Samuel W. Collins facts for kids
Samuel Watkinson Collins (1802–1870) was an important American businessman. He started the Collins Axe Company in Canton, Connecticut.
He was born on September 8, 1802, in Middletown, Connecticut. He was one of seven children. His father was a successful lawyer. His mother came from England and was well educated. Samuel Collins passed away in 1870.
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The Collins Company: Making Tools
Samuel Collins started his company in 1826. At first, they mainly made axes. Around 1827, a skilled worker named Charles Morgan helped map out every step of making an axe. Each step was then given to different workers. This made the process more organized.
How Axes Became Better
In 1832, Collins hired a 24-year-old named Elisha K. Root. Root made many improvements to the way axes were made. These changes made Collins' axes much better quality. They also made the factory work more efficiently.
One big idea was selling axes that were ready to use right away. These axes were sharpened in Connecticut using large grindstones. These grindstones were powered by water. By 1832, Collins' company was a major part of Connecticut's manufacturing. It accounted for a quarter of all non-textile factory jobs and investments in the state.
By 1845, Connecticut was a very industrial state. Many factories made axes, brass items, firearms, and other tools.
Selling Axes Across the Country
By 1835, Collins was selling 250,000 axes each year. They sold for about $20 per dozen. Many of these axes were sold to cotton plantations in the southern United States.
At that time, enslaved people were forced to work on these plantations. An enslaved person using a sharp axe could clear about 4 acres of forest land each year. This land was then turned into fields for farming. By 1860, one county in western Tennessee had over 65,000 acres of cleared farmland. This required many years of hard axe work by enslaved people.
Worker Safety Concerns
In Connecticut, the workers who sharpened the axes on grindstones often got a lung disease called silicosis. This was caused by breathing in dust from the stones.
Beyond Axes: Machetes and More
Over time, the Collins Company started making other sharp tools. They became very famous for their machetes. These tools were well known throughout Central and South America.
The machetes made by Collins were even mentioned in stories. A writer from Uruguay, Horacio Quiroga, praised them in his short stories. He spent many years in the jungles of the Misiones region.
Remembering Samuel Collins
Today, there is an annual celebration in Canton, Connecticut, called Sam Collins Day. It is named in his honor. The part of Canton where his factory and worker homes were located is still called Collinsville.
