Ashton Valve Co. 1871

Rick A · Post by **Rick A** » Sun Mar 15, 2020 9:09 pm

And a few more.

Rick A · Post by **Rick A** » Sun Mar 15, 2020 9:10 pm

and these too.

Rick A · Post by **Rick A** » Sun Mar 15, 2020 9:12 pm

And the last few.

Rick A · Post by **Rick A** » Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:25 pm

Ashton Valve and WWII.
Many factories were purchased by the War Department during WWII and used to manufactures materials for the war effort. The Ashton Valve company was one of those. The continued to make gauges and safety valves, but now exclusively for Naval ships.

The Defense Plant Corporation was the branch of the government assigned to this task. Here's a link to more information about them and a couple of letters that show the Ashton Valve's involvement.

http://what-when-how.com/the-american-e ... ation-dpc/

World War II brought major changes to Ashton Valve and the company ceased to be a family run business. In 1942
the Defense Plant Corporation bought the company and merged it with the Crosby Valve company. The US
government had set up the Defense Plant Corporation to help with the War effort by purchasing factories to supply
the military. Ashton and Crosby produced safety valves and gauges for the duration of the war. The business was run
out of the Ashton building in Cambridge. When the war ended in 1945, Ashton Valve was sold to Dewey Stone, who
owned a number of companies including Converse rubber. Stone also purchased Crosby Valve in 1946 and in 1948
the to companies were moved to the old Winter Brothers tap and die facility in Wrentham Ma. The last gauges with
the Ashton Valve name were produced in 1978. The Wrentham building was torn down in 2012 and Crosby still
produces safety valves under the Emerson brand.

TahoeSteam · Post by **TahoeSteam** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 10:56 pm

What a treasure trove.

Thank you for posting all of this.

I wish we had threads like this dedicated to all of the movers and shakers of the steam era.

Rick A · Post by **Rick A** » Fri Mar 20, 2020 2:25 am

I'm glad you're enjoying it. Everything I have collected I have found online. There was no family "box in the closet full of old papers". I wish there was. Outside of a few things I've picked up at state and local historical commissions, Google books and archive.org have supplied me with the materials I have. The time I've gladly donated. It's been a wonderful experience for me so far. I've "met" ancestors I never knew and had the pleasure to "introduce" them to the rest of the family. I wish I had started this years ago but I didn't. I can honestly say I've enjoyed every second of this adventure. I've met with museum curators and helpful engineers who have helped me with their knowledge and encouragement. If I could just discover a time travel machine...............

Rick A · Post by **Rick A** » Fri Mar 20, 2020 2:35 am

In 1900 The US was negotiating trade treaties with other countries, including France, to reduce the tariffs and sell more US goods overseas. Many US firms contacted the President, McKinley, to express their support for a new treaty. Ashton Valve was one of them.