|
Samuel P. Ayers - New York City
This flip lid hydrant manufacturer operated in the New York City area during the 1850s and 1860s. The August 1857 edition of The Plough, the Loom and the Anvil, on page 106, lists a patent for "Method of increasing Hydrants, William Bramwell, New-York, assignor to Samuel P. Ayers, New-Rochelle, N.Y." The "Commercial Register" section of the 1860 New York City directory advertises Samuel P. Ayers as a "machinist and manufacturer of stop cocks and fire hydrants," located at 176 & 178 Rivington Street in Manhattan. Other research suggests that Ayers hydrants were interchangeable with those of the A B & C Company, which manufactured the first iron fire hydrants on record in New York City. The advertisement below shows that Samuel P. Ayers was associated, at some point, with John McLean of New York City: 
Three out-of-service single-valve Samuel P. Ayers hydrants are near the chapel in Glenwood Cemetery at 2219 Lincoln Road NE, Washington, DC 20002. They serve as ornamental corner posts for the monument to Benjamin Greenup, a firefighter who died in the line of duty in 1856. As of 2009, another Samuel P. Ayers hydrant could be found in Nevada City, California. Click photos to enlarge |
