Soon after the Howell Company closed, developers Richard Burkart and Bruce Oehlerking bought the factory site. Charles, the company faced financial problems and an employee strike. Following nearly 50 years of business in St. In January 1980 the Howell Furniture Company ceased operations at its St. The company also manufactured artillery shells, sections of airplane wings, and casings for 200 pound fragmentation bombs during the war.Īfter the war the Howell Company returned to manufacturing furniture and entered a time of peak production, employing over 400 workers at its St. Charles in 1937.Īfter the United States entered World War II, the Howell Company began supplying stainless steel mess trays to the U.S. The Howell Company continued to produce the popular tubular furniture when it moved its operation to the former Cable Piano Company factory site in St. Howell Company chrome-plated tubular furniture was featured at the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago. By the 1920s electric irons were coming into vogue and the company changed its product line to include wrought iron furniture. Howell Foundry was established in Geneva in 1867 and produced cast iron door stops, sad irons, and fluting irons. Charles factory to the Howell Furniture Company. In 1937 the Cable Piano Company closed its doors and sold the St. By 1936 only a few employees remained on the payroll. With its own electric plant and fire protection, the factory was also self-sufficient.Īs a result of the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing economic depression, the Cable Piano Company faced financial ruin. Employees could enjoy the company-sponsored brass band, choir, exercise classes, or play on the company baseball team. During the factory's heyday in the early 1900s there were as many as 500 employees, many of whom were women. Charles site particularly attractive as it allowed the Cable Piano Company to receive raw materials from all over the world.Ĭable Piano Company became known not only for its pianos, but also for its favorable working conditions. Access to the Northwestern Railway made the St. Charles on 3.5 acres west of the Fox River. Cable of Chicago in 1881, claimed to be "the world's greatest manufacturer of pianos, inner player pianos, and organs." Cable built a factory to house the business in 1901 in St. The Cable Piano Company, established by Herman D.
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