Keasbey and Mattison Company

Keasbey and Mattison Company was a manufacturing company that produced asbestos-related building products, including insulation and shingles. Founded in 1873 by Henry Griffith Keasbey (1850-1932) and Richard Van Zeelust Mattison (1851-1935), the company moved to Ambler, Pennsylvania, in 1881. By World War I, the Keasbey and Mattison Company's presence caused Ambler to be known as the "asbestos capital of the world". Keasbey and Mattison was purchased by Turner & Newall in 1934.

The Keasbey and Mattison Company was founded in 1873 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Henry G. Keasbey, a businessman, and Dr. Richard V. Mattison, a chemist/pharmacist. The company originally manufactured and marketed patent medicines. Working in a company laboratory, Mattison discovered that a mixture of magnesium carbonate and asbestos would adhere to a hot metal pipe, and could be turned into an insulation material for steam pipes. Asbestos and related building products soon became the focus of the company.

Mattison moved the company from Philadelphia to Ambler, Pennsylvania, in 1881. Ambler's location along the railroad line was a primary consideration in the location of Keasbey and Mattison Company in Ambler, as it meant that asbestos could be easily brought in from Quebec, and products sent out. Another consideration was the availability of magnesium carbonate, which could be locally mined. The original K&M factory was built as of 1883, conveniently placed near the railroad.

When Keasbey and Mattison relocated, the town consisted of "70 houses, 250 residents, a drug store, general store and a few other businesses."

Keasbey and Mattison became the dominant employer of the town of Ambler and had a major impact on it. Mattison built homes for the company's workers and executives. He founded a library and built an opera house, offices, shops, and Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church. He owned the Ambler Water Co. and the Ambler Electric Light, Heat & Motor Co. He also ensured that Ambler was incorporated as a borough. Mattison brought in stone masons from Southern Italy to work on his estate, modifying an existing Victorian structure in homage to Windsor Castle and naming it Lindenwold Castle. German craftsmen were imported to work on the iron gates.

...
Wikipedia