Waffles and Bacon

by Lynne Belluscio

For the past three years, I have been tripping over a large waffle iron that needed to be labeled and put into the "Made In LeRoy" exhibit in the lower hall. So while trying to make space in the office, I cleaned up the rusty waffle iron and made a label: L.S. Bacon Foundry c. 1843-1854

This waffle iron was manufactured at the L.S. Bacon Foundry which was located at the west end of Bacon Street behind Main Street. The foundry manufactured a variety of kitchen and parlor stoves, including the "New Yorker" and the "Bacon Self-Regulating Air Tight Stove." One of the parlor stoves is on exhibit on the 2nd floor of LeRoy House.

Lathrop S. Bacon was born in Hamilton, New York in 1810. He came to LeRoy with his father in 1830 and they started a general merchandise business. They ran an ad in the 1842 LeRoy Gazette for Bacon's Cheap Cash Store.

 

In 1843 the business changed exclusively to the stove and iron trade. At this time they opened their foundry on the street that ran parallel on the north side of Main Street. The foundry manufactured a number of stoves, including Bacon's Improved Railway Cooking Stove, the "New Yorker", the Bacon Self-Regulating Air Tight Stove and the Clinton Air Tight Stove. I have seen a Bacon cook stove on exhibit at the Hale Farm Museum in Ohio. (Somewhere I have a photograph of the Bacon Cook Stove in Ohio, but I couldn't put my fingers on it. I'm sure it will turn up when I least expect to find it.)

The LeRoy Historical Society has a complete parlor stove which is in the boarding house room of LeRoy House. It is clearly marked on the cast iron base. And we have parts to another parlor stove, which is in storage. We have two cast iron waffle irons in the collection. One was donated by the Martin family many years ago and the other one, I purchased in 1991 in an antique shop in Ohio. It would appear that Bacon distributed his stoves and waffle irons outside of New York.

The story of L.S. Lathrop is tragic and takes an interesting turn. In 1848, Lathrop Bacon's two children and their 14 year old nursemaid were burned to death in a fire that was caused by the explosion of a camphene lamp. Lathrop was so distraught that his younger brother gave up his law practice to oversee the foundry.Lathrop moved to Rochester and began an iron works in Ontario.

In 1853, the LeRoy foundry was sold to Harry Backus and for a year it continued to be known as Backus and Bacon. But in 1854, the foundry closed for good. In the meantime, Lathrop Bacon served as the president of the Eagle Bank in Rochester and then he moved to England to establish the manufacture of India rubber goods. This business became very successful and he retired to Italy. Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke and he and his wife moved to Michigan where he died. His gravestone in Machpelah Cemetery, which is very difficult to read, indicates that he died in 1874 or 1875.

LE ROY PENNYSAVER & NEWS - January 9, 2011