The Sheridan Iron Works
and
Harris Graphics Collection
​at the Samuel de Champlain History Center
​Champlain, New York
​

        The Champlain History Center owns a large collection of Sheridan Iron Works and Harris Graphics memorabilia.  The individual collections were donated by a number of former employees, their wives, their children and their grandchildren.  Today, this collection contains over 1,500 photographs, catalogues, sales brochures, ledgers, documents and memorabilia. The material dates from the 1880s to the 1980s and represents 100 years of history of the Sheridan Iron Works and its successor, Harris Graphics.  

        A sample of the collection is on permanent display on the first floor of the History Center. It consists of early sales brochures, catalogues, chief engineer Alfred Bredenberg's original patents, machine name plates and photographs.  Additional documents and photographs are stored in archive boxes on the second floor.  
 
         To better understand the context of the documents and photographs, several people were consulted.  John H. Zurlo, Clinton County Clerk, was a major help in identifying people and places.  His father was John T. Zurlo who was Plant Manager for 14 years (and worked there for 45 years).  John H. knew many of the employees of Sheridan when he was a paperboy selling newspapers on the shop floor in the early 1950s.  As a teacher, County Clerk and lifelong resident of Champlain, John knew (and knows) many of the employees and retirees of Sheridan and its successor, Harris Graphics.  In the mid-2000s, he donated a large collection of Sheridan/Harris material that his father had owned.   Many emails and in-person meetings occurred with John during the identification process.     

     Lee Gordon also donated a significant amount of Sheridan/Harris memorabilia to the History Center in the mid-2000s.  He had been a mechanical engineer at Sheridan from 1958 until it closed in 1987.  He was then a consultant for Sheridan products for the next 15 years.  He helped to identify dozens of people in the photographs through email, Facebook and in-person meetings. 

        Rob and Claire Clark were consulted.  Claire was married to Sheridan employee Lucky Clark and is seen in one dinner photo from the early '60s.   Lucky's father Robert worked in the Purchasing Department at Sheridan.  Robert's cousin was Ted Clark, president of the Sheridan corporation based in N.Y.C.  Ted is seen in many of the dinner parties in the 1950s and 1960s.  Clair and Lucky's son is Rob.

      Calvin Castine was a Sheridan employee in the late 1960s and 1970s.  He published a book of photographs of Sheridan/Harris reunions that were properly labeled.  This helped with identifying employees in other photographs.   His Youtube videos of interviews with retired Sheridan/Harris employees is shown below.  

       Celine Paquette, a longtime resident of Champlain and a former insurance agent, also knew many people who worked at Sheridan and Harris Graphics.  In the mid-2000s, she accepted Sheridan and Harris material to the History Center from many former employees and their relatives.  She was also able to help identify people, family connections and collection locations. 

        After talking with the public, many more employees were identified in the photographs.  The locations of the 'Old Timer's' dinners, company functions and reunions were revealed.  And finally, more information was learned about the employees of Sheridan and Harris who made Champlain their home. 

        It is hoped that more people will come forward and identify people seen in the photos presented here on this web page.   The bulk of the photographs and documents are viewable at the History Center.  Once photo identification is made, the description can be updated for posterity.  

       The historical material in the Sheridan and Harris Graphics Collection was donated by:
  • John H. and Eugene Zurlo, sons of former Plant Manager John T. Zurlo
  • Lee and Mary Gordon
  • Roger Nolette
  • Harold and Ruth Smith via Christopher Smith
  • Ralph Boire
  • Leonard Patrie
  • John Prim of Prim Hall Enterprises
  • Richard "Red" Filion (employee Ralph Filion)
  • The Bredenberg Family

       Thank you to everyone who donated Sheridan and Harris material to the History Center.   Your donation helped to tell the story of Sheridan and Harris's 100 year history of iron manufacturing in Champlain.  

Picture
The Sheridan Iron Works, circa 1909-1910. This photo was taken by Champlain photographer B.F. Paine who owned Paine’s Studios on downtown Main Street in the Village of Champlain. His car is seen to the right and is often shown in his photos. This photograph shows the original two-story machine shop (also called the tin and pattern shop), a business office addition and second machine shop, built after 1904. Champlain, New York.

