H. Rockwell & Son

H. Rockwell & Son is a small agricultural feed mill located in Canton, Pennsylvania. Canton is located in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. H. Rockwell and Son have been serving the farmer's needs for over a century. This has been a family own business since the beginning, and has been around for over 150 years.

History

Samuel Rockwell looked for land and found it in a valley about two miles north of what is now Canton. The year was 1804 and Samuel was the first Rockwell to settle where only a handful of pioneers had preceded him. In 1852 when Elias Rockwell the son of Samuel raised a white-painted wooden building on the edge of Mill Creek at what is now Troy Street and Lower Mountain Road in Canton. The White mill was operated by water power generated by the tumbling waters of the creek that started high up on Armenia Mountain. Elias delegated the running of the family farm to his sons Elisha and Jacob so that his energies were to starting the family tradition that is stronger today than ever.In 1854 the railroad first entered the county. The railroad came from Williamsport, Pennsylvania and traveled to Elmira, New York.

Elias died in 1870 and the Canton Steam Mills went into financial problems and the mill needed repairs. After Elias death the mill left the Rockwell hands a few times. The Bradford County Atlas for 1869 lists Bailey, VanNamee & Co. as dealers in the flour, feed, lath, lumber,ect. on that property. After it had changed hands several times Martin L. Rockwell took over management in 1878, buying a half interest from the Pomeroy Brothers bank in Troy, Pennsylvania. Martin became full owner of H. Rockwell & son in 1882. Martin was a grandson of the first Samuel, a nephew of Elias Rockwell, and a great-grandfather of Jim Rockwell, the present manager of the mill. The Mill has been a father son business from the beginning. Martin L. had three sons, Martin V., Charles H. and James H. The mill prospered and was enlarged under the leadership of Martin V. through the 1940's, although his father was still active in management. After Martin V. died in 1951, James joined his father in management and is the present head of the mill. Charles, who is a teacher, plays an important role in the maintenance of the plant and in overseeing new building programs from time to time. The White Mill still stands and is about 156 years old. H. Rockwell & Son has gone through many changes since this time.

In the early 1900's another mill was constructed across the street from the old White Mill. This mill was located right on the railroad which made it easy to transport goods from Williamsport to Elmira. The railroad also made it easy to send orders of buckwheat flour to many points including destinations as far west as Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, and east to New York, Baltimore and points in New Jersey. As once called "The Pearl of Canton" and "Goldenrod" were brand names of Rockwell wheat flour that were known ad used over a large part of the East. H. Rockwell & Son in addition to making buckwheat flour it also made graham flour and table-grade corn meal until the 1940's, at which the flour mill was dismantled.

Around the 1920's the mixing of molasses into dairy feeds was pioneered by H. Rockwell & Son and attachments were added to the mixer. This was the first equipment of this kind in the area. In 1929 a large mixer and equipment for handling cold molasses directly from a 10,000-gallon storage tank were put into use. A large addition was built at the south end of the warehouse in 1936 to provide for sacked storage, nearly doubling the floor space of the original structure. An entire new mill embodying the most up to day machinery and equipment was complete in 1957-58. An entire new mill was necessary due to the rise in the bulk business required be the customers. The new mill was constructed on ground bought from The Nettie Steer Property which was purchased several years earlier with this in mind. Rockwell's feed mill bought a large warehouse in 1973 from Prestons, Inc. it was conveniently located directly across the tracks from the mill and Prestons had not used it since the Penn Central trains stopped running. The railroad system was demolished in 1972 when Hurricane Agnes hit the area in June. Since the Rail lines were no longer in service the mill had to come up with a different way of importing grain and exporting grain to the consumers. Big trucks brought in large amounts of grain needed to produce feed rations to be sold to the customers. H. Rockwell & Son currently has four bulk trucks that deliver bulk feed and bagged feed all over Bradford, Tioga, and Sullivan Counties. The mill today is still H. Rockwell & Son and still owned by family, and currently has two store locations. The birth place of H.Rockwell & Son is still located in Canton, Pennsylvania, and the other store location is located in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. H. Rockwell & Son currently has two dozen employees, over half work at the main store in Canton.

H. Rockwell & Son has been around for over 150 years and has played a huge role to the community of Canton. Through the years, Rockwells have kept pace with the changes that have taken place. They will continue to pursue cost saving programs in an attempt to offset the disadvantages created by the loss of rail delivery. As a result of this effort, management expects the firm will be in a position to supply the local farmers' feed requirements and services for many years to come. Rockwell's is one of the oldest, still active businesses in the Canton Area.

References

* [http://www.joycetice.com/bookst/roarbran62.htm Souvenir: 1852-1962. Roaring Branch Centennial, July 4, 1962. Roaring Branch. As Compiled by T. Edwin Smith. The Story of Roaring Branch a Beautiful Village in the Valley of Lycoming]
*A brief history of H. Rockwell & Son, Canton, Penn. The Rockwell Family Foundation Newsletter, 14. (Nov. 1995).