Boomtown

by Paul W. Schanher, III

Our All-American city’s magnificent past with the industrial giant that was known worldwide as the Whiteley, Fassler, and Kelly Company. Our introduction to William Whiteley, the founder and chief promoter and his mercurial rise to become the head of the nation’s leading company in the manufacture of farm implements will bring to us a story that will touch our every emotion.

Whiteley, "the man who put Springfield on the map", was quite the promoter of his innovative farm equipment, especially his combination self-raking reaper and mower. Eventually, he named it the "Champion", because it always would win the first prize at state and county fairs. Whiteley would think of unique ways in which to market his reaper. To make a point with a fellow competitor about the efficiency of his reaper/mower, during one of the fairs on a hot July day, Whiteley, a big man of 6'4" and 240 pounds, picked up the front of the reaper and pulled it through the field himself. After all, he was the "Reaper King"!!! Springfield soon became nationally known as the Champion City.

Whiteley, Fassler, and Kelly blossomed during the early 1860's as the men followed their hearts, left the fields, and fought in the Civil War to protect the Union. Slavery also became a major issue during this time; however, that is not the scope of the article. With fewer men to farm and more work than those left behind could handle, reaping machinery became much more necessary than ever before as these implements could perform the work of several men. In due course of time, this fast-growing company worked together with several others which would lead to the formation of the Champion Works. Millions of dollars later, this company became the leading farm implement manufacturing center in the United States.

William Whiteley was a promoter desiring to have the biggest and the best. When he learned that Chicago had larger factories for the production of farm machinery, he began to plan for, design and build a much larger complex much to the dismay of his two partners. They left him in order to pursue other interests. The famous East Street Shops, the second largest such factory in the world and completed in 1882, resulted from his endeavors to increase production. His total expenditure was estimated to be approximately two million dollars depending upon which article one reads. It has been said that if all of the wings of the manufacturing complex, located at the NE corner of present-day East and Kenton Streets, were lined up end-to-end, it would stretch out to a mile in length! Located at the NE corner of East Street and modern-day Kenton Street, these shops became the modern marvel of their day increasing production beyond Whiteley's wildest dreams.

His empire came crashing down to the ground in 1887. A labor union led by the Knights of Labor tried to infiltrate Whiteley's business. He fought against this potential threat. Whiteley appealed to his workers on the premise that he treated them so well by loaning them money for housing and providing them with good wages as well as proper working conditions. Despite his seemingly endless negotioations with his workers, one thousand joined the labor union, leaving approximately one thousand left to report for work the next day. On the front of the shops Whiteley hung a large sign for all to see saying, " Free and Independent Labor Only". This first ever lockout was not the only problem facing the Reaper King. Apparently, he had a banker friend in Cincinnati with whom he entrusted most of his money for investment purposes. However, scheming to make a large amount of money for himself, the "friendly" banker lost the entire amount that Whiteley and others had invested. Along with this unfortunate incident, the price of reapers began to decline. Whiteley suddenly was bankrupt. He eventually sold his beloved East Street Shops for one-tenth of what he paid for them to be built before moving to Muncie, Indiana with the hopes of starting over. He never did reach the heights of his previous empire and several years later, he moved back to Springfield. He did build another plant located in the west end of town called the Cooperative Reaper Factory.

During his illustrious career, William Whiteley has been credited with 125 patents. He never did realize the prosperity that once was his, but his mark upon our All-American city will never be forgotten. Visit us here as we continue to look into the wonderful past of our beloved Springfield, Ohio. Until then, keep pressing on to the mark.


(edited for the Internet)