Charles Johnson owned a sprawling farm in the rural Hillside district of Southwick, Massachusetts, just off what is now Charles Johnson Road. Isolated by a half-mile stretch from his nearest neighbor, the Johnson homestead stood in quiet solitude—a typical rural setting of the late 19th century. On the evening of January 10, 1894, Charles carried a lantern as he made his way to his barn to feed his livestock. As he tossed hay with a pitchfork, he accidentally knocked over the lantern. Within seconds, flames raced through the hay, igniting the barn into a massive blaze. Charles fought to save what he could, but the fire moved too fast. He was able to rescue only five of his twelve cattle before the barn was consumed. The flames quickly leapt from structure to structure, engulfing every outbuilding and finally overtaking the farmhouse itself. Inside the house lay the bodies of Charles’s elderly father and mother-in-law, both of whom had passed away earlier that day—one from pneumonia, th...

On March 7, 1854, William H. Johnson, a machinist from Granville, Massachusetts, was granted U.S. Patent No. 10,597 for a mechanical mechanism that enhanced the efficiency of sewing machines—a rapidly evolving technology of the era. That same year, his invention earned him a silver medal at the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, held at the New York Crystal Palace, a showcase of American ingenuity and industrial progress. In his patent filing, Johnson summarized his invention as consisting of what he called the "belaying double-loop stitch" with a single thread by the employment of one needle used in connection with a double-spring hook over which the loops are formed, the needle working vertically and having a vibratory side motion, so that each time it passes through the cloth or other material to be sewed the material is moved forward a sufficient distance for the succeeding perforation, thus constituting the machine which forms the seam using a single thread and f...