History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I, Part 100

Author: Middleton, Evan P., editor
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1196

USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 100

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

AMERICAN TOOL AND DIE COMPANY.

The American Tool and Die Company, located on West Court street, was established in 1914 by H. P. Creighton and Philip J. Schneider. It is an unincorporated concern employing on an average of twenty-five ma- chinists and during the past year has produced about sixty thousand dollars worth of tools, jigs and dies. The company has had so much business that the plant was operated twenty-four hours a day during the spring of 1917. The plant now occupies the building formerly used by the Gaumer carriage factory, but at the time this volume went to press the company was getting ready to move to new quarters. The company is now the owner of the old Niles Sanatorium on North Main street, the sale of the property being con- firmed on July 25. 1917, by Judge Gibbs. It belonged to the estate of the late Marion W. Thomas and was sold for $5.786.26. The new owners began at once remodeling the property into a new home for their business. They at once closed a contract with J. A. Poss, of Springfield, for the re- modeling of the building. The west portion will be torn down completely and the part will be utilized in the construction of a new factory building on the west end of the big lot on which the building now stands. The east end of the structure will be left standing, remodeled, and made into a resi- cence property.

URBANA STRAW BOARD COMPANY.

The first paper manufactured in Urbana was in 1892. This first paper- mill was a straw board factory and was first known as the Urbana Straw

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Board Company. It had been established at Plain City, Ohio, in 1883, by K. I .. Wood & Son and in 1891 it was removed to Urbana and incorpo- rated in June of that year with forty thousand dollars capital stock. Its capacity at the beginning was twelve to fifteen tons a day, most of which was paper board for egg cases and shoe boxes. An auxiliary company was shortly afterwards started, the Urbana Egg Case Company, which used the fillers manufactured by the straw board company. The Urbana Egg Case Company was organized by W. M. Baker and in 1905 the company was reorganized, the stockholders being W. M., L. M. and L. J. Baker. L. J. Baker became the manager and W. B. Shepard the foreman at that time. The present brick factory of the company was erected on Miami street next to the Pennsylvania tracks in 1908 after fire had destroyed the original building. The business is now carried on under the name of Indiana Board and Filler Company, formerly of Decatur, Indiana, which secured control of the former company in 1914. The company has done a large business and their double-locked cold-storage fillers are known throughout the United States. It should be stated that W. M. Baker established both egg case plants, his second being a very active concern at the time it was purchased by the Indiana Board and Filler Company.

OHIO STRAW BOARD COMPANY.

In 1894 local capitalists organized the Ohio Straw Board Company which was later taken over by the paper trust. The stockholders were given two shares for one, but the generosity of the trust was soon shown up in a different light and the stockholders eventually received by a very small per cent of their investment. The company now operates under the name of the United Paper Board Company and has a daily capacity of thirty-five tons. The present officers, none of whom is a resident of Urbana, follow : Sidney Mitchell, president; Mathias Plum, Jr., vice-president and general manager; Luther M. Bodman, secretary; G. Wuerst, treasurer; Frederick Davenport, second vice-president ; A. M. Boothby, third vice-president.

HOWARD PAPER COMPANY.

One of the largest industrial plants in Urbana is the Howard Paper Company, which has been in operation since May, 1910. The Howards came to Urbana and interested a number of capitalists and as a result there came into existence the Howard Paper Company, incorporated for five

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hundred thousand dollars. The company at once built a handsome brick, reinforced-concrete and steel building, one hundred and ten by four hundred and ten feet. They have a daily capacity of thirty tons and have built up a business which extends to all parts of the United States and also to foreign countries. They manufacture all grades of writing paper and evidence of the quality of their work is shown by the fact that they were one of the mills selected by the United States government to furnish a regular monthly amount of paper. The company is equipped with the latest modern ma- chinery for the manufacture of paper and has been in continuous operation since it was established seven years ago. The officers of the company are: President, H. M. Howard; vice-president, Ward Howard; secretary-treas- urer, L. S. Howard.

