Historic Ames Manufacturing

Submitted by Fred Hampton

Photos by Ethan Nahté

The story about the vandalized Janssen Park fountain [Pulse, July 19, 2023] was of interest to me because of the information about the two 1835 model mountain howitzer cannons also in the park. The article mentioned one of the cannons was manufactured by the Ames Man- ufacturing Company on Feb. 16, 1863.

Ames was a company with origins dating back to 1774 in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, producing tools and cutlery.

Nathan Peabody Ames Jr. and his younger brother James Tyler Ames moved the company in 1829 to what would eventually become Chicopee in 1848, near Springfield, Massachusetts, on the Chicopee River. The brothers also manufactured tools and cutlery, then eventually swords for the federal government and state militias. In later years, they produced bells for public buildings and gun machinery for England and Germany. They eventually produced side arms, swords, light artillery and heavy ordnance for the Union during the American Civil War. The company changed names a few times but remained in business until 1935.

About 25 years ago, I bought a pre-Civil War era military sword from Dennis Bodkins. The sword was a Model 1840 Dragoon Sword made by “N.P. Ames, Cabotville,” which is stamped on the sword. Cabotville is now a historic district of Chicopee.

The ceremonial presentation swords the company made were ornate, beautifully engraved and often bejeweled. In January 1839, Nathan traveled to Washington, D.C., in hopes of obtaining a commission to with the State of Virginia to create presentation swords for seven of its native sons. U.S. Army and Navy officers examined several different presentation swords by different manufacturers. Ames won the contract at a cost of $600 each, approximately $19,700 each in 2023. Two additional swords were added to the order.

Nathan also traveled extensively for the company. On one docu-

See AMES continued on page 11

By Richie Lawry

A few raindrops began to fall as we pulled out of the parking lot. Off in the distance, the skies looked dark and foreboding, and the thunder rolled. We were headed back to Arvada, Colorado, after spending the afternoon at my great niece’s wedding rehearsal and dinner in Campion. Before getting on the highway, we drove through our old neighborhood. We moved from our house on Hankins Lane to Mena, Arkansas, over 40 years ago.

As we drove through Berthoud and Longmont, the rain intensified, and the clouds were dark and angry to the south and east, with occasional lightning. But to the west, the sun was shining brightly on the mountains. I snapped a quick photo through the windshield while we were stopped at a traffic light in Longmont. With the dark grey skies to the south and the apartments on the east side of the road lit brilliantly by the low angle of the evening sun shining from the west, the contrasts made for a striking photo.

The rain continued to fall, and before long, a rainbow’s fuzzy, muted colors appeared in the sky. A few minutes later, the colors had intensified into one of the boldest and most colorful rainbows I had ever seen. We pulled off the road to try and get a photo. While I was taking pictures, a faint second rainbow appeared. After taking several images, I returned to the truck, and we tried to get back on the highway. The traffic was heavy, and it was impossible to cross the road to go in the direction we needed. We could merge into traffic headed in the direction we had just come from.

We drove to the next intersection, where we turned left and then pulled into a parking lot to get turned around. By this time, two complete rainbows were arcing across the sky. I had never seen a double rainbow that filled the