USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > Compendium of history and biography of the city of Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan > Part 32
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quarters and includes an equipment of the best machinery known to the paint-making trade. Their products have had a large sale through- out the United States and Canada and a con- siderable export business has been developed. In the exterior painting of buildings, in the covering of steel framework during construc- tion, in fact the use of their product in any way where protection to metal surfaces from dampness or the elements is demanded will prove a saving to the consumer. The company was the first to use graphite as a material in paint manufacture, and the process of its use is covered by patent. In the conducting of the business from the time of its organization Mr. Boutell has been the dominant spirit, and its growth and development are in great measure the result of his ceaseless efforts. The com- pany maintain a branch in London, England, and a sales agency in Seattle, Washington.
The development of the business of the com- pany has been healthy, its products have been kept at a high standard, and its management has been clean. As a factor in the commerce of the city its influnece has been felt through its careful and judicious advertising of goods "Made in Detroit" and the marketing of them throughout a wide territory, the payment to wage earners of over fifty thousand dollars yearly, and the addition to its industries of a specialty manufacturing concern which in its line is the largest in the Union. Mr. Boutell, the executive head of the company, has had able assistance in the building up of this enter- prise and great credit is due to Mr. Davis, the vice-president, who has so successfully devel- oped the sales department and prepared a mar- ket for the output. In the important depart- ment of finance, Mr. Monroe, the secretary and treasurer, has proven himself a man of keen perception, far-sightedness and safe conservatism.
DETROIT STEEL CASTINGS COMPANY.
As a representative concern which is con- tributing its quota to the industrial pre-emi- nence of Detroit, this company is consistently given consideration within the pages of this publication. The company was organized in
March, 1902, and succeeded to the business and plant of the Detroit Steel & Spring Com- pany. The new company was incorporated under the laws of the state, with a capital stock of two hundred thousand dollars, and in April, 1905, to meet the exigencies of the greatly augmented business and widened operations of the concern, the capital stock was increased to six hundred thousand dollars, of which five hundred thousand dollars were paid in and the remaining one hundred thousand retained as a treasury reserve. The personnel of the of- ficial corps of this important corporation is as here noted: John S. Newberry, president and general manager; Allen W. Atterbury, treas- urer; Thomas F. Meek, secretary; and Fred- erick P. Smith, assistant secretary.
The Detroit Steel Castings Company manu- facture a general line of steel castings for marine-dredging, car-machinery and diversified railway uses. The admirably equipped plant is located at the juncture of Michigan avenue and the tracks of the Michigan Central Rail- road, where is utilized a ground space eight hundred by four hundred feet in dimensions. In February, 1905, the old plant was destroyed by fire and within the same year was completed the present main building, which is one of the finest examples of modern factory construction to be found in Detroit and which is five hun- dred by one hundred and sixty-five feet in di- mensions. The plant also has a modern office building, attractive in design and accessories. Employment is given by the company to an average force of seven hundred and fifty men, of whom one-third are skilled mechanics, and the annual pay roll represents an expenditure of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The original enterprise was founded by the late Hon. John S. Newberry, father of the present president of the concern, and it was one of the first of the large manufacturing plants which have brought about the great ad- vancement of Detroit along industrial and commercial lines.
THE KELSEY-HERBERT COMPANY.
One of the unique and important manufac- turing industries which add to the commercial
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prestige of Detroit is that conducted under the plant, at 277-285 Monroe title which initiates this article. The enter- prise dates its inception back to the year 1898, when a stock company was formed and incor- porated with a capital of twenty-five thousand dollars. The original official corps was as fol- lows: John Kelsey, president; George Da- vidson, vice-president ; and G. J. Vinton, sec- retary and treasurer.
The title under which operations were first instituted was the Davidson Pipe & Novelty Company, and the original headquarters were in the Case building on Congress street. The establishment was burned out in 1899, and the headquarters were then established in a build- ing on Larned street, where the title of the concern was changed to the United States Chemico-Wood Company. The chief products of the manufactory at this time were umbrella handles.
In 1902 a reorganization took place and the present Kelsey-Herbert Company was incor- porated. With amplified facilities the company began the manufacturing of various lines of toilet articles, brushes, combs, mirrors, etc., the articles turned out being made of metallic horn, resembling French stag, and manufac- tured from fiber. This is the only plant of the kind in the world and the composition used is protected by patents, being of most durable and attractive order. Mr. Davidson was the originator of the material utilized in the manu- facture of the goods, but Messrs. Kelsey and Herbert perfected the machines and the prod- uct, the latter gentleman having become one of the interested principals in the concern in 1901. Upon the reorganization under the present title the capital stock of the company was increased to fifty thousand dollars, and so rapid was the growth and expansion of the business that it was later increased in turn to one hundred thousand and finally two hundred thousand dollars, at which latter figure as a basis, operations are now conducted. The present officers of the company are: Henry J. Herbert, president; James S. Stevenson, vice-president; and John Kelsey, secretary and treasurer. In 1904 was erected the company's present well equipped and thoroughly modern
avenue. The building there utilized is four stories in height and of brick and stone construction. Besides this two branch places are maintained else- where in the city, and the aggregate floor space utilized is more than eighty-five thousand feet. The company now affords employment to three hundred operatives, many of them being skilled mechanics, and the annual pay roll shows an expenditure of more than one hun- dred thousand dollars. These facts indicate how great have been the energy, enterprise and ability which have been the potent factors in the upbuilding of the splendid business within comparatively so brief a period of time. The output of the factory is sold in all sections of the Union, as well as throughout Canada, and the foreign trade is showing an appre- ciable increase each successive year. The pyrography plant of the company is located at 576 Kirby avenue and in the same is manu- factured the largest line of wood for pyrog- raphic purposes in this country.
THE KEMIWELD CAN COMPANY.
. Another of the unique and successful indus- trial enterprises of the city of Detroit is that conducted by the company named above, the business having formerly been conducted under the title of Gem Fibre Package Company. The company are manufacturers of aseptic, mold- proof, moisture-proof and air-tight fibre cans and boxes, and the products have gained a most favorable reception by reason of mani- fest superiority.
The Gem Fibre Package Company was in- corporated under the laws of the state in 1902, basing its operations upon a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. The expansion of the industry is shown adequately when it is stated that in 1906 it was found expedient to increase the capital to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and that in 1907 it was further raised, to the noteworthy figure of three hundred thousand dollars. All this implies a substan- tial growth and one of unusual rapidity. The original company had its organizers Messrs. H. Kirke White, Jr., Frank J. Hoag and
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James Miller, and the officers of the company at the opening of the year 1908 are as here noted : H. Kirke White, Jr., president; Frank J. Hoag, of Toledo, Ohio, vice-president ; Jervis R. Harbeck, treasurer; and Miron Neal, secretary. The fibre cans and boxes manufac- tured by the company are chemically welded, and this insures a thoroughly aseptic, odorless and tasteless container, the same being im- pervious to water, oils, grease, alkalis and light acids. The products have been found espe- cially desirable for the putting up of coffees, spices, baking powder, cleaning powder, dry chemicals, greases, paints, oils, syrups, candy, brines, butter, etc., and the demand on the part of the wholesale trade and certain manu- facturers has reached very extensive propor- tions, which show a constant tendency for still farther expansion. The fibre receptacles are manufactured under a secret and patented process controlled by the company, and much of the special machinery utilized in the manu- facture of the goods was designed by Mr. Harbeck, the treasurer of the company, these devices also being amply protected by patents.
The trade of the concern extends through- out the United States and Canada, as well as into Mexico, Cuba, and the Orient, including the Philippine Islands. The plant of the com- pany is eligibly located at the corner of Clay and St. Aubin avenues, where about five acres of land are occupied. The plant represents a capitalistic investment of about five hundred thousand dollars, and employment is given to an average of three hundred and fifty persons. The president of the company exercises a gen- eral executive control and gives especial at- tention to the finances of the concern; Mr. Harbeck, the treasurer, is also the practical chemist and manufacturing expert of the com- pany, having as his assistant Thomas Neal 2d. The company maintains branch offices in New York city, Chicago, San Francisco and St. Louis, and has an agency in Denver. The fine products are rapidly displacing glass and tin, as well as wood in offering effective and superior facilities for the packing of in- numerable preparations, and the trade growth
stands as ample voucher for the superiority of the goods produced in this fine industrial plant of Detroit. The fibre is chemically treated and the tops and ends of the various boxes and cans may likewise be of the fibre, or of any desired metal susceptible of adaptation to such uses.
NELSON, BAKER & COMPANY.
No city or locality in the world can legiti- mately claim precedence of Detroit in the mat- ter of the extent and importance of her posi- tion as headquarters for manufacturing chem- ists, for here are to be found some of the greatest pharmaceutical laboratories on the globe. Among the manufacturing concerns in this line that tend to give such priority to Detroit as a commercial center and which bring her name into recognition throughout the civilized world is that of Nelson, Baker & Company, which is an incorporated company, with a capital of three hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars. The officers of the company are as follows: E. H. Nelson, president and gen- eral manager; George Peck, vice-president; A. B. Lyons, M. D., secretary; and W. S. Baker, treasurer. In addition to these officials the directorate of the corporation includes Dr. F. A. McGraw, C. A. Black, and F. W. Eddy.
The present president of the company was the founder of the business, which has grown to be one of broad scope and importance under his administration as chief executive. In 1893 the company erected a laboratory on Lafayette avenue and the building has since been mate- rially enlarged. In the laboratory and offices are employed nearly four hundred persons, and the concern is represented in its trade territory by an average of seventy traveling salesmen. The company manufactures full and complete lines of pharmaceutical preparations and the products of the establishment are recognized by the trade and by the medical profession in general as being of a superior order. The concern merits consideration in this publica- tion as one of the many splendid industrial and commercial enterprises of Detroit and of the state.
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THE NATIONAL CAN COMPANY.
In the multiplicity and variety of her manu- facturing interests Detroit is excelled by few, if any, cities of comparable size in the Union, and within the past decade she has made mar- velous and substantial strides along these lines, progressing steadily and bravely along her course to the goal of still greater prestige as one of the great manufacturing and industrial centers of the world. One of the prime func- tions of this publication is to give recognition, through brief mention, to those enterprises which are contributing each its quota to this magnificent advancement.
The National Can Company was organized in 1901 and was duly incorporated with a capi- tal stock of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which was increased to two hundred and fifty thousand in 1905, to meet the de- mands placed upon the institution by its rap- idly expanding business. The originators of the company were Messrs. Theodore D. Buhl, William H. Warren, Frederick T. Ducharme, Frank W. Eddy, David M. Ireland, Edwin H. Nelson, and Frederick E. Wadsworth. These are names of essentially representative capi- talists and business men of the Michigan me- tropolis, and thus the industry had its incep- tion under peculiarly favorable auspices. The company purchased the substantial factory of the Decoy Fly Paper Company, near the junc- tion of North Grand boulevard and the lines of the Grand Trunk Railway, and the plant was remodeled and enlarged, to make it thoroughly available for the purposes for which it was to be used. The main building is a brick and stone structure, three stories and basement, and two hundred and thirty by sixty-five feet in lateral dimensions. This is utilized as the gen- eral manufacturing department. The commo- dious warehouse, two stories in height, is sixty by one hundred and twenty feet in dimensions, and is utilized for the storage of both raw material and the finished products. The stamping room is forty by two hundred feet in dimensions; and a separate brick building accommodates the fine modern power plant. The products of the concern are tin cans and metal containers, besides sheet-metal work for
general commercial purposes, and of the former an average of thirty-two millions are manufac- tured annually. Employment is given to three hundred hands, of whom about one-half are girls, expert artisans being employed on the machine and die work. The yearly pay roll represents an expenditure of about one hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars, which indi- cates unequivocally the importance of the in- dustry as contributory to the civic and com- mercial prosperity of Detroit. The output of the concern finds sales in the most diverse sec- tions of the Union, and adds to the honors of the city through, being "Made in Detroit."
The officers of the National Can Company are as follows: Frank W. Eddy, president ; David M. Ireland, vice-president; Frederick T. Ducharme, treasurer; and Neil McMillan, sec- retary and general manager. Bert Canby is the efficient and popular sales manager for the concern. In addition to the four executive officers mentioned, the directorate of the com- pany includes David C. Whitney, Willis E. Buhl, Alexander McPherson and Edwin H. Nelson.
THE SEAMLESS STEEL BATH TUB COM- PANY.
To note those enterprises which stand repre- sentative in their respective lines and have im- portant bearing upon the precedence and com- mercial activity of the city of Detroit and Wayne county, is the prime desideratum in this department of the publication here presented. From this viewpoint there is eminent consist- ency in entering a brief review of the unique and successful industry conducted under the title which initiates this article.
The Seamless Steel Bath Tub Company was incorporated under the laws of the state of Michigan in 1904, with a capital stock of six hundred thousand dollars. Following is a list of the principals concerned in the organization and incorporation of the company, and it will be seen that enlisted in the enterprise are a number of the leading capitalists and influential citizens of Detroit, while from the original personnel two or more have been taken by death since the corporation was formed :
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George H. Barbour, Henry B. Ledyard, Jo- seph Boyer, George H. Russel, Henry Russel, General Russell A. Alger, Franklin H. Walker, Theodore D. Buhl, Anton B. DuPont, Eugene H. Sloman, A. E. F. White, William P. Ste- vens, William C. McMillan, and Philip H. McMillan. The original executive corps was as here noted: A. B. DuPont, president ; E. H. Sloman, vice-president ; and George B. Rus- sel, secretary and treasurer. Mr. DuPont, the president, was general manager of the business from its inception until the autumn of 1906, when he retired and was succeeded by E. H. Sloman. E. L. Wayman is assistant manager at the present time, and has direct super- vision of the manufacturing and sales depart- ments. Antonio C. Pessano is now president of the company; Joseph Boyer, vice-president ; and George B. Russel, secretary and treasurer. Walter Sturgis is superintendent of the plant.
Soon after its organization this company purchased eight and one-half acres of ground on Mount Elliott avenue, near Harper avenue, and on this tract was erected the fine modern plant in which are manufactured the seamless steel bath tubs, whose superiority over all other types is uniformly conceded. From the cata- logue issued by the company are taken the fol- lowing pertinent statements: "The organiza- tion and successful launching of the Seamless Steel Bath Tub Company presents a new indus- try in steel working that revolutionizes the manufacture of bath tubs. For years it has been tried in various ways to construct an ar- ticle that would replace the cumbersome and unsightly cast-iron tubs that have been in use up to the present time, but it remained for this company to solve the problem successfully. Wood-rimmed steel bath tubs have been on the market for some time, but in such shape that they could be used only for the cheapest kind of installations, being made in three parts, which precluded porcelaining, and being most unsatisfactory in every respect. The tubs manufactured by this company under the Slo- man process, patented, are constructed from a single sheet of steel, embodying the advan- tages of durability, smooth surface on the out- side that admits of high decoration, light
weight, taking the temperature of the water with little absorption of heat, the readiness with which it can be handled by the plumber, and the adaptability to a high Dresden finish in the porcelaining, also an economy in weight with reference to floor construction in apart- ment houses and hotels." The catalogue from which the foregoing extracts are made offers a full description of the methods of manufac- turing the superior products, and those inter- ested will, of course, gain desired information from this brochure of the company, as it is not consonant with the province of the publication at hand to enter into such details. The plant has a capacity for the output of one hundred and fifty tubs a day when running at normal capacity, and the processes of manufacture, as well as much of the special machinery, are protected by both domestic and foreign patents. The company claims, with all of consistency, to be the only one producing tubs porcelained on both sides, and a specialty is made of high- grade and artistic work. The company fur- nished to the magnificent new Hotel Pont- chartrain, in Detroit, one hundred and seventy of its highest grade of tubs.
The trade of the company penetrates into the most diverse sections of the United States and Canada, and the export trade is rapidly in- creasing in scope and importance. In the plant employment is given to a force of one hundred and fifty workmen, the majority of whom are skilled artisans in the lines of work assigned to them, and the average annual expenditure in wages aggregates fully seventy-five thousand dollars.
F. A. THOMPSON & COMPANY.
The commercial prestige of the city of De- troit has been advanced through no one source so greatly as in the extent and high standard of its great institutions devoted to the manufac- turing of chemicals and general pharmaceutical preparations and specialties. One of the suc- cessful enterprises which has contributed to this noteworthy prestige is that conducted under the title designated in the caption of this article.
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The business dates its inception back to the year 1898, and the chief organizer of the cor- poration was the present treasurer and general manager of the company, Frank A. Thompson, whose efforts and enterprise are perpetuated in the name of the concern. The company was incorporated with a capital stock of seventy- five thousand dollars, and with official corps as follows: Edwin F. Conley, president; Frank A. Thompson, treasurer and manager ; John E. Clark, M. D., vice-president; and Frederick Guenther, secretary. Since the death of Mr. Conley, C. J. Reilly has been president, and the other officers remain the same, while John McFarlane is now superintendent of the tech- nical and manufacturing departments, being the subject of an individual sketch in this pub- lication. The concern manufactures a general line of pharmaceutical preparations, has well equipped laboratories and the best of other fa- cilities in its plant, which is located on 502-510 Trombly avenue, and has built up a large and far-reaching business. A specialty is made of nicotine products from tobacco, and the same have gained a wide reputation and sale, being utilized for the destruction of plant insects and other vermin, including the various parasites which afflict animals and even human beings. The well arranged catalogues and other litera- ture of the company offer adequate description of the values and uses of the Thompson "Rose Nicotine," "Tobakine" sheep dip; liquid nico- tine preparations for the use of florists and home flower and plant grower. The concern is the only one in the north manufacturing products of this order, and the processes and certain of the machines used are the invention of Mr. Thompson. The company also manu- facture resinoids, alkaloids, medicinal extracts of all kinds, and other preparations sold to the manufacturing and wholesale trade. The trade of the company penetrates all sections of the United States and also extends into the various provinces of Canada and into European coun- tries. An agency is maintained in the city of London, England. In the various departments of the plant forty persons are employed, and the greater number are skilled in the technical lines which represent this peculiar branch of
industrial enterprise. It is impossible in a pub- lication of this nature to enter manifold de- tails concerning the various business enter- prises represented, but even a brief review, such as the one at hand, aids in showing forth the multiplicity and variety of the commercial and industrial concerns which aid in maintain- ing Detroit in the front rank as one of the great distributing and manufacturing centers of the Union.
C. D. WIDMAN & COMPANY.
In the manufacturing of mirrors and hall furniture this well known Detroit corporation is recognized as one of the pioneer concerns of the kind in the west, and the ramifications of its business are now wide and important. The enterprise dates its inception back to the year 1865, when Cosmos D. Widman and Mr. Aspinwall entered into partnership, under the present title of C. D. Widman & Company, and established a modest business place at the corner of Fort and Randolph streets. There the headquarters were maintained, with en- largement of facilities from time to time, until 1885, when the present plant at Trombly and Milwaukee avenues and Orleans street, was se- cured by the firm, the same being adequate in all its mechanical equipment and needed ac- cessories. In 1884 the original title was con- tinued in the corporation which was then formed and of which the officers are as here noted : James W. Ailes, president; Sylvester L. Rich, vice-president and treasurer; and Albert U. Widman, secretary and general manager. .
Cosmos D. Widman, who died in 1883, was born in Bavaria, Germany, in 1846, and was a son of Christian Widman, who came with his family to America in 1861 and located in the city of Rochester, New York, where he passed the remainder of his life. Cosmos D. Wid- man secured his early education in the excel- lent schools of his fatherland and was about fifteen years of age at the time of the family immigration to the United States. He re- mained in Rochester until 1865, when he came to Detroit, where he soon afterward founded the business of C. D. Widman & Company, as
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