 
​A History of the T.W. & C.B. Sheridan Co.
a.k.a.
​Sheridan Iron Works
 



        Whether it's the slick pages of Time magazine, Reader's Digest, mail-order catalogues, telephone books, or embossed greeting cards, the Sheridan Iron Works of Champlain, New York manufactured the equipment that put all the publications together. Once the printing operation had been completed, Sheridan machines performed automatically, virtually all the necessary steps to produce a finished book or magazine. 

        In 1854, fire destroyed a small foundry in the heart of the Village of Champlain.  Business partners David Finley and James Smith, with the financial help of Timothy Hoyle and Royal Corbin Moore, built a larger foundry a short distance away on Elm Street.  The foundry consisted of a two-story brick machine shop, 40' x 89' and a brick foundry building, 40' x 100' containing two cupolas (the cupolas were removed in the 1960s but the original building still stands and is in use today). The foundry made steam engines and boilers, circular saw mills, iron water wheels, brass and iron castings, stoves and pumps and car wheels for the Northern Railroad. The years that followed saw changes in ownership and name: D. Finley & Co., H. W. Clark & Co., Champlain Foundry & Machine Shop, Champlain Iron Works, Sheridan Iron Works in 1887, the Sheridan Company and finally, AM International in the 1980s.

        In 1880, the foundry was purchased by James Averill Jr. and Sylvester Alonzo Kellogg after being idle for several years.  Averill was an insurance agent and builder of canal boats in the Village of Champlain. Averill ran the second largest canal boatyard in the Lake Champlain region and was a successful entrepreneur.  Kellogg was a lawyer and New York State judge who resided in Champlain (he had also married an Averill). The new foundry was called the 'Champlain Foundry and Machine Shop' and produced primitive bookbinding machinery used in the graphic arts industry.  In 1887, the T.W. & C.B. Sheridan Company, looking to expand its business, acquired a half-interest in the company, and a short time later, became full owner.  The company was now the 'Sheridan Iron Works' and James Averill Jr. remained in charge of the Champlain plant until his death in 1917. 

        In the several decades that followed, Sheridan book-coverers, bookbinders, casemakers and presses became the standard equipment of printing establishments as well as widely used in key industries such as the automotive, leather, chemical, and kindred trades. Most of the corrugated cartons coming from a burgeoning packaging industry were made with Sheridan cutting and creasing presses. It may be truly said that almost every American of the period came in contact with products which had passed through Sheridan machines made here in Champlain.

        During WWII, the foundry ceased making bookbinding equipment and instead supplied the military with equipment and parts.  As the factory was self-contained, any metal fixture, or even a large machine weighing several tons, could be cast, machined and assembled at the plant. The foundry made a sheet metal stretch-forming press for Goodyear Aircraft. The equipment was used to form airplane body panels. 

        The success of a company is dependent on competent management and good employees.  Sheridan was fortunate to have both.  The chief engineer at Sheridan in Champlain was a swiss-born engineer named Alfred Bredenberg.  Bredenberg came from a long line of European metal workers and machinists.  He was self-taught and had over 18 bookbinding patents to his name when he retired in the 1930s.  His nephew Oscar was an employee for 49 years and plant manager for 20 years, including the period during WWII which was particularly challenging.   Oscar's replacement was John T. Zurlo who worked at Sheridan for 45 years and was plant manager for 14 years.  

        Sheridan employed hundreds workers.  Some of the original workers who started after 1887 stayed with the company for 40, 50 and even 60 plus years.  At times, there were three generations of the same family working at the plant. The Sheridan employees had a strong work ethic as many had worked on farms prior to coming to Sheridan in the 1920s and '30s.  In 1946, the "Old Timer's Club" was created to honor employees with over 30 years of employment, later changed to 25 years (also known as the 'Quarter Century Club' in the 1980s).  Hundreds of photographs show dinner receptions and group meetings up through 1986. 

        Sheridan became a union shop in 1938, affiliated with the American Federation of Labor. In 1942 it became Local 1065 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The Sheridan-union relationship was cited in labor publications as an outstanding example of mutual cooperation between a company and its members. The union, in addition to its primary function, participated wholeheartedly in community activities with particular emphasis on those pertaining to the development of the youth of the community.  Newspaper articles from the time show many company sponsored sports events.

        In the spring of 1964 Sheridan became a subsidiary of Harris-Intertype Corporation.  The Harris acquisition opened the door to product sophistication, global distribution and brought about a steady development in buildings, equipment, techniques and products as the company became a worldwide leader in the field of graphic arts.

