Help for Old Factory Locations

[Alan Peterson]

I've been scouring the web for information about old guitar factory locations, standing or gone -- if you've seen prior postings of mine, you know this to be something of an interest for me.

Thanks to Google Maps, I've "driven down" the streets of Kalamazoo to see the old Gibson factory, W. Sylvania Ave in Neptune and River St in Red Bank (NJ) for Danelectro, through New Hartford CT and Ovation, and NYC for the old Epiphone and D'Angelico workshops. A side trip through Hauppauge NY brought me to the front door of my old employer, the Earth Sound Research amplifier company (whee...)

I have the cities pinned down for the old Gurian factory in NH, and I know Guild was based in Westerly RI, but would anyone know specifics as to where the structures for both companies used to be? And what might be there now? Thanks very much.

[Barry Daniels]

I used to research historical land use and one of the best resources was local library collections of old phone books and yellow pages. They also have reverse phone books where you can look up the address and see what was there in years past. Some day these will probably be available online so you don't have to physically travel to the library for your search.

[Bob Francis]

I used to research historical land use and one of the best resources was local library collections of old phone books and yellow pages. They also have reverse phone books where you can look up the address and see what was there in years past. Some day these will probably be available online so you don't have to physically travel to the library for your search.

Also check for era correct "City Directories" at the same library.

[Jim McConkey]

I had a quick look.

This guy https://www.gad.net/Blog/2017/05/30/gui ... factories/ is like you and wants to find old guitar factories. He identified the former Guild factory as the building currently known as the Jonnycake Center on Industrial Drive in Westerly, RI
At the bottom of this Guild history page http://westerlyguildguitars.com/articles/guildstory.htm is a picture of the old factory
Look up Jonnycake Center on Google Maps and go to street view, then look at the building from the south end, and it is clear it is the same building.

One history of Gurian Guitars I found mentioned it had taken over the old Granite State Mower Company building. That firm lasted 1830-1917, when it was bought by Newhall & Stebbins, who manufactured Granite State Mowers until 1962, just before when Gurian moved in. There is a NH state historical marker for Newhall and Stebbins located on NH Rt. 119 (Canal Street), 215 feet east of Depot St. Most of the buildings in that area look new, although there is one thick grove of woods on the banks of the river that may have held an old factory.

For what it's worth, my county library has a free database of city directories from all over the country. It wasn't much help here, but your local library may also subscribe to the service. Look for the HeritageQuest database.