Note: The Icon acquired a manuscript titled “A Brief History of Bluffton’s Industrial Developments.” This publication was prepared by the classes in Marketing and Small Business Administration from Bluffton College, under the director of Dr. Howard Raid. Publication date is May 1959. We’ve updated some current addresses so viewers may identify locations.
Scott and Ewing Company
The business was started in 1906 in the location of today’s Riley Creek Mercantile on Cherry Street.
There were several owners in the following order: Althaus and Oberly, Althaus brothers, Althaus and Geiger, then finally Scott and Ewing.
The operation was relatively simple. There were approximately 12 employees. They worked 10 hour a day for six days a week. The power they used was a gas engine.
The two main products made were gear pullers and parts for the Star Threshing Machine. Some of the gear pullers were at large as a man.
When the business started, it was a considerable investment for the early 1900s. The company had a very wide selling area.
The company closed as the machine age expanded and the products produced were no longer in demand. The company did not change its products to keep up with changing machine needs.
References: Bluffton News, Wilhelm Amstutz
Interviewers: Harvey Porter, Ted Hasis
PHOTO: The photo below is not a local photo, but shows a threshing machine gear puller.
