Furniture manufacturing grew in Gettysburg, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. After expanding in the early 1900s it remained a strong part of the state's economy until the mid 1900s.

History

In July 1902, "John M. Warner, John Kimple, Louis Mitzell, Levi Starner, Chas. S. Duncan, Charles Emory[1] and David M. Wolf"[2] joined to start the Gettysburg Manufacturing Company. The company manufactured eight or more furniture styles (e.g., buffets, sideboards, hall racks and washstands mainly in oak). Following Levi Starner's 1902 death,[3] the remaining owners purchased the company in December 1904.

By 1912, it had been renamed as the Gettysburg Furniture Company.[4][5]

The "successor to the Warner Furniture company"[6] was the Engle Furniture Company of Michel Engle. In April 1905, it began manufacturing dressers and later added chiffoniers, buffets, sideboards, and library tables using oak and mahogany. The Engle Furniture Company became the Reaser Furniture Company of Clayton S. Reaser in May 1907,[6] producing more than forty styles in addition to hand-carved pieces.

In May 1917, the joint venture Stouck-Reaser Company[7] filed documents for incorporation to buy, sell and deal in wholesale lumber products.[8] In 1918, M. C. Jones was "elected manager of both the Reaser and Gettysburg furniture factories to succeed the late Clayton S. Reaser,[9] and Henry Cordes was a local furniture designer.[10]

Furniture production remained an important industry in Gettysburg through the 1920s. In 1920, the Gettysburg Panel Company formed to manufacture veneer panels for other firms. In 1923, the Gettysburg Chair Company was chartered to supply chairs that the local factories needed to complete their bedroom and dining room suites.[11]

In 1923, the borough's production of furniture totaled almost 71,000 pieces. In 1927, there were 522 employees in the three plants: 261 in Gettysburg, 153 in Reaser, and 108 in Panel.

The furniture industry then declined in the mid-1900s. In November 1951, when the Stouck-Reaser company obtained a permit for a new office building,[12] the other companies were sold to Sidney G. Rose of Cincinnati.[13]

The Gettysburg Furniture Company factory closed in 1960, becoming a warehouse and distribution point for Rose's other furniture factories outside Pennsylvania.[14][15]

A facility of the Dolly Madison Industries, Furniture Division, was located in Gettysburg in 1966.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Levi Starner". Find A Grave. Children: Charles Emory Starner (1873 - 1944)*, John Franklin Starner (1876 - 1964)*, Virginia E Starner Rebert (1878 - 1963)*, George Starner (1880 - 1880)*, *Calculated relationship
  2. ↑ "Charter Notice". Gettysburg Compiler. April 29, 1902. Retrieved 2011-09-09. The Gettysburg Manufacturing Company …manufacture of iron or steel, or both, or of any other metal, or of any article of commerce from metal or wood, or both, and the buying and selling of such articles
  3. ↑ "Accident Causes Death: While Engaged in Operating a Kip Saw Levi Starner was Struck with a Board the Effects of Which Proved Fatal". The Star and Sentinel. 17 September 1902.
  4. ↑ "Furniture Co. Is Organized: Gettysburg Furniture Company Elects Officers and Directors. Large Amount of Stock Sold. Busy Days at Building Site". The Gettysburg Times. Vol. X, no. 158. 20 April 1912.
  5. ↑ "New Furniture Company Elects Officers". The Star and Sentinel. Vol. CXII, no. 17. 24 April 1912. p. 3; col. 1.
  6. 1 2 Ford, Tom (17 November 2006). "19th a memorable day; furniture works". Good Ol' Times (Readers Reminisce About Days Gone By). Gettysburg Times. p. A7.
  7. ↑ "Search".
  8. ↑ https://newspaperarchive.com/newspapers1/na0008/319852/3457433.html {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ↑ "Out of the Past: Happenings of Days Gone by as Chronicled by the Star and Sentinel and The Gettysburg Times, the Files Reveal". The Star and Sentinel. 7 April 1928. p. Four.
  10. ↑ "Newlyweds Will Go To Europe: Furniture Designer at Local Factories and Bride Will Spend Honeymoon in Germany". The Star and Sentinel. 7 April 1928. p. Two.
  11. ↑ "Local Furniture Factories Are Sold; M. C. Jones Retires From Industry He Served for 46 Years". Gettysburg Compiler. No. 16. 17 November 1951.
  12. ↑ "2 Building Permits Issued By Burgess". Gettysburg Times. 30 November 1951. p. Two.
  13. ↑ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_2VrmLHazVMJ:www.newspaperarchive.com/newspapers1/na0002/9376/88813.html+%22Hanover+Cabinet+Company%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=safari {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ "Adams County History". Adams County Library System. Archived from the original on May 17, 2004.
  15. ↑ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:nBxouQU83qsJ:www.probaseballarchive.com/Newspapers/na0002/26983/256794.html+%22gettysburg+furniture+company%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=41&client=safari {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "New Name For Huntingburg Units Thru U.S." Gettysburg Times. 18 June 1966. p. 3.
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