ARCADE MANUFACTURING COMPANY

FREEPORT, ILLINOIS

 

In 1885 Edward Morgan, Charles Morgan and Albert Baumgarten reorganized the failed Novelty Iron Works Company as the Arcade Manufacturing Company in Freeport, Illinois, to make cast iron agricultural implements such as feed grinders and plows. In 1884 box coffee mills were added; and in 1888 their first toy, a miniature box coffee mill was made.

By 1891 the company moved to a building which was previously owned by the Emory and Williams Canning Company. In 1892 the new location was burned down to the ground. No one was able to identify the cause of the fire. The fire was the knockout punch to the rapidly growing company. Everything burned including all supplies and new equipments.  The company was quickly reorganized in 1893, and built a new factory at a place now known as the Arcade Addition. The Arcade Addition was land that belonged to the Keller- Wittbecker farm, and a portion of the land was sold to the Arcade Manufacturing Company.

In 1946 Arcade was purchased by Rockwell Manufacturing Company of Buffalo, New York.  Sadly none of the Arcade products were continued.

In 1952 Rockwell moved the manufacturing from Freeport, IL to Tupelo, MS. Rockwell’s woodworking machinery line now belongs to Delta Manufacturing Co.