The Entrepreneurs

James R. Sayre and Peter Fisher (Sayreville Historical Society, 2001)

James R. Sayre, Jr. of Newark, New Jersey, and Peter Fisher, Sr. of New York, New York, formed a partnership in 1850 called the Sayre & Fisher Company. Sayre was active in the lime, cement, and building supply business and provided most of the initial investment. Fisher was an owner and captain of a sailing vessel that transported goods in and around the New York Harbor. The company was run with self-sufficiency in mind, and soon a town was growing around it (Karcher, 1953: 1-4). Immigrant workers flocked to the company, and by about 1920 the company employed about 1,700 men (Wall and Pickersgill, 1921: 470). In 1887, the company was incorporated, capitalizing the sum of $200,000 (Karcher, 1953: 1-4). Between 1850 and 1925, the company was one the leading producers of fire, enamel, and common brick in the country and was New Jersey's largest employer (Guter, 1979; Fraser, 1969). The company's subsidiary, Sayreville Electric Light and Power Company, built a central steam power plant; by 1928 it was one of the most valuable assets of the parent corporation. It provided light to local companies, trolleys, and residences in Sayreville and South River and became the precursor for the local public utility, Jersey Central Power and Light Company (Karcher, 1953: 7; Sayreville Historical Society, 2001: 79).