Nation’s homers, strikes were once Manor-made

By Kara Didrich | Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – Do you play baseball or go bowling? Well, for many years our town was well known throughout the country, thanks to the Sherwood factories that manufactured bowling pins and baseball bats shipped nationwide. The Sherwoods, a large local family, employed generations of wood workers in their wood-turning companies.

Jack Sherwood owned the factory on what was known then as Sherwood Island, the tract behind the Robin Hood Diner on Old Rte. 17. His workers produced baseball bats in the late 1800s and early 1900s made from ash wood. Because ash trees were abundant in the Catskills, and because the fibers of the wood were able to withstand great force, Sherwood realized ash would be perfect for baseball bats. Spaulding was a prominent sports brand that sold bats produced by the factory.

Burr Sherwood, following in his family’s footsteps, opened his own wood mill on River Street in 1916. He produced bowling pins for the Brunswick Company, a retailer of bowling equipment, and other wooden products such as table and chair legs, and even large wooden rollers for moving buildings with oxen.

Both factories manufactured these various products by using wood lathes in order to shape wooden blocks into the configurations required by their products. Both plants, at their peak, employed over one hundred workers.

The Sherwood companies helped establish Spaulding bats and Brunswick bowling pins as national brands, thanks in part to the Ontario & Western Railway. The rail line was extended to Livingston Manor in the 1870s, thus facilitating seamless shipment of the Sherwoods’ goods for the two companies to major markets nationwide.

The Sherwood plants no longer exist, with the bowling pin factory closing in the early 1960s following the retirement of Burr Sherwood at 76. He understandably said at the time, “I’m tired, and just need to take it easy.” The remnants of his building may still be seen on River Street, as can the old O&W station and freight depot.

The Sherwoods’ products have been permanently written into the history of two of the country’s most popular sports, and one thing that will never change is the impact the Sherwoods had not only on our community but on the entire country.

Manor Ink would like to thank historian Fred Fries for his assistance with this article.