Unfortunately Mr. Fowle had suffered so much loss through the watch venture and from other investments that he was forced to make an assignment of his personal estate. The watch company, without his support, was carrying too large a burden of debt to be self-supporting. In the fall of 1883 a voluntary assignment was made and the equipment was sold in February 1884.[48] The _Newton directory_ of 1885 lists W. B. Fowle as a thermometer manufacturer on Woodbine Street, "house near." His home, "Tanglewood," was on Woodbine Street and perhaps the thermometer business was operating in one of the outbuildings. William A. Wales assigned to the Auburndale Watch Co. patent 276101, of December 4, 1883, covering details of a unit counter for keeping score in games, and for similar work. Among the relics in the author's collection is a box bearing the label "Auburndale Counter, W. B. Fowle & Son, Auburndale, Mass." These counters were packed two in a box, the box just mentioned being suitable to contain counters the size of the thermometer in figure 22. Figure 23 shows a larger counter measuring 4-1/2 inches in diameter. From this and the fact that Fowle as late as 1887, is carried in the _Newton directory_ as a manufacturer of metallic thermometers, it seems that some attempt was made after dissolution of the watch company to carry on manufacturing, or perhaps only the assembly on a small scale of parts previously manufactured. The _Directory_ of 1889 lists Fowle as an accountant on Ash Street, Auburndale. He had bought this property in 1887, presumably after disposing of "Tanglewood" which now would be too large for his needs. In the editions of 1891 and 1893 he is listed as United States collector of internal revenue, with an office at the Post Office building, Boston. In 1895 he appears as an accountant at the same address and from then to his death in 1902 he is listed as an accountant at his home address in Auburndale. [Illustration: Figure 22 (_above_).--AUBURNDALE THERMOMETER, about 1-3/4 inches in diameter. (In author's collection.)] Jason R. Hopkins, inventor of the first Auburndale product, passed away in Washington late the same year, 1902, having spent all the intervening years as a watchmaker. ----- [41] _The Jewelers Circular and Horological Review_, July 1884. [42] _Newton directory_, 1884-85; Crossman, _op. cit._ (footnote 8), December 1887. [43] Records of Veterans Administration, pension application WE 666 675 of Mary E. Fowle (widow of William B. Fowle). [44] Serial 926, in author's collection. [45] _Newton directory_, 1879. [46] Each model of watch made at Auburndale was numbered in its own series, starting at number 1, contrary to the usual watch factory practice where blocks of serial numbers are assigned to different models. Other Auburndale products seem not to have borne serial numbers. [47] Crossman, _op. cit._ (footnote 8), December 1887.