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CHAPTER SEVEN: INDUSTRY & BUSINESS
Middletown's first store, it is believed, was established by Abel Woodhull in the early 1780's. This stood on the north side of East Main Street between the Congregational Church and Orchard Street. Around 1790, the settlement had a blacksmith shop on what is now the corner of West Main and North Streets, a hat shop, some stores, and a small tannery.
The first industry of consequence was a tannery established about 1805 on West Main Street. Not to be confused with the small tannery mentioned above, this ran from about what is now 29 West Main Street west to about the middle of present-day James Street. William Owen was the founder of this business. The tannery was located on a small stream, which now runs underground. Around 1826, the tan yard was purchased by Robert H. Houston and Charles Dill for $1,000. The West Main Street site was soon outgrown and the operation moved down to Canal Street, now site of the old Borden plant at 7 - 29 Canal Street. Finally, the business moved to Fulton Street in 1862, occupying the full block between what is now Wawayanda Avenue and Mulberry Street. This was acquired by the Howell-Hinchman Co. in 1865, and remained in business until about 1937. The huge brick factory complex once used by the company remains.
The village's first "important" industry was the Orange County Furnace which fronted on Center Street, running back to North Street where the warehouse and salesroom were. Street was originally called Foundry Alley, after the Furnace was opened, and later changed to Foundry Street. The business was established in 1841 by Elisha P. Wheeler, Jonah F. France, Edward M. Madden, and Joseph Lemon. The buildings were erected 1841-1842 and the first "melt" made February 22, 1842. The "Poundry," as it was called, manufactured, among other things, steam engines ("of any power required"), castings for factories, tanneries, flour mills, saw mills, railroads, blast furnaces, etc., water wheels, stoves, plows, wagon boxes, sleigh shoes, pipe, and cast or wrought iron. During the Civil War, a small cannon was manufactured for experimental purposes, but they "never entered the ordnance field in earnest." The last melt at the foundry was made February 3, 1891. Machinery was sold to a company on Long Island, and the buildings torn down in 1891 and 1892.
When the Erie arrived here in 1843, the large brick building now occupied by Ayres & Galloway (who incidentally are celebrating their 100th anniversary as wel1), was built on the corner of North and Roberts Streets. The owner of the building, at the time the largest structure in town, was Henry P. Roberts from Mount Hope. (Roberts Street, by the way was named for Samuel Roberts, the present street being once a cow path for his farm. Going back even further, around 1804, the path was called Hall's Lane.) Later, the building was owned by Hiram Kain & Co.