Sprague Meter Cast Iron Gas Meter Manufacturer. Sprague Meter Company was founded by Yale graduate, Henry H. Sprague, in 1890. Sprague realized that in the Twentieth Century, the need for a device which could measure gas used in domestic and industrial environments accurately would be great. He pioneered the development of a gas meter suitable for measuring both manufactured and natural gas and continued to improve and develop his product for decades thereafter. By 1940, the Sprague Meter Company was able to manufacture over 1,000 gas meters a day. The company also produced industrial-use meters and regulators for distribution systems and household appliances. The Sprague Meter Company instituted an annuity program in which it matched each employee-contributed dollar with a $1.50. Mr. and Mrs. Sprague also left various trust funds and stock interests to Sprague employees in their wills.