W. B. MARVIN COMPANY.

The last tool-and-die company to enter the local field is the W. B. Marvin Manufacturing Company, which was incorporated in 1915 with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. This company occupies the building formerly used by the American Automatic Telephone Company. Beginning in a small way the company has made a steady growth and now employs from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and seventy-five men, the number varying with the season. They are engaged in the manu- facture of jigs and dies and special machinery of all kinds. The output for the last year amounted to about one hundred thousand dollars. The present officers of the company are: C. H. Marvin, president; Donald Colwell, secretary-treasurer.

DESMOND-STEPHAN MANUFACTURING COMPANY.

The Desmond-Stephan Manufacturing Company located in Urbana about 1900. The firm manufactures injectors, emery-wheel dressers and ejectors. The goods manufactured by this company are of the highest stan- dard and by judicious advertising the company has established a large for- eign and domestic trade. The men in control of the affairs of the company are George McConnell, president, and C. N. Kohler, treasurer. The injector was patented by Desmond, who is the inventor of nearly every kind of in- jector on the market today. Desmond & Stephan sold to George McConnell and C. N. Kohler, the former serving as president and the latter as treas-

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urer of the company. They employ about forty machinists and are now running at full capacity. Their plant is located on Walnut street between Water and Reynolds streets.

JOHNSON BROTHERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY.

The Johnson Brothers Manufacturing Company was organized in Ur- bana in 1902 for the purpose of manufacturing oil cans, buckets and all kinds of goods of this character used by railroads. It is interesting to note how the company came into existence. J. B. Johnson made a trip through the West in 1902 in the interests of the W. H. Marvin Company and his attention was directed to a certain ingenious device placed in an oil can to control the flow of the oil. He immediately negotiated with the parties owning the device and after securing it began at once the manufacture of oil cans using this device. At first the company manufactured only oil cans for railroads, but as the business expanded other departments were added and eventually other railroad supplies were manufactured. Thus the com- pany began the making of engine buckets, tallow pots, torches and a gen- eral line of railroad tin and galvanized-iron ware. In 1904 the company took up the manufacture of rural free delivery mail boxes and was engaged in this for some time.

The business developed to the point where it was necessary to provide a larger plant and the company erected a fine two-story brick building on Miami street, between the Big Four railroad tracks. The officers of the com- pany are: Charles F. Johnson, president : J. W. Johnson, vice-president ; Isaac T. Johnson, secretary-treasurer.

GREEN HALTER COMPANY.

The Green Halter Company is owned by the Johnson Manufacturing Company and the halters are manufactured in the same building. The halter company dates from 1899, when it was incorporated with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars. The foreman and the twenty-five employes are all colored men. Rope halters, leads and ties to the value of thirty thousand dollars are manufactured annually. Like the oil-can industry there is a story behind the halter industry. In the nineties two farmer boys near Mt. Vernon, Ohio, patented a cheap kind of a rope halter. They hor- rowed ten dollars to buy rope with which to make them and then peddled them about the country. Eventually they started a little factory at Me-

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chanicsburg and, when it burned down. J. B. Johnson, of Urbana, bought the patent and started manufacturing the halter in Urbana. Several million halters have been sent out of Urbana by this firm.

SANDERS' GLUE AND SOAP FACTORY.

The oldest citizen living in Urbana in 1917 was for many years con- nected with an industry in the city which is all but forgotten by the present generation. In 1853 Robert Sanders, a Scotchman, came to Urbana and at once began to organize a company for the manufacture of glue. He at first associated himself with William B. Moore and William F. Mosgrove and later different men were associated with Sanders in the business, among them being David Hovey and Newton Ambrose, but finally Sanders be- came the sole owner of the plant. His first little factory was located on what was known as the Mosgrove farm, northwest of the city, and was re- placed by a large. substantial frame building in 1884. In order to utilize the by-products of his business Sanders established a soap factory in con- nection and made large quantities of soap of several different varieties for laundries and wool factories. Some of the soap was moulded into bars, but the greater part of it was shipped in kegs and barrels to factories where it was molded for the retail trade.

