Monadnock Moments No. 64: Granite State Mowers
Granite State Mowers Sales Truck
In the 1830s Cyrus Newhall opened a machine shop in the town of Hinsdale, New Hampshire. Some twenty years later the firm became known as Newhall & Stebbins when Lorenzo Stebbins became part owner. Shortly thereafter, in 1860, the company began to manufacture Granite State Field mowing machines. These mowers soon became very popular and Granite State mowers were produced in Hinsdale for the next 100 years.
Newhall & Stebbins advertised that their field mowers were designed for the rocky, sloping fields of New England and would thus prove useful on any field in the country. Four models of mowers ranged from a one horse, 3 ½ foot cut to a two horse, 5 foot cut. In 1881 the firm began to manufacture hand lawn mowers as well. Nine models of lawn mowers ranged in size from a ten inch cut to a twenty inch cut. The company produced several thousand mowers annually.
The company was purchased by William S. Howe in 1911. Under his management Granite State Mowers gained a national prominence. By the 1950s the firm was making hand and power lawn mowers which were shipped to all parts of the world. The company last appeared in business directories in the 1960s, thus ended more than a century of manufacture for Hinsdale’s Granite State Mowers.
The company was purchased by William S. Howe in 1911. Under his management Granite State Mowers gained a national prominence. By the 1950s the firm was making hand and power lawn mowers which were shipped to all parts of the world. The company last appeared in business directories in the 1960s, thus ended more than a century of manufacture for Hinsdale’s Granite State Mowers.