About Our Patch

About Our Patch
Carriage and wagon shops were increasingly active, in Newton and surrounding communities from 1870 – 1890’s.  The largest of these, within the Town of Newton, was conducted by the Hayfords and only ceased when the automobile ousted horse-drawn vehicles.

In 1870, with a capital outlay of one hundred dollars and one assistant, Edward Hayford, an enterprising young man of only 24 years, started his carriage business on a small scale in Newton.  The factory’s location was at 29 South Main Street, where the Gleichauf Professional Building is currently located.

By 1890, Edward Hayford employed thirty workers and made twenty different styles of carriages, producing from nine hundred to one thousand carriages annually.  Hayford Carriages found ready sale in New England where they acquired a good reputation for strength, durability and excellence of finish.

The carriage featured on the patch is a Hayford (Democrat) Carriage.  The actual carriage, which is owned by the Town, is currently kept in the barn at the Marshall House, which is also the Town’s Museum, on Wallace Street.

The police department would like to thank Mr. Forrest Reynolds and Mrs. Mary Marshall, of Newton, for their invaluable assistance in providing much of the information required to research this issue and their sincere interests and dedication in passing-on and maintaining a significant part of Newton’s symbolic history.