February 27, 1889: Purchased Property for New Drum Shop

After the catastrophic 1889 fire at the original Noble & Cooley drum shop location on Granby Street, Noble & Cooley moved quickly to relocate less than a mile away, just up Water Street. The location had been owned by Edward Holcomb and operated as a saw mill and keg shop, then by Adolph Bruch and Edmund Barlow. Bruch was a former Noble & Cooley employee and Barlow was a former employee of the Dickinson drum shop. Upon seeing Noble & Cooley's and Dickinson's success they decided, "Hey, we can do that!" and started up yet a third Granville drum company, Bruch & Barlow.

Bruch & Barlow eventually brought in another partner, Edwin Henry and became Bruch, Barlow and Henry. Then that business was bought out by Edwin Henry and Carlos Gibbons.That was the state of affairs in 1889 when the Noble & Cooley factory burned to the ground.

The deal was closed quickly. On February 27, 1889 the sum of $10,000 changed hands. Henry and Gibbons went on to do other things. Noble & Cooley was back in business. Sort of. The new place wasn't much but it was somewhere to hang a hat and start over. Construction began almost immediately on the new main building, which serves as the Noble & Cooley main office to this day.

Next time: We join the intrepid Noble & Cooley employees as they build the new drum factory at 42 Water Street. Today it seems inconceivable that the same people who work somewhere would fell the timbers, mill the lumber, and literally put up a 40' by 100' three story building with their own hands. In 1889, they just went ahead and did it.

Acknowledgements: "History of Granville" by Albion B. Wilson, 1954. If you'd like to buy a copy, they're still available at the Granville Public Library!