LINEMASTER

About

The roots of LINEMASTER® extend back to the great depression of the 1930’s. With a generous gift of $500.00 from his Aunt, and a business machinery loan from the Reynolds Company in Providence, RI, Albert Simonds, incorporated the Simonds Machine Company in Southbridge, Massachusetts in 1937. From this modest beginning, he produced the Lensmaster optical machinery line to grind lenses of all sizes. As his business grew, he found a need for a good, reliable foot switch to operate his equipment that required the operator to maintain hands-free capability at all times. Consequently, he invented the foot switch, and LINEMASTER® was born. His first foot switch, the Senior, came to fruition through the sale of Al’s optical machinery to a company called New Era in Chicago. The management of a tool shop in the same building saw it and asked if they could acquire some of those switches. This request was forwarded back to Al at Lensmaster, and the ball began to roll. The Second World War interrupted the growth of Lensmaster and delayed the development of LINEMASTER®; however, in the early 1940’s, the Junior and Duplex models were added to the Senior family and expanded Al’s offerings. The housings of the switches were made of cast iron manufactured by the Connecticut Foundry and the interior switching mechanisms were designed and developed by Arrow-Hart & Hegeman of Hartford, CT. The Treadlite, Compact and Electro-Lok followed in rapid succession at the close of the war and Mr. Simonds felt that LINEMASTER® was now capable of its own business destiny. Lensmaster was growing quickly and LINEMASTER® needed to move to a quieter, more desirable location. When Al Simonds married Nancy B. Blakely in Woodstock, CT during November 1951, they started to look for a future home for LINEMASTER® in the Woodstock area. Bald Hill Acres was available and on April 11, 1952 was purchased as their home, office and manufacturing facility. On May 1, 1952, Linemaster Switch Corporation was officially established as a privately owned and operated manufacturing facility in the state of Connecticut. Soon the Simonds family needed additional space and added the first of many structures to the small wooden carriage house on the property. The mansion remained Al’s and Nancy’s home and office until 1964.

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