The Thompson Manufacturing Company operated beside Israel's River, where manufacturing had taken place for years before the highly skilled Alexander and Daniel Thompson arrived in 1865. By 1884 the company bore their name and held patents on many of the machines it designed and built to produce wood and metal products. By 1965 it was the only source of wood cogs in the world. Business flourished from 1956 to 1975, and in the 1960's hard maple bowling alley flooring evolved into butcherblock, bringing the company wide-spread attention from businesses, schools, and homeowners. Expansion became urgent, and the company was sold to a larger firm and merged with Quality Maple Block of Kingston NY. None of the officers or skilled craftsmen was willing to move away from Lancaster, and the company closed in 1975, with Quality Maple Block closing a year later. The buildings remained unused until 1987, when Alexis Moser began extensive renovation, while Harland Cantin continued manufacturing cogs in Guildhall VT as their sole source.