Estey Organ Company Factory
About this property
The Estey Organ Company was an organ manufacturer based in Brattleboro, Vermont, founded in 1852 by Jacob Estey. At its peak, the company was one of the world's largest organ manufacturers, employed about 700 people, and sold its high-quality items as far away as Africa, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand. Estey built around 500,000 to 520,000 pump organs between 1846 and 1955. Jacob Estey (1814–1890) born in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, ran away from an orphanage to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he learned the plumbing trade. In 1835 he arrived in Brattleboro, Vermont at age 21 to work in a plumbing shop. He soon bought the shop, beginning a long career as a successful businessman. He died in 1890. About 1850, Estey built a two-story shop in Brattleboro and rented it out to a small company that manufactured melodeons. When the renters ran short of cash, Estey took an interest in the business in lieu of rent, eventually becoming sole proprietor. Despite having no musical talent or skills as an inventor, Jacob Estey grew the company into a great success, giving up the plumbing business. In 1855, Estey organized the first manufacturing company to bear his name, Estey & Greene—followed by Estey & Company, J. Estey & Company, Estey Organ Company—and finally, Estey Organ Corporation. In advertising copy the company claimed to have been building organs since 1846. Jacob Estey saw the manufacturing and sale of these instruments, later known as American reed organs, as a new business opportunity. Estey started production in 1850 with about 75 instruments per year. After a flood threatened his downtown factory, Estey built a new factory on Birge street. The Birge street factory opened in 1870, producing 250 organs per month. The company grew quickly, building its 100,000th organ in 1880, and its 200,000th organ in 1888. In 1892 the Estey company employed 500 men and built 1200 to 1500 organs per month. In August 1892, Estey commemorated the making of its 250,000th organ with an elaborate ceremony which included fireworks, an orchestra, and prominent guests including state representative James Loren Martin and Vermont governor John B. Page. Over its more than one hundred years, the Vermont Estey company became one of the largest and best known manufacturer of reed organs in the world. It made more than 520,000 instruments, all labeled Brattleboro, Vt. USA. In 1901, Estey Organ Company began making pipe organs, and became one of the largest American pipe organ manufacturers. They built and sold more than 3,200 pipe organs across the U.S. and abroad. The company provided organs for many important locations, including New York City's Capital Theatre, the Sacramento, CA Municipal Auditorium, and Henry Ford's home in Dearborn, Michigan.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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When was Estey Organ Company Factory listed on the National Register?
Estey Organ Company Factory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 16, 1980.
What type of historic resource is Estey Organ Company Factory?
Estey Organ Company Factory is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Estey Organ Company Factory?
The period of significance for Estey Organ Company Factory is recorded as the industrial era.
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