As new types of industries came into the area, villages competed for them. With each new factory came increased prestige, wealth, and the promise of population growth that would create a local market for agricultural products. Newspapers ran advertisements boasting of new dams that could supply cheap power through the use of industrial water wheels.
Beloit was among these river communities competing for industry. Founded by the New England Emigrating Company in March of 1837, the village reached a population of nearly 5,000 by 1860. A dam was built in the center of town in 1844, so that by 1850 two foundries and five mills crowded Beloit's industrial canal called the "Head Race."(1)
One particular foundry on the Head Race was known as The Beloit Iron Works. It was built by George Barker and Israel Love in 1847; its main business was the manufacture of reapers. During its first ten years, the name of this reaper factory changed several times. By 1857, the official title of the firm was probably D. S. Warner and Company.(2) On March 20 of that year, the reaper factory acquired an additional owner, John B. Merrill, who purchased a quarter interest in the factory and set up his own separate machine shop within the building. This shop was the beginning of what much later was to evolve into the Beloit Corporation.
Page 2