The History of Niagara Sprayer
Middleport, New York

1904-1943

Excerpted from "Middleport Centennial" booklet published in 1959 by the Middleport Centennial Committee for the 100th Anniversary of the Village of Middleport.

Middleport Centennial Executive Committee members:
Keith E. Freeman, Mrs. George Droman, Charles Grinnell, Warren Snell, Laverne Miller, Donald F. Owen, William J. Holahan, Elton E. Birch.

In 1904, Ernest B. Freeman invented a fruit-spraying machine that was unique – it used pressure from carbon dioxide in a compression cylinder to spray products onto trees without the use of a gas engine or pump. A group of Middleport residents formed a company and ran the new business on Freeman's property, the present FMC Middleport site, to manufacture it.

This photo taken in 1905 is of the original employees of Ernest Freeman. From left to right — Warren Lord, Ben Secor, Charles Gurnett, Edward Fenton, William Whittaker, Charles Bates, Arthur Lord, Sar Logie, Geroge Fenton and Lee Brown.

The company ran into some financial difficulties and was taken over by Mr. C. P. Hugo Schoellkopf from National Aniline Chemical in Buffalo; Mr. Charles B. Chafer, a local grower-dealer; Mr. Theodore Dosch, a salesman; and Mr. George C. Thompson, an attorney. This group erected a lime and sulfur building and abandoned the production of Freeman's original sprayer in favor of a gasoline operated pressure pump.

A technical department was organized in 1914 under the direction of a new graduate from Michigan State College, Ernest Hart. Max Tower was put in charge of the new chemical laboratory built at about the same time. Niagara Sprayer became known as a leader in the production of dry crop protection products that could be used for "dusting" and for the manufacture of the machines to apply the dust.

In 1919, the U.S. Department of Agriculture discovered the value of calcium arsenate to control the boll weevil in cotton. This was applied as a dry dust, which Niagara Sprayer already had an interest and investment in. A large expansion at the Middleport plant took place from 1919 to 1921 for the production of calcium arsenate and lead arsenate. Other specialty and standard insecticides, both wet and dry forms were developed, and Niagara Sprayer became known for these products on a national scale.

The company was re-organized in 1927 due to Mr. Schoellkopf's death with his son Alfred at the helm. It was renamed Niagara Sprayer and Chemical Company. The new company immediately began to purchase or build other production facilities in the U.S. and Canada. Up until 1943, the Niagara Sprayer and Chemical Company increased sales volumes and maintained its leadership in the industry.

In 1942, Alfred Schoellkopf died suddenly. His executors sold the controlling stock of Niagara Sprayer and Chemical Company to the Food Machinery Corporation (FMC) of California. As of January 31, 1946 the Niagara Sprayer and Chemical Co., Inc. was officially dissolved and all of its assets and liabilities assumed by FMC Corporation.

Working at "The Sprayer"
By Bill Shaw, life-long Middleport resident who passed away at age 96

Way back when farmers used lime and sulfur, what is now the Middleport Village Garage was used to store sulfur. Niagara Sprayer owned the building and unloaded sulfur from the canal into storage there. Later, the building was given to the Village.

Sulfur came up from Texas. It was trucked to the Niagara Sprayer buildings and along the way, some would spill onto the streets of Middleport. They would bring it down Main St., Park Ave, Vernon St. and Maple Ave.

When it would rain, the streets would turn yellow. It looked like our streets were paved with gold.

In about 1920, my father worked the Niagara Sprayer farm that went up Vernon St. There was a big apple orchard there, and a field that stretched down along Telegraph Rd. Some parts of Vernon St. were a field and some parts were an orchard. My parents worked that farm for a while.

Dad tried out the new products on the Niagara Sprayer on that farm. The company let our family live there as part of the salary. We did this for two years, and then we moved to Griswold St. and farmed there.

Here is a photo of Harry Shaw with a Niagara Sprayer crop duster around 1920. They sold this dust for cotton in Georgia and Carolina. It was a very big deal. Back in those days I worked picking up empty wooden barrels that were used for lime and sulfur.

On the Job in Middleport

At age 14, I helped bring coal from the railroad to the Niagara Sprayer powerhouse.

When I was 15, the machine shop was built in the old Sprayer driveway. All the men in Middleport came to see that the day it opened and they had a big banquet.

In 1925, I began working at Niagara Sprayer as an adult. I got a job there because I had helped out on the Niagara Sprayer farm. Those were still the days of lime and sulfur, but we changed to dust soon after.

My boss was Bill Dagget and George Thompson was the President of Niagara Sprayer. His wife was my Sunday school teacher.

Well, George Thompson also ran for the Governor of New York State on the Prohibition Ticket. He was an officer in the power and light company in Lockport too. They opened a store on State Street and then sold it. He went back to the Sprayer, and then ended up in Florida. He worked with the inventors and their inventions belonged to Niagara Sprayer.

In 1951, I built my house on Vernon Street on the first lot available purchased from FMC. Only the house on the corner of Vernon and Niagara Streets was there back then.