        The year 1982 brought about another change in the company's ownership when it was purchased by the A.M. International Corporation, an international leader in the graphic arts industry. AMI continued to enjoy much economic success in Champlain, but a decision in 1986 to transfer all operations in Champlain to their facility in Dayton, Ohio concluded the final chapter of the wonderful history of the Sheridan/Harris Company in Champlain. Some employees were invited to continue their employment in Dayton while others found it necessary to either retire or find work in other fields. The plant, which employed over 600 people, had an annual payroll in excess of $10 million and contributed $150,000 annually in tax dollars. The economy in Champlain was never the same after the closing. 

        Shortly after the closing of the Harris plant, the foundry and machine shop buildings were acquired or leased by different companies in the area and in Canada.  Today, many businesses occupy the space of the former Sheridan and Harris plant.    

                          Credit is given to the original writer of this essay.        

​
​Alfred Bredenberg's Patents for Sheridan Bookbinding Equipment


​Sheridan Iron Works
Sales Brochures
Presses, Binding Machines and Cutting Machines Manufactured in Champlain
​Early 20th Century


Sheridan Bookbinding Equipment Manufactured in Champlain
​Early 20th Century


​Sheridan Iron Works Employees in the 1890s

Picture
        The Sheridan Iron Works employed hundreds of Champlain residents over the years.  It also employed people from the same families, even multi-generational families.   This is seen in the 1890 photograph below.  Common names were Kearney, Patnode, Lafountain, and Lambert.  These same family names are found in employee lists in the 1970s.  
        Sheridan employees were also known to work into their 60s and 70s.   At times, three generations of the same family worked at Sheridan at the same time.   Employee seniority lists from the mid-1970s show that several people had been employed for over 60 years (probably starting at the age of 18 which would make them at least 78) and even more with 50 years of seniority.  The list grew for 40, 30 and 20 year seniority.  One employee, Pierre Lariviere, became a machine operator at the age of 15 in 1888.  He retired in 1945 after 57 years.   
        Starting in 1946, a year after WWII ended, Sheridan was honoring their senior employees and retirees with "Old Timer's Club" dinner receptions.  The early clubs were for people with 30 years of service, but in the 1960s, it was changed to 25 years.  The "Old Timer's Club" dinners were held through 1986.  In the early 1980s, the name was changed to the "Quarter Century Club."    A total of 41 dinners were held.   The receptions were held at the Savoy Hotel in Champlain, the Savoy Bar and Grill (adjacent to the Savoy and the only building still standing today), the Midway Restaurant in Champlain on Route 9 north of Rt. 9B (near Honey Moore's Corners), the Holland Hotel (Rouses Point), the Anchorage Hotel and Restaurant (Rouses Point) and the Howard Johnsons in Plattsburgh.  There are hundreds of photographs of these events from the late 1940s into the mid-1980s.   Some of these receptions are shown below.        


​​The Sheridan Iron Works Factory
​in the early-20th Century


​The Sheridan Iron Works Factory
​in the mid-20th Century


The Sheridan Factory Floors
mid-20th Century


​Sheridan Products
Early 20th Century


​​​Sheridan Products
Mid to Late 20th Century


​Sheridan Iron Works Employees
​mid-20th Century


Sheridan/Harris Graphics Employees
late 20th Century


​Sheridan Iron Works and Harris Graphics Management

Oscar Bredenberg
Plant Manager (1938-1958)

         Oscar Bredenberg retired as Plant Manager on June 30, 1958, after 49 years of service.  He had led Sheridan through its toughest years during World War II.   His successor was John T. Zurlo who started at Sheridan in 1927.  In 1936, he moved to Champlain where his sons Eugene and John H. were born and raised.  Zurlo retired in 1972 and Harry Mowry became his succesor.  In September 1976, Alfred Strack became plant manager and remained at the company until it closed in 1988.  
​         (Company magazine, 'The Crow's Nest,' July 1958.)


John T. Zurlo
​Plant Manager (1958-1972)


​Sheridan's Zurlo retires; Champlain boss 14 years
Plattsburgh Press-Republican
​October 3, 1972

Champlain –​ John Zurlo, a Sheridan Co. vice president and for 14 years plant manager here, has retired.

