pope

Pope Manufacturing Co.

Abraham Jaffer worked here from approximately 1891-1901.

Geer's Hartford City Directory, 1903

Magnified Views of 1905 Postcard


Aerial view of Hartford looking west	Enlargement of upper left corner showing Capitol and factory buildings

A similar view from a panorama taken from the top of the Capitol ca. 1902:

The full panoramic view is available at the Library of Congress website (go to site, search for "Hartford Panoramic," and choose Item 8.)

U.S. Geological Survey
Hartford Sheet
Survey of 1889, printed 1892 (reprinted 1898)

hartfordtopoarrow

Arrow shows location of factories on Capitol Ave. Building at tip of arrow may be Weed Sewing Machine Co., which merged with Pope Manufacturing Co. in 1891. See drawing of the Weed factory in the article Hartford, Conn., as a manufacturing, business and commercial center, Hartford Board of Trade, 1889, p. 112 (site of Quinnipiac University). Building to the west of the arrow tip may be Hartford Machine Screw Company. See drawing at page 120 of the Hartford Board of Trade publication. Hartford Machine Screw Company was located at 476 Capitol Ave. Pope Manufacturing Co., after 1891, was at 436 Capitol Ave.

A 1943 Topo at historical.maptech.com does not show any buildings in the area.

Pope, originally based in Boston, contracted with Weed for the sewing machine company to produce bicycles, starting in 1878. After the merger with Weed, Pope became a leading manufacturer of bicycles, at one time employing 3,000 people at its Hartford factory. Pope began producing automobiles in 1895, and Hartford rather than Detroit might have become the center for automobile manufacturing in the United States. For the history of the eventual failure of Pope Manufacturing Co., see the article by Professor John B. Rae posted at the site at Stanford University.

Panorama of Pope Factory (1909) from Library of Congress website (to see enlarged view, go to site, search for "Pope Hartford," and choose Item 4.)

Hartford, Conn., as a manufacturing, business and commercial center, Hartford Board of Trade, 1889, p. 112 (site of Quinnipiac University)
Colonel Albert Pope at www.economicadventure.org
Ellsworth Grant, "The Miracle on Capital Avenue," at site of Hog River Journal
Albert Pope and the Pope Manufacturing Company
History, North Frog Hollow NRZ Strategic Plan
Pope Manufacturing Company Corporate Genealogy at Google Book Search (Stephen B. Goddard, Colonel Albert Pope and His American Dream Machines)
Pratt & Whitney Plant Development, 1860 - 1930. Pratt & Whitney took over the Pope/Weed site, and this publication has some pictures of the Weed factory.

Pope Bicycles

Pope Motorcycle


Postcard mailed 1907	Postcard copyright 1905