Allen Walton
{{Infobox person
| name = Allen Walton
| image = Allen_Walton.png
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1835|08|24}}
| birth_place = Chester County, Pennsylvania
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1898|02|23|1835|08|24}}
| death_place = Jacksonville, Florida
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for = President of the Hummelstown Brownstone Company
| notable_works =
}}
Allen Walton (August 24, 1835 – February 23, 1898) was an American machinist and businessman who served as the president of both the Hummelstown Brownstone Company and the Brownstone-Middletown Railroad Company.
Biography
Allen Walton was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania in 1835. His parents, both Quakers, moved to Philadelphia when he was one year old.{{cite book |last1=Olena |first1=Ben F. |title=The Hummelstown Brownstone Industry: A Community Heritage |date=December 6, 2016 |isbn=9780692550663}} Walton was educated in the Friends' School where he learned various machinist trades and worked for ten years as a plumber and with steam and gas fittings.{{cite book |title=Stone: Devoted to the Quarrying and Cutting of Stone for Architectural Uses |date=1898 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TpItAQAAMAAJ |access-date=18 May 2022 |language=en}} In 1863, he secured a patent to aid in the mixing of gases.{{cite web |last1=Walton |first1=Allen |title=Improved apparatus for mixing gases |url=https://patents.google.com/patent/USRE1413E/ |access-date=18 May 2022 |language=en |date=17 February 1863}}
In 1867, Walton's brother-in-law, Jacob Haehnlen, formed a partnership with other businessmen of Philadelphia to purchase control of a burgeoning brownstone quarry located in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. The quarry, which had opened in the early 1700s, was recently exporting large amounts of stone to central Pennsylvania cities for use in construction. Walton was approached by Haehnlen to purchased four shares of the stock in the company, and together with three other individuals they formed the Pennsylvania Brown Free Stone Company.
After eighteen months as shareholder, the former superintendent resigned and Walton put in his bid to become the new superintendent. Walton had previously been informed by his doctor that, due to his poor health, he should move out of the city, so the timing was fortuitous. While in the midst of moving from Philadelphia to Hummelstown, Walton surveyed the brownstone quarries in Newark, New Jersey to learn more about the business.{{cite news |title=Hummelstown Brownstone: A Victorian Era Treasure |url=http://paheritage.wpengine.com/article/hummelstown-brownstone-victorian-era-treasure/ |access-date=18 May 2022 |work=Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine |date=Spring 2007}} Walton was made superintendent of the quarry in 1867, and after seven years in this capacity bought it outright in 1875.{{cite news |title=Allen Walton Dead |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102076518/allen-walton-obit/ |access-date=18 May 2022 |work=Harrisburg Daily Independent |date=24 February 1898 |pages=1|via=Newspapers.com}}{{free access}} With his purchase the next ten years saw rapid growth and the implementation of many more modern processes. In 1875, Walton added a four mile long railroad,{{cite web |title=Brownstone Quarry Near Hummelstown - Photo of the Week - Historical Society of Dauphin County |url=http://dauphincountyhistory.org/backups/research/photos/weeklyphoto/6 |website=dauphincountyhistory.org |access-date=18 May 2022}} chartered as the Brownstone-Middletown Railroad Company, which connected the quarry to the nearby Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. In 1891, Walton changed the name to the Hummelstown Brownstone Company and became its president. He became president of the railroad company the following year.{{cite news |title=A New Railroad Company's Officers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/102082739/allen-walton-railroad-president/ |access-date=18 May 2022 |work=Harrisburg Telegraph |date=9 February 1892 |pages=4|via=Newspapers.com}}{{free access}}
Towards the mid 1890s, Walton sold the ownership of the brownstone and railroad companies to both of his sons for the sum of $1. He stayed involved with the local community as he held a controlling interest in both the Hummelstown electric and water companies, and was elected vice-president of the Hummelstown national bank.
Personal life
References
{{reflist}}
=Patents=
- [https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/8a/12/89/f0356a64fc8ead/USRE1413.pdf U.S. Patent 34,994] "Improved Apparatus for Mixing Gases"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walton, Allen}}
Category:American manufacturing businesspeople
Category:People from Chester County, Pennsylvania