Most houses in Hartford City had been built without basements, making indoor meter placement difficult. Meters could be installed only in some kind of an outside pit and Edwin set about the task of designing such an arrangement. He dug a hole in his yard and covered it with a wooden lid. He hung a thermometer, which he adjusted to different depths. In cold winter weather he would dash out to read the temperature and from his observations was able to work out the design of a meter pit or "meter box" which solved the problem of meter freeze-ups.

The very first meter boxes were made of three foot lengths of vitrified clay tile about ten inches in diameter. A cement bottom was cast at one end of the pit, and vertical pipes topped with meter couplings extended a few inches from this enclosed bottom. An inner frost lid of wool and felt was placed about half way down to protect the meter from freezing along with an iron ring and lid cemented to the top. The entire town was metered with these boxes, making Hartford City Water the first utility in a cold climate to have all meters installed outside at the curb.

Edwin had no intention of producing meter boxes for other than local requirements, but word of the unique program at Hartford City was spread to neighboring towns by meter salesmen. Edwin was approached to make boxes for other utilities. He agreed, and these first meter boxes were made in Edwin`s basement in his spare time and pulled out of the basement window on a cart with baby buggy wheels, running on an improvised track. Thus a new business was born and the logical name of The Ford Meter Box Company was adopted. It`s quite a jump from a small specialty company to the premier manufacturer of waterworks brass valves and fittings, water meter setting and testing equipment, and products for pipeline maintenance and restraint. High quality and a broad line of innovative products are the reasons for our growth.

In 1898, Ford pioneered settings for water meters. Today, the largest variety of meter setters for indoor and outdoor use are available from Ford Meter Box.

In the 1950`s Ford introduced the Pack Joint and today offers the largest variety of couplings in the water works industry. During the early 60`s Ford introduced the ball valve, assuring the water works industry of easy turning, now and in the future.

Ford - Section B - Inside Meter Settings - Catalog