 for an early vintage and well decorated one.

The depot has one of the portable Howe military scales.  Soldiers with their equipment were weighted to determine shipment cost.