Company History
“A new medium of education having been opened to the Spectator, he put his eyes to use. Walking through a business street, he was thrilled by the sign ‘Joy Radiators.’ Here was the world’s need supplied. Why had this wonderful appliance been hidden in a bushel, as it were! Oh, the people whose lives were darkened who would now be brought to know that a Joy Radiator could be purchased!” --The Outlook, 1900
After successfully selling his hardware and tin business in New York, T. C. Joy looked to make both a business change, as well as a geographic change. The allure of the Pennsylvania oil fields would beckon, but the speculation he would take part in cost him dearly. Massive losses in this space resulted in “15 years of incessant struggle and labor in order that he might discharge his obligations and recover the capital which he had sunk” (The Metal Worker, 1895).
Once T. C. Joy had recovered, he returned to his origins and the development of more efficient modes of residential heating. This time, he would expand his business into manufacturing. In 1878, after discarding his home’s Boynton furnace, T. C. installed a steam heater of his own creation in his basement. He was so satisfied with the results that he applied for a patent for his enhancement of the “old-style of heater” (Titusville Herald, 1878). In 1880, T. C. Joy had created a small plant in Titusville for the production of steam boilers. By 1889, he partnered with Daniel Colestock to create T. C. Joy & Co. where a foundry was created, “having a melting capacity of 20 tons daily and a plant capable of making from 2,000,000 to 2,500,000 feet of radiation yearly, and giving employment to 100-150 mechanics” (The Metal Worker, 1895). The T. C. Joy Company was located on South Perry Street in Titusville in the 1880’s but later, in 1890, moved to the site of the Cytemp Cold Roll plant (The Titusville Morning Herald, 1987). With steam heat growing in popularity, T. C. Joy & Co’s footprint rapidly expanded too. Their important inventions, such as the Vertical Flue Radiator, combined with their more aggressive advertising, began to turn heads beyond the city of Titusville. Joy and Colestock would create beautiful pamphlets cited in trade publications, which targeted just the right audience.
In June 1892, heavy rains led to the flooding of Oil Creek, which wrought devastation throughout Titusville and Oil City. Oil spilling into the rapidly rising water ignited following a series of explosions causing further destruction to nearby homes and businesses. The disaster resulted in over a hundred deaths and millions of dollars in property damage. However, the company was one of the few fortunate to have escaped the major damage that other Titusville businesses suffered having only sustained “slight damage by water” (Oil City Derrick, 1892).
Showrooms to feature the beautiful radiators and heating components were established. In 1893, the May 27th edition of the trade publication The Metal Worker, specifically mentions the opening of such a showroom in New York City: “T. C. Joy & Co. of Titusville, Pa, have recently opened an office at 48 Centre street, New York, where samples of steam and hot-water radiators are displayed” (The Metal Worker, May 27, 1893).
After T. C.’s death in 1895, his partner Daniel Colestock assumed the reins. There was much speculation reported in the local newspapers about what might happen to the company and its employees upon T. C.’s demise. Many foresaw that the company—or at least parts of it—would be sold. But many wondered if the buyer would be from Titusville or an outsider. If the latter, many worried that local jobs, which T. C. had proudly developed, would be lost forever. However, Colestock sold his interests to The Titusville Iron Co. The acquisition took place over the course of the year, from 1895-1896, and the foundry that T. C. had developed was merged into the American Radiator Company, later to become part of American Standard.