​     Zurlo's retirement took effect this past weekend.  The new plant manager is George Lewis, Sheridan Division manufacturing director who comes here from Easton, Pennsylvania.
     The retiring vice president has actually been with the Sheridan Company for 45 years, 36 in Champlain.
     A native of Brooklyn, Zurlo went to work for Sheridan at New York City on October 11, 1927.
     He came to Champlain on August 17, 1936, as plant superintendent.
     In 1954, he was made master mechanic for both the plants at Champlain and Easton and in 1958, manager here. He was named a vice president a year ago.
     In addition to his long career at Sheridan, he has been a community leader for many years. He was a long-time Champlain Central School Board member and has been very active down through the years as a St. Mary's parish official.
     He was selected by the local Knights of Columbus Council as its Citizen of the Year in 1970.
     Approximately 80 of his associates from both the local plant and the Sheridan foundry and Easton gathered here for a retirement party in his honor.
     That affair was held at Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge, Plattsburgh. Zurlo received a set of golf clubs, a reclining chair, an inscribed silver bowl, a stein and handsomely bound and inscribed loose leaf manual containing personal letters from 48 friends and associates.  The letters include many words of tribute.
     Sheridan is a division of Harris Intertype Co.  George Houck, Harris Intertype group vice president, was here from Cleveland for the occasion.
     So was Lynn Tipson, a Houck assistant and former Sheridan vice president. Tipson served as master of ceremonies.
     Also on hand was Jack Pruitt Jr., vice president of operations, Sheridan Division.
     Both of Zurlo's sons were on hand.  The eldest, Eugene, flew here from Costa Mesa, Calif. He is with Baxter Laboratories there.
     The second son, John, is a commercial instructor at Northeastern Clinton Central School, is Town of Champlain tax collector and resides in the village here.
     The retiring Sheridan executive says he has many things he plans to devote more time to now.
     One of them is playing with his two grandsons who reside here and are the sons of John and his wife, Mary.
     The two boys are Michael, 2 1/2, and John III, 5.  
     Eugene and his wife, Charlotte, are also the parents of two children, Luanne, 7, and Paul, 6.  
     Woodworking and finishing are a couple of hobbies that the retiring executive says he will now be able to find more time for.
     But before settling down to any of this, Zurlo and his wife Louise plan a trip to Weslaco, Texas, where they will visit his 88-year-old mother.  That trip will come about in November.


Sheridan “Old Timer’s Club”
Annual Dinners

Originally for Employees with 30 Years Service, 
in 1962 changed to 25 Years Service

In the 1970s & 1980s known as the
"Quarter Century Club", "25 Year Club"

     ​Starting in 1946, shortly after WW2 ended, the Sheridan company started to hold annual dinners for its longest employed workers.  For many years, a worker with 30 or more years of service was inducted into the “Old Timer’s Club.”  In 1962, the criteria was changed to 25 years.  
     Elaborate dinners were held for employees at local restaurants and hotels.  Sheridan management from Champlain and New York City attended.  Dinners were held at the Savoy Hotel, the Savoy Bar and Lounge (adjacent to the hotel) in Champlain, the Midway Restaurant in Champlain, the Anchorage Hotel in Rouses Point., the Hotel Holland in Rouses Point and the Howard Johnson’s in Plattsburgh.  
     By 1982, the name of the annual dinner was changed to the “Quarter Century Club.”   It is likely the last dinner was held in the summer of 1986.  In 1987, the Champlain plant was acquired by another company, and in 1988, was shut down and merged with operations in other states.  
     The “Old Timer’s Club” dinner receptions are also called the “Old Timer’s Meeting,” “annual meeting,” “annual dinner,” “25 Year Club,” and the “Quarter Century Club” on photographs and in documents. 
​
Sheridan Receptions
• “Old Timer’s Club” & “Quarter Century Club” – held at the Lacolle Inn (Quebec), Savoy Hotel, Midway, Holland, Anchorage and Howard Johnsons (Plattsburgh). 


