The 20th-century artist Robert Merriam created “Green River Works, 1834” in about 1990. His painting depicts John Russell’s first cutlery factory on the banks of the Green River in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, Russell had already made his fortune in the cotton industry in Georgia when a visit to his birthplace in 1832 set Russell on a new path. He decided to open a cutlery factory on the Green River in the Cheapside area of Deerfield (annexed by the Town of Greenfield in 1896.) By 1860, Russell’s cutlery employed over 300 people. In 1870, the company moved to Turners Falls, Massachusetts. John Russell died in Greenfield in 1874. In 1933, the Russell Cutlery Company became part of the Dexter-Russell cutlery company still in operation, based in Southbridge, Massachusetts.
Merriam, Robert Loring. Painting of J. Russell & Company Green River Works in 1834. Painting. ca. 1990. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/m-65/. Accessed on April 18, 2026.
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