When the glue factory was running at full capacity it was capable of producing five hundred pounds of glue daily. Much of the raw material used in the manufacture of the glue came from the extensive tannery of C. G. Smith & Company, of Urbana, although there was considerable raw material shipped in from other tanneries. The glue was shipped to Chicago, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Cleveland. In 1900 Sanders discontinued the man- ufacture of glue but continued making soap seven years longet. The cost of securing raw material and the fact that the plant was not equipped to compete with modern plants at larger centers, caused Sanders to close it in · 1907. It was the only industry in the city which had been in continuous operation since before the days of the Civil War, and it is doubtful whether there was another industry in the state which had been under the control of one man for so many years. Sanders sold the plant and an acre of land to C. B. Grove on April 13. 1914, the new owner securing it in order to start a dairy in the building. It was so used until it burned to the ground shortly afterwards, and now the okl smokestack of the once flourishing factory is the only thing remaining of an industry which existed in Urbana from 1853 until 1907.

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CARRIAGE AND WAGON FACTORIES.

The beginning of carriage and wagon manufacturing in Urbana dates back to about 1840 and from that year down to the present time Urbana has supported at least one factory of this kind, and usually two or more. The first to venture into this field was John Cohan and his shop on lower Miami street was a busy place for several years. Later Cohan located in Dayton and there became the leading manufacturer of carriages in that city. Following close to Cohan was F. L. Childs who opened an establishment on Court street in 1842. Four years later D. C. Jamison started a shop on West Church street and later moved it to East Church street. It was this latter establishment that became the first shop of the firm of A. Heiserman & Aughinbaugh in 1866. This firm was dissolved in 1872 and B. A. Aughin- baugh continued the business with a number of different partners until 1891, since which time he has been alone.

The shop on East Church street was later made into a dwelling house and is still so used. Aughinbaugh later built a factory on Court street, near Walnut street. where he is now located. The factory is practically shut down, only a small amount of repair work being done at the present time. The Warren-Gaumer factory opened in 1854 and continued under this firm name until the death of William Warren in 1890. The firm became known as E. B. Gaumer & Sons and continued as such until the factory was sold. E. B. Gaumer arrived in Urbana on March 1, 1854, and at once associated himself with William Warren in the establishment of a carriage factory on West Court street. This firm enjoyed a long and prosperous career, but the automobile industry swept it under and caused it to close its doors. During the last few years of its existence it was engaged in the manufacture of pony vehicles. The plant is still able to turn out a buggy, carriage. or any other vehicle upon order, but no effort is made to keep the factory in operation. The factory is now owned by A. H. Gaumer, a son of the . founder of the business.

The factory of J. H. E. Dimond & Sons, located on the northwest cor- ner of Main and Water streets, like the other two factories just described. has recently closed down. The gasoline vehicle has caused it to suspend operation and, as the irony of fate would have it. it is now used as a garage and salesroom for automobiles. The second and third floors are still in a condition to do vehicle repairing and painting and an occasional buggy may be turned out. The Mohrlite Company was located in part of the first story of this building before moving into its new plant in 1916.

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J. H. E. Dimond learned the carriage trade at Mitchell, Ontario, and before coming to Urbana in 1875 had worked in carriage factories in De- troit, Chicago and Indianapolis. After coming to Urbana he worked in the Gaumer factory for five years and then decided to go into business for him- self. He at once erected the brick building above mentioned, a structure forty by ninety feet, three stories in height, and at the same time, erected a building to the rear, which contained the blacksmith shop and repair de- partment. Here he carried on a successful business until the automobile industry compelled him to curtail his output and finally to suspend operations entirely.

THE BROOM INDUSTRY.

The broom industry has been in existence in Urbana for more than half a century. At one time Urbana was said to produce more brooms than any other city in the United States. While the industry in 1917 is not what it was in the eighties, yet it still is one of considerable consequence. There are at least one hundred employees in the two broom factories in the city in 1917 and this would indicate that the industry is still to be reckoned among the important ones of the city. Formerly there was a large amount of broom corn raised in the county. Dugan prairie produced hundreds of tons of this product, among the largest producers being David Perry, David Carey, J. W. Ogden, Mark Higby and a few others who made a specialty of this crop. The first plants, two in number, were located on North Main street near the railroad, and were established by David Perry & Brothers and J. J. Robinson & Sons, respectively. In 1880 these two firms were re- ported as having from thirty to forty hands and turning out sixty to one hundred dozen brooms a day.