Savoy Hotel and the Savoy Bar and Lounge
Elm Street, Village of Champlain
​
​1940s-1950s


​Sheridan 'Old Timer's Club'
Annual Dinners
Midway Restaurant, Route 9, Champlain
​
​1960s


​Sheridan 'Old Timer's Club' 
​Annual Dinners
at the Anchorage Restaurant in Rouses Point
​
​1960s


​​Sheridan 'Old Timer's Club'
​Annual Dinners
at the Hotel Holland in Rouses Point
​
​1963 & 1964


Sheridan Iron Works/Harris Graphics
Annual Dinners
Known as the "Quarter Century Club," "25 Year Club"

Held at the Anchorage Hotel in Rouses Point
​and the Howard Johnson's in Plattsburgh

​1970s
​


​Sheridan Iron Works/Harris Graphics
Annual Dinners
Known as the "Quarter Century Club," "25 Year Club"
​
1980s


Sheridan Iron Works Company Dinners and Employee Events

      Sheridan and Harris also had many other types of employee events.  These included an annual Christmas party, annual Safety Dinners and baseball games.  These events were held at the same venues as the "Old Timer's Club" dinners.  

Sheridan Receptions
• “Old Timer’s Club” & “Quarter Century Club” – held at the Savoy, Midway, Holland, Anchorage, Howard Johnsons. 
• Annual Christmas Parties – held at St. Mary’s Hall, St. Paul Hotel in St. Paul, Quebec, Teamster's Hall in Plattsburgh (1969)
• Annual Safety Dinner 

Reception Locations
• The Savoy Hotel – The former Nye ‘Locust Hill’ mansion at the corner of Elm and Prospect Streets on the hill, burned down February 2003.
• The Savoy Hotel Bar and Lounge – The former Nye horse barn behind the main house.  It still stands in 2023 and has apartments.
• St. Mary’s Church Hall – church in Champlain, Christmas party.
• Champlain Central School auditorium – Christmas party
• Midway Restaurant – South of Champlain on Route 9 near Route 9B.
• Anchorage Restaurant – On Lake Shore Road in Rouses Point.  It burned down after 2007.  
• Holland Hotel – Hotel in Rouses Point, it burned down in the early 2000s. 
• Howard Johnsons in Plattsburgh – Old Timer’s Club.
• Teamster's Hall in Plattsburgh (1969).
• St. Paul Hotel in St. Paul, Quebec – Christmas party held in 1962.

Annual Christmas Parties

        Sheridan held at least 22 annual Christmas parties at different venues within Clinton County and Quebec.  The first party was held in 1950 and they continued up to at least 1971.  The Christmas dinner was the only dinner that wives were allowed to attend.  The ‘Old Time’s Club’ dinners were solely for the employees.  
Henry Boilard Jr. (father of Mary Gordon), Morris Palmer, Margaret Boilard (mother of Mary Gordon), Rita Roberts, Leon Roberts at a company Christmas party.


​Photo Keys Used to Identify Sheridan Employees

          Around 2011-2015, an attempt was made to identify Sheridan employees seen in select photographs.  Photocopies were made of the photos and visitors to the History Center were able to write down the names of people they recognized.  Unfortunately, many employees were still not identified.  
        In 2023, John H. Zurlo viewed these photo keys and was able to identify additional people.  He also inspected dozens of other photographs.  Former longtime employee Lee Gordon also identified dozens of people.  

                                                             ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

            Please view these photo keys.  If you see an unidentified person you recognize, contact the History Center. 


Sheridan/Harris Graphics Reunion
2003


Home Town Cable Videos
​on Sheridan and Harris Graphics History and Reunions

        Home Town Cable was founded by Calvin Castine of Champlain, New York.  He has been chronicling the Northern Tier of New York since 1983.  His videos are on Youtube and include major news events, sports programs, community events and historical functions.  
​
        Over the years, Calvin has made many videos about Sheridan and Harris Graphics and has interviewed numerous former employees, including several employees who donated memorabilia to the History Center.   

      Calvin's Home Town Cable Sheridan and Harris videos are shown here:
​


Map Showing the Location of the former
Sheridan Iron Works/Harris Graphics Factory,
​Champlain, New York

        The original factory building of the Sheridan Iron Works, which was built in the 1850s before Sheridan was established, is still standing.  The brick administrative office building was removed in the 1960s and replaced with a modern building.  Numerous modern factory buildings were added in the 1920s and '30s.  Today, all of the former Sheridan and Harris buildings are present and are occupied by several companies. 
​
        The factory was located between Elm and Walnut Streets in Champlain.  

​       This project was funded by an agreement P22AC02055-00 awarded by the United States National Park Service (NPS) to NEIWPCC in partnership with the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership.