H.L. Leonard
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Hiram Lewis Leonard, (January 23, 1831 – January 30, 1907) was the founder of the H.L. Leonard Rod Company. He has been regarded as the father of the modern
fly rod A fishing rod or fishing pole is a long, thin rod used by anglers to catch fish by manipulating a line ending in a hook (formerly known as an ''angle'', hence the term "angling"). At its most basic form, a fishing rod is a straight rigid ...
. He was also an adventurer, gunsmith, engineer and maker of musical instruments. His exploits as a guide and hunter were written about by
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...
. As an innovator in
bamboo fly rod A bamboo fly rod or a split cane rod is a fly fishing fishing rod, rod that is made from bamboo. The British generally use the term "split cane." In the U.S., most use the term "bamboo." The "heyday" of bamboo fly rod production and use was an app ...
construction, manufacture and performance, the rodmakers Leonard trained went on to become leaders in the field of bamboo rodmaking. The rods bearing his name are sought after for their aesthetics, performance and as collectables.


Early life

Hiram Lewis Leonard was born January 23, 1831, in Sebec, Piscataquis, Maine, to Lewis Leo ef> Between 1835 and 1840, the family moved to Wayne County, Pennsylvania. Before he became pioneer of the modern bamboo fly rod, Hiram Leonard was a hunter, guide, gunsmith and self-taught engineer. He also played the flute.Black, George (2006). Casting a Spell: The Bamboo Fly Rod and the American Pursuit of Perfection. New York, New York: Random House. Leonard was an outdoorsman in the still undeveloped northeast of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. His fearless exploits, innovative approach and wiry strength earned him a reputation as "the Great Hunter" in his own time.Garner, Patrick C. (2009). Playing With Fire, The Life and Fly Rods of E.W. Edwards. Cincinnati, Ohio: Whitefish Press.
Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon sim ...
wrote that Leonard was a "handsome man of good height, but not apparently robust, of gentlemanly address and faultless toilet". Thoreau also recounted an incident where Leonard single handedly saved the lives of two passengers who were trapped in their stagecoach which had sunk in the frozen
Piscataquis River The Piscataquis River () is a major tributary of the Penobscot River, found in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. It starts from the confluence of its East Branch and West Branch () in Blanchard. The river flows in a mostly eastern dir ...
. Leonard also briefly served as the president of the Carmel Antimony Mining Company located in
Carmel, Maine Carmel is a town in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,867 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total are ...
during the Maine Mining Boom in 1880.


Bamboo rodmaker

Ernest Schweibert, in his double volume, ''Trout'', called Hiram Leonard "the father of the modern fly rod”, not only in terms of technical knowledge but also because of the many great rodmakers who were trained in his shop. In 1869, Leonard set up as a gunsmith in Bangor, Maine. Leonard in 1905 said, "I made my first rod in Bangor, Maine. The material used was ash and lancewood. I made it for my own use, not intending to make a business of rod manufacturing." On the advice of a friend, he sent his first rod to Bradford Anthony of Boston, Massachusetts, who "kept a sporting goods house". The salesman there understood that the craftsmanship displayed in the rod suggested an aptitude for making split-cane fishing rods. Upon examining some four-sided rods (rods that are made from four triangulated strips of bamboo that are laminated lengthwise), Leonard was asked if he could reproduce them. "Yes, and better than those.", was his reply. When Leonard commenced, he found weak spots in the raw material and decided to make the rods with six thinner strips instead. Demand for the "first ever made" hexagonal fishing rods was so great that Leonard could never fully supply enough. At this time, he opened a two-room shop on Main Street in
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...
.Leonard, H.L. (1905). H.L. Leonard-Rod Co. Makers. Central Valley, New York.H.L. Leonard-Rod Co. Makers, Catalog He worked alone for about a year before he hired a helper. Eventually he employed eleven men, before he moved to
Central Valley, New York Central Valley is a hamlet in Woodbury, New York, United States. The population was 1,857 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a census-designated place. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie– Newburgh, NY Metropolitan Stat ...
, in 1881. In 1899 his factory was moved to the site where it remains today, though the original
Leonard Rod Company Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin ''Le ...
was closed in 1984. "My rods took the first prize at Vienna, London, and at the world's fair, Philadelphia, and in all contests for fly, or bait casting, they lead the world." -Hiram Lewis Leonard, 1905


Personal life

On September 28, 1858, Hiram Lewis Leonard married Elizabeth S. Head in Bangor, Penobscot, Maine. They had a daughter.


Death

Leonard died in Central Valley, Orange, New York, on January 30, 1907.


Contributions to fly fishing

The shop under Leonard created proteges who went on to become rod making greats in their own right. Such names as
Hiram Hawes Hiram may refer to: People * Hiram (name) Places * Hiram, Georgia ** Hiram High School, Hiram, Georgia * Hiram, Maine * Hiram, Missouri * Hiram, Ohio ** Hiram College, a private liberal arts college located in Hiram, Ohio ***Hiram Terriers, the ...
, F.E. Thomas, E.W. Edwards, E.F. Payne,
Fred Devine Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...
and George I. Varney all worked for Leonard. In 1875 H.L. Leonard patented the water-proof
ferrule A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from m ...
, and Leonard rods became among the first to be made on a commercial beveler. It was while working with employee Loman Hawes, that they first developed the "revolutionary" beveler. It allowed Leonard to dramatically increase production as well as increase the quality and consistency of his product. Before this time, fly rods varied greatly rod to rod. Manufacturing was difficult due to the imprecision of the tools available. With his new beveler, Leonard was able to hold tolerances to thousands of an inch. The series of measurements, known as 'tapers', he used as the templates for beveling his rods became standards for every rodmaker thereafter.Howell, Jack (1998). The Lovely Reed, An Enthusiast's Guide to Building Bamboo Fly Rods. Oakmont, Pennsylvania: Howell Handmade Publishing.


References


External links


Classic Fly Rod Forum

Copy of H.L. Leonard's 1905 Dictation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, H. L. 1831 births 1907 deaths American fishermen American woodworkers Fly rod makers People from Piscataquis County, Maine People from Bangor, Maine People from Woodbury, Orange County, New York 19th-century American businesspeople