The broom industry has continued in Urbana from the time of its es- tablishment and two flourishing plants are still in operation, the Urbana Broom Company and the White-Valentine Company. The Urbana Broom Company has been operating under this name since 1898. Its plant is loca- ted on Court street near the Big Four station, and it is probable that the plant as it stands today is the most complete broom factory in the United States. Its factory building was remodeled in 1915 and now presents a most attract- ive appearance. It is forty by one hundred and fifty-five feet, three stories in height. and equipped to turn out one hundred and seventy-five dozen brooms a day. It employs an average of sixty men and has an annual out- put amounting to one hundred thousand dollars. The factory is owned by

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W. R. Wilson and I .. C. Shyrigh, the former acting as manager and the latter having charge of the manufacturing end of the business.

The White-Valentine Company is located at the corner of North Rus- sell and Gwynne streets. This factory dates back to 1860, when it was put in operation by the Perry Brothers. Later the firm became Perry & White and in 1868 the present company was incorporated for one hundred thou- sand dollars, under the name of the White-Valentine Company. J. D. Val- entine is president and G. L. Valentine, secretary-treasurer. They employ about sixty men.

For many years the central figure in the broom industry in Urbana was the late David S. Perry, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1840, came to Champaign county in 1862 and in 1878 to Urbana, where he lived until his death, in the forepart of 1917. In the early nineties Perry and his son-in- law. I. C. Shyrigh, operating under the firm name of D. S. Perry & Com- pany, established a concern in Urbana which dealt in broom corn and broom- makers' supplies. This was the largest concern of its kind in Ohio. In 1897 the establishment was destroyed by fire and the firm at once bought the old Washington House, an old hotel across the track from the Big Four station. It is this building, lately stuccoed, that is now the home of the Urbana Broom Company.

W. H. MARVIN COMPANY.

William H. Marvin came to Urbana in 1886 and since that year the name Marvin has been connected with more industrial enterprises in the city than any other name. There are always a few men in every community who are financial leaders and from the time that W. H. Marvin came to Urbana until his death he was such a man. Marvin relinquished the presidency of a bank at Cardington, Ohio, in 1886 to come to Urbana and begin the wholesale grocery business in partnership with J. F. Brand. They continued together until 1890. when they began to specialize in evaporated and cleaned fruits, particularly imported currants and raisins.

In 1897 the company discontinued the wholesale grocery business and decided to devote all of its attention to the cleaning and evaporating of fruits and the making of mincemeat. It incorporated in that year for one hundred thousand dollars and during the past year has done business in excess of half a million dollars. It employs on an average of one hundred hands throughout the year. The present officers are: C. H. Marvin, pres- ident: W. M. Johnson, vice-president: Joseph F. Brand, secretary: C. H. Marvin, Jr., treasurer and general manager.

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CANNING FRUIT.

Urbana is credited with being the first city in the world to witness the canning of fruit in hermetically sealed jars. Samuel C. Ward and Samuel Keener were the first men in the world to put up tomatoes in pottery. Keener shipped some of these potted tomatoes to his brothers in Baltimore and some of them eventually found their way into a grocery store in that city. No one in Baltimore had ever seen canned tomatoes and the store there which happened to get a can of Urbana tomatoes promptly seized upon the idea of canning them and proclaimed the fact to the world that they had origin- ated the idea. Helmick Brothers at once began making pots for canning tomatoes and soon were turning them out by the thousands. The authority for the statement about the fruit canning is the late George A. Weaver, who, in turn, gave. William Helmick as his authority.

MCCOY CANNING COMPANY.

The McCoy Canning Company was organized in December, 1903, by R. G. McCoy with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. The plant is located adjoining the Panhandle, Big Four and Erie railroads and consists of five buildings. The main building is a three-story frame structure, fifty by fifty feet, and contains the office and machinery department. The company has enjoyed a continuous and prosperous existence and today is one of the sound and responsible industries of Urbana. During the past year the output of the company amounted to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The company maintains branch factories at Woodstock and New Carlisle.

