As a 17-year-old machinist in 1857, Joseph E. Watts emigrated to Lawrence, Massachusetts from Cheshire, England seeking his fortune. 17 Years later, he would open an independent machine shop supplying machinery parts and fittings to the local textile mills, Watts Regulator Company. In addition to running his own business, Joseph Watts achieved widespread fame as the patentee and maker of steam and water pressure regulators.
Watts manufactured pressure-reducing valves to regulate steam and relief devices designed to ensure safe operation of water heaters and boilers.