Burnside Sawyer and Sawyer Tool, a Talk by Roger K. Smith

 Fitchburg Historical Society Presents a Look Back at 

Early 20th century Tool Manufacturing in Fitchburg:

Bring in a “Mystery Tool” for Identification by Speaker Roger K. Smith

(Fitchburg, MA) Fitchburg Historical Society will present local industrial historian Roger Smith, sharing information from his most recent research into the manufacturing history of North Central Massachusetts, with “Burnside Sawyer and Sawyer Tool,” on Thursday, May 21, 2026, at 6 p.m. 

In this free public program, attendees will examine the tool manufacturing industry in Fitchburg during its golden age, 1890 – 1910. Sawyer Tool Company was begun in Athol in 1894, by Burnside Sawyer, an employee of L. S. Starrett tool of Athol, Massachusetts. Burnside Sawyer was a nephew of famous Fitchburg industrialist Sylvanus Sawyer; when he inherited property in the city in 1898; he promptly moved his company to Fitchburg. The company’s history overlapped with many other notable Fitchburg companies, and families, during its years in Fitchburg. 

The speaker, Roger K. Smith, of Hubbardston, is the author of Patented Transitional and Metallic Planes in America, volumes one and two. This reference work has been described by tool collectors as a “magnum opus” and as “a sumptuous feast for the tool aficionado: well researched, well written, well laid out and presented, and well produced.” The books are also essential to identifying American planes and understanding their history. 

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, Smith published a well-regarded catalog of antique tools. He also advises on the value of tool collections. Smith is inviting people who have old tools that they cannot identify to bring the tools to the May 21 event in Fitchburg, to see if he can offer any guidance or insight into their use and history. 

The Fitchburg Historical Society headquarters is located in the historic Phoenix Building at 781 Main Street Fitchburg. The building is fully handicapped accessible and there is ample street parking.  For more information, visit fitchburghistoricalsociety.com,  email welcome (at) fitchburghistoricalsociety.com or call 978-345-1157.