The factory cans sweet corn, garden peas and tomatoes, "Purity" being the name for the first grade, "Mad River" for the second and "Cuba" for the third. The plant has been improved from year to year and now contains all the latest machinery used in the largest canning factories in the country. R. G. McCoy, who organized the company, held half of the stock until his death in 1909. In June, 1911, the interest of the McCoy estate was purchased by local capitalists, among whom were T. E. Dye, and he was elected president and treasurer of this company. Edward Inskeep, who had been with the insti- tution since its establishment, was made vice-president and manager. At that time C. D. Northrup became secretary and C. C. Inskeep assistant treasurer. The present officers are: C. H. Marvin, president ; T. E. Dye, vice-president and treasurer ; C. D. Northrup, secretary.

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URBANA CANNING COMPANY.

The Urbana Canning Company, located on North Beech street, was estab- lished in 1907 by local capitalists. It is an unincorporated company and during the ten years of its existence has paid out thousands of dollars to the farmers of the county for tomatoes and peas. This company came into exist- ence four years after the McCoy Canning Company, but it has never been as prosperous as the first company, due, in large measure, to the fact that the farm- ers of the county could not be induced to raise enough corn, tomatoes and peas. The 1916 crop was so short that the stockholders lost money and the plant was finally placed in the hands of a receiver. George McConnell is now the controlling factor in the management of the plant. It is the intention to operate the factory to its fullest capacity in 1917.

THE URBANA PACKING COMPANY.

Preparing meat for the market has been carried on in Urbana for more than half a century, but the firm known as the Urbana Packing Company has been in existence only since 1904. As early as 1850 Mosgrove, Winslow & Wiley had a packing house on the site of the present Urbana Broom Com- pany. They butchered, cured and packed a large amount of pork for several years. The Urbana Packing Company, with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars, has about fifty employees and during the past year has pro- duced over half a million dollars worth of meat products for the market. This firm probably distributes more money in the county than any other firm in the city. The present officers are: William R. Wilson, president; James Swisher, vice-president and treasurer; Walter C. Gifford, secretary; R. J. Rasmussen, superintendent and manager; board of directors, W. W. Wilson, J. P. Neer, James Swisher, W. E. Kidder, W. R. Wilson, R. J. Rasmussen and L. C. Shyrigh.

THE URBANA CREAMERY.

The Urbana Creamery was started on April 15, 1897, by D. McCrery & Son and continues under the same management. The company pays to the farmers of this and adjoining counties several thousand dollars each year for milk and cream. They produce large quantities of pasteurized milk and cream, which have become popular for their healthfulness and "keeping" qualities. The creamery is located at the corner of Locust and Market streets.

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BUNNELL MONUMENTAL WORKS.

The monumental art, one of the oldest in the history of civilization was practiced thousands of years ago before the days of recorded history. Lit- tle by little, as the centuries passed, the science and art of stone-cutting was perfected until it achieved wondrous perfection at the hands of the Greeks. It has ever held a high place of honor among industries, for when all else of an age has perished and been forgotten the worthy creations of this craft remain.

The Bunnell Monumental Works at Urbana was started by D. M. Bun- nell in 1868, and for forty-two years he was proprietor of the industry. Due to his wide experience as cutter, letterer, carver, architect, sculptor and con- tractor, and his excellent business ability, he was enabled to make this indus- try one of the most important of its kind in this section of the state, for his business spread from this and adjoining counties to the neighboring states. He was a competent judge of stone for building purposes, and did much of the cut-stone work for the churches, school houses and business blocks in Urbana for twenty-five years. Mr. Bunnell made a study of mausoleums, and his sys- tem of ventilation is perfect, so that the building is free from odor at all times and under all circumstances. Due to his efforts repairs to these build- ings have become almost negligible; all of which widened the market for his products so that many of them can be seen in Indiana as well as in Ohio. Since the death of Mr. Bunnell in 1910 the business has been conducted by his son, Leslie Bunnell, and two brothers of the founder.

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History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I, Part 100

Author: Middleton, Evan P., editor Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1196

Author: Middleton, Evan P., editor
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis, B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1196