Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

L.B. Evans, Water Street, 1919

Description

"Lucius Bolles Evans began making shoes in 1831 at the early age of 12. He started his own shoemaking business in 1841 in a building at the rear of a dwelling house at 9 Salem Street. At the time, cutting and finishing were performed in the shoemaking shops the shoes were stitched and made into shoes in the kitchens of employees scattered throughout the town. Lucius' son, Harvey B. Evans, joined the business in February 1881, just three months before his father's death. The first factory was built across the street, at 8 Salem Street, in 1884. The company, L.B. Evans' Son, moved to Water Street in 1894, at the site of the Episcopal Church which had moved to its present location at the corner of Main and Bryant Streets. Harvey Evans' sons incorporated the company as L.B. Evans' Son Company in June 1905 following their father's death the previous March. The 12,800 sq. ft. factory was enlarged in 1904 (to 46,400 sq. ft.), and again in 1914 (to 67,400 sq. ft.). There were many more additions to the building over the years, the last in 1968, which brought the total square footage to 117,000 sq. ft. The company was best known for its slippers and casual shoes. L.B. Evans was sold in 1979 to the Anwalt Corporation of Fitchburg. Operations a the Wakefield plant began to be phased out in 1980, eventually closing in 1987." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2006

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Date

1919

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

[Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

L.B. Evans' Son Company (Wakefield, Mass.)

Shoe industry

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

17 x 31 cm.