Scavenger Hunt location: Reach Climbing and Fitness
Historical location: James Lees Sons Co.

James Lees Sons Co. was the owner of Minerva Mills and Lees Carpets. Started in 1846, they operated from multiple buildings in several different locations for more than a century in Bridgeport. The factory itself was located in the Bridgeport Business Park where Reach Climbing and Fitness now is, These businesses manufactured and sold textiles; Minerva Mills focused on cotton and woolen goods while Lees Carpets focused on carpeting.

When James Lees brought his company to the Borough, the impact was like that of no other business that came into the new community. This business along the canal provided thousands of jobs for Bridgeport residents for over a century. As noted similarly in other Scavenger Hunt entries, this business was bolstered significantly by its proximity to the Schuylkill River and the Canal, which was located right behind it. Factories such as this one would utilize the River for shipping goods to Philadelphia and beyond.

Image 1: The James Lees Sons Co. factory was located along the Schuylkill Canal.

Minerva Mills & Lees Carpets

The information we have about Minerva Mills and Lees Carpets is fascinating. Since their history spans over a century, it is interesting to see how modern some of it is. Below, we have blueprints, advertisements, textile samples, and more.
Image 2: Plan of Minerva Mills, 1880.
Image 3: Plan of Minerva Mills, 1880.
Image 4: Plan of Minerva Mills, 1880.

Set of images 5-9: Inside of the Minerva Mills factory.

Below are examples of some of the books published by James Lees and Sons:

Used knitting books published by James Lees and Sons: https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/author/james-lees-and-sons/used/

Vintage Carpet Manual Brochure by James Lees And Sons Company. Home Designer Book, Mid-Century Decor, 1960s Retro Home Decor Vintage Carpets: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1347799445/vintage-carpet-manual-brochure-by-jame

Image 10: Salesmen and members of the sales staff from several states held a conference at James Lees and Sons in 1940 in the carpet showroom.
Image 11: Lees Carpet fabric swatch.
Image 12: Ad for James Lees and Sons Co.

The End of an Era

While the nineteenth century was a great time for business in Bridgeport Borough, towards the end of World War II, the success started tapering off. An article from the New York Times on November 17th, 1954 read as followed:

“JAMES LEES & SONS DROP WOOL YARNS; 700 of Carpet Company’s 1,650 Employees to Lose Jobs at Bridgeport, Pa.

  BRIDGEPORT, Pa., Nov. 16 (AP) — James Lees Sons Co., one of the nation’s major carpet manufacturers, announced today it is discontinuing the manufacture of woolen carpet yarns.” The economy wasn’t the only thing going against business during this time unfortunately. From an even earlier point, the company, according to the union, did not treat its employees fairly, so they endured an ongoing strike.
Image 13: An article from The Organizer (a union driven newspaper) on October 3, 1934, highlighting a picket line in front of the James Lees and Sons mills.
While business continued to dwindle, Lees’ office headquarters continued in Bridgeport until the mid-1960s. The company also engaged in alleged discriminatory trade practices, so the Federal Trade Commission sent them a cease and desist order, which likely did not help their general situation.
Image 14: The Federal Register showing the cease and desist order against James Lees and Sons Co. on November 4, 1961.

Sources: 

-https://books.google.com/books?id=mGBCAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA9-PA91&lpg=RA9-PA91

-https://books.google.com/books?id=9GY3AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1842&lpg=PA1842 

-http://lilbitbrit.blogspot.com/2015/04/lees-columbia-minverva.html

-https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1961-11-04/pdf/FR-1961-11-04.pdf 

-https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/theorganizer/v1n46-oct-06-1934-the-org.pdf 

-https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0kW36NVrH8v3tRz7ZYdLtEw89NCADLsHzV1NPbyBBG8e4HFhKUZLPUj7FAGGD2mqil&id=726916357510036

-Bridgeport, Jack Coll, 2007