Excelsior Steam Saw and Planing Mill
Main Street at Leverington Avenue, Philadelphia PA
© Sara Jane Elk, Workshop of
the World (Oliver Evans Press, 1990).
The S.S. Keely Planing Mill
stands at the northern end of Main Street, at the
intersection of Leverington Avenue. The three-story
structure remains as one of the few mills of its era
along the upper portion of the canal. Constructed in
1876-77 by Samuel Streeper Keely, the rubble stone
structure with contrasting brick arched lintels and a
brick dentiled cornice, marked an advance in Keely's
lumber, construction and manufacturing enterprise.
1
S.S. Keely began working as an apprentice carpenter in
1839 for John Lewis at the corner of Silverwood and
Carson Streets. When his employer met an untimely death
by drowning in 1845, Keely purchased the property and
equipment and engaged in various forms of carpentry and
contracting, including the manufacturing of wooden
packing boxes. 2
Shortly
thereafter, he opened an office at Leverington Avenue and
Umbria Street, then Washington Street for dealing in
lumber and building supplies. In 1860 he purchased an
estate which included the site of the present planing
mill. The property ran on the river side of the PG&N
and Pennsylvania Railroad tracks from his office site and
included frontage on the canal. A portion of this lot
contained the Robert M. Harris sawmill, erected in 1848,
establishing the use of the site for lumber
production. Initially, Keely operated the sawmill
and leased the portion of the site around the mill to a
coal merchant.
Keely established himself as a contractor with the
construction of such buildings as the Washington School
in 1854, the Temperance Hall and the Manayunk Baptist
Church. Although his position as School Director of the
district prior to the construction of the school, and his
activity with the Manayunk Division of the Sons of
Temperance may have contributed to the contracts, he went
on to construct a great deal of Manayunk and Roxborough.
Keely's involvement in the construction of Manayunk mills
is of particular interest in the study of industrial
architecture in Manayunk. He built and rebuilt several of
the largest stone textile mills of the mid to late
nineteenth century, many of which survive.
3
As a group they
clearly resemble his planing mill, leading one to believe
that Keely was responsible for the distinctive character
of the surviving Manayunk mill buildings. Before such
assertions can be made, further research and analysis of
each of the buildings is required.
The mills constructed by S.S. Keely which still stand
include the remaining portion of Sevill Schofield's
Economy Mills (Manayunk Canal at Lock Street), the David
Wallace Lincoln Mills (4074 Main Street), the Rice and
Bean Harmony Textile Mill (116 Shurs Lane), and the
Robert Wilde and Son Yarn Mill (on Wilde Street at
Leverington Avenue), Little Falls Mill (north side of
Krams Street, south of Silverwood Street).
4
Each of these
mills contain brick arched lintels and decorative brick
cornices. The roofs are shallowly pitched and in the
gable ends, a semicircular operable window allowed for
ventilation in the dusty mills and also served as a
hoisting bay. All were constructed of Wissahickon schist
in a rubble fashion, with large quoins fashioning the
corners. Based on these similarities, a number of other
mills may have been constructed by him as well. They
include the T. Kenworthy and Brother Shurs Lane Mills
(400-428 Shurs Lane), the Canton Mills (Leverington
Avenue and Baker Street), Keystone Shoddy Mills
(Leverington Avenue and Silverwood Street), the
Roxborough Mills (Shurs Lane and Lauriston Street), the
Freeland Mills (4105 Freeland Avenue), the first portion
of John Wilde and Brother Carpet Yarn Mill (3737 Main
Street), and perhaps the rebuilding of the Blantyre Mills
(Cotton Street and Main Street).
As a builder, Keely was also engaged in land development
and the leasing of property. On atlases of the late
nineteenth century, the name S. S. Keely dots the
landscape, assigned to numerous vacant parcels. He owned
the five-story Enterprise Mill constructed in December of
1879, and another multi-story mill above the Green Lane
bridge along the riverside of the canal, in addition to
many private dwellings. According to George J. Kennedy in
Roxborough , Wissahickon and Manayunk in 1891, “of
the latter [dwellings], he still owns about one hundred
and fifty.” 5
S.S. Keely, the manufacturer, began in his packing box
factory when he was situated at the Silverwood and Carson
Streets location. By 1860, he began installing
labor-saving devices in the mill operated by steam power,
setting the stage for what was to come in his new planing
mill. After five years of operation in the new mill,
Richard Edwards, writing in Industries
of Philadelphia in 1881, described the S.S.
Keely & Sons Planing Mill production as:
“Door
and Window Frames, Shutters, Blinds, Sash and all kinds
of Wood Work. The firm enjoys a large trade distributed
throughout the city and other more remote points. The
stock is valued at $50,000, and a business from,
$125,000 .” 6
Samuel Keely operated the mill with his sons until his
death in 1899. Descendants of the family continued
manufacturing in the mill into the 1970s.
7
1 Goshow, p. 118.
2 Goshow, p. 119. John
Lewis had carried on the construction and contracting
business of Perry Levering. As Keely's mother was a
Levering descendent, it may be surmised the family
relationship advanced his position.
3 Franklin Davenport
Edmunds, The
Public Schools of Philadelphia from 1853 to
1867 , (Philadelphia, 1917), p.
25. The two-story school contained eight classroom and
was constructed in 1854. Located on the south side of
Shurs Lane above Carson Street, it no longer stands; see
also Goshow, p. 120.
4 Goshow, p. 119.
5 Goshow, p. 120.
6 Goshow, p. 118.
7 Goshow, p. 118.
Update May
2007 (by
Sara Jane Elk):
Samuel Keely operated the mill with his sons until his
death in 1899. Descendants of the family continued
manufacturing in the mill into the 1970s. More recently
it has been used for a variety of retail businesses. In
2005 the former lumber yard behind the mill was developed
as a multilevel condominium along the canal.