Makers of Quality Tools, Handles & Dowels Since 1857
Peavey Manufacturing Co. - Makers of Quality Tools Since 1857
It was in the spring of 1857 that Joseph Peavey, a blacksmith and inventor from Stillwater, Maine, created the tool that would become known around the world simply as the PEAVEY. That invention became the foundation of the Peavey Manufacturing Co., which has been making Peaveys and other logging tools for more than 160 consecutive years, shipping them throughout the United States and to customers around the world.
The story begins on the Stillwater Branch of the Penobscot River, in the heart of Maine's booming logging industry. Joseph Peavey lay flat on a bridge, watching river drivers below struggle with their improvised tools to free a log jam. Peavey saw that their tools were unsteady and dangerous. They needed something stronger, more controlled, and better suited to the hard work of moving logs on land and water.
As the story goes, he jumped up, returned to his blacksmith shop, and directed his son Daniel to make a clasp with lips, then make holes in the lips to put a bolt through on which to hang a dog (or hook) and toe rings below the clasp and fastened to the handle. Finally, a pick was driven into the end.
The tool was turned over to river driver William Hale, who pronounced it a great success.
Peavey had already earned a reputation as an inventor. Among the inventions credited to him were the Peavey Hoist, used for pulling stumps and hoisting gates on dams, the first hay press, the first wooden screw vise, the first clapboard water wheel, an unspillable inkwell, and many other practical improvements.
Later, Joseph Peavey made a version of his new tool using a solid socket, in place of toe rings, with a driven pick. The improved Peavey, with a solid socket and pick combined, later came to be called the Bangor or Rafting Peavey. This version was invented by James Henry Peavey, grandson of Joseph (shown at the tool shop above - circa 1873). The Bangor Edge-Tool Co. name was used for several years before the company eventually changed back to Peavey Manufacturing Co.
The present facility of the Peavey Manufacturing Co. is located in Eddington, Maine, just five miles downriver from where Joseph lay flat on the bridge and invented the tool that still bears his name.
Artist Charles "Carl" Eugene Tefft depicted (above) the breaking of a log jam and the dangers faced by Maine's river drivers. The men faced many dangers and saw many an eager comrade carried to his doom in the old Penobscot’s swirling waters. When Mr. Tefft was selected in 1925 to make a bronze and granite memorial honoring legendary river driver, Pat Connors, and young logger David Preble, he came to Peavey Manufacturing for the tools to use as models. The Last Drive, also known as the Peirce Memorial, sits beside the main library in Bangor, Maine.
This excerpt (below) and the logo (above) come from our 1935 catalog. The words remain as true today as they were when they were written.
"We again present for your inspection and assistance, our general catalog containing a complete schedule of the regular goods which we are now manufacturing.
We strive to please, and cordially invite inquiries for prices on our line of Peaveys, Cant Hooks, Handles, Axes, etc. Due to our equipment, facilities, volume of business and quality of goods, we can quote prices that will interest you.
We have been manufacturing Peaveys for a good many years. In fact, the first ever made was called a PEAVEY - named after the inventor.
Our tools are made the best we know how, for we never skimp on materials or workmanship.
We are manufacturing very extensively and are in a splendid position to take care of the rapidly increasing trade in our line. We shall endeavor to keep on hand a complete stock at all times, and our customers may rely on having their orders satisfactorily and promptly filled.
So far as possible any ordinary sized order will be shipped on day of receipt, but, in order to insure prompt shipment for both driving and woods work, orders should be placed early enough to guarantee delivery when needed."
After a fire in 1966, equipment was salvaged and the company relocated to Eddington, Maine. That Eddington facility remains the home of Peavey Manufacturing Co.
Today, we make everything from picnic-table umbrella poles and flagpoles to unfinished dowels, pole-line construction tools, post hole diggers, shovels, spoons, tamping bars, and supplies for military, police, and fire departments.
We ship our products throughout the United States and around the world. We still sell thousands of Peaveys every year, just five miles downriver from where the legendary tool was invented.
For many years, Rodney Buswell Sr. helped guide the company's modern operations. Today, his sons, Rodney Buswell Jr. and Randy Buswell, own and operate Peavey Manufacturing Co. alongside a dedicated crew of long-tenured employees, overseeing daily operations across production, shipping, purchasing, sawmill operations, log yard management, finishing, inspection, maintenance, and customer service.
More than a century and a half after Joseph Peavey created a better tool for Maine's river drivers, Peavey Manufacturing is carrying forward its commitment to American manufacturing, dependable tools, and Maine craftsmanship.
