Category:W. F. Mosser & Son, Allentown, Pennsylvania

The W. F. Mosser & Son company was established in 1863 by William F. Mosser at 125 South Second Street in Allentown. It was originally named the Lehigh Axel works, and was renamed by a son, Charles Mosser, who was admitted into the company. The firm branched out into the foundry business and shortly before William Mosser (1833-1908) died. Upon his death, John Greenall became a member of the firm. Later the firm build most of the cement mill equipment used in the area.

W. F. Mosser & Son was known for wagon wheel tires, axles, gear pinons and bearings. They were produced in the foundry machine shop and blacksmith shop which comprised the early plant. During the era of water wheels one manufactured by the Mosser plant received first award at the International Exhibition of 1876. During the same period, many gears having a cast iron ring with inserted hard wood teeth were produced. They were used in flour mills in connection with the conversion of water power to grind grain.

The Mosser family also owned a tannery in East Allentown. The business was established in 1859 as the Mosser, Keck and Co. The family operated two plants, one which is located in East Allentown, and the other at Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Allentown tannery consisted of about four acres of ground, upon which were extensive buildings, sheddings, etc. The firm manufactured exclusively the Union Sole Leather, using in its tanning about twelve to fifteen per cent. of oak and eighty five per cent. hemlock bark, which is considered makes a very superior quality of leather. They annually processed about 30,000 hides, and use about seven hundred car loads of bark of ten ton each which were shipped to the tannery by the L. and S. Division of the New Jersey Central Railroad. During World War I, the Mosser Tannery manufactured many kinds of leather goods for the United States Army

Later the firm developed the Keystone Bark Mill, used in the tanning industry; steam engines, mill gearing, furnace castings, shafting, rotary ballast cleaning machines, and sluice gates. The latter were used in the world's largest dry dock at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and survived the Japanese attack of 1941.

In the latter part of the 20th Century, W. F. Mosser & Son produced valves, including special types used in missiles. W F Mosser became Mosser Industries in 1973, and in 1990 was purchased by Ingersoll Rand Inc., renamed Joy Power Division. The firm then ceased to exist.