Monadnock Moment No. 099

Era 6: Development of the Industrial United States -
           1870 to 1900

Granite State Evaporators

Marlow, New Hampshire has been the home of several unusual, but successful business ventures over the years. One of these businesses was the Granite State Evaporator Company of Perley E. Fox.

Perley Fox was born in Marlow in December of 1833. He attended the Marlow Academy and the Seminary in Tilton. He traveled to the Midwest in 1857 where he taught school for several years. Fox returned to Marlow in 1862 and in 1869 purchased the stove and tin business of James Fisher.

Fox combined his stoves and tin in an invention which he called the Granite State Evaporator. This was a sap evaporator used in the production of maple syrup. He also invented the Pearl metallic sap spout for use in collecting the sap.

The products were successful and Fox manufactured them in Marlow for many years. The evaporator realized large sales throughout New England. In 1880 the company had four employees who worked 9 ½ hours a day and produced $3,000 worth of products.

Granite State Evaporators still appear in the forests of Cheshire County, having outlasted the sugar houses that they served. Perhaps some of Perley Fox's evaporators still serve in the production of New England maple syrup to the present day.