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Waterloo’s earliest industries were much less complex than later ones. For example, just a few men could run the first saw mills, blacksmith shops and grist mills. The Waterloo Broom Works had fewer than 10 employees. Making a broom was not a very complicated task compared to making a gasoline engine.
As the industries developed, they became more complex. Soon industries in Waterloo were making products that were much more complicated than a broom.
For example, the Litchfield Manufacturing Company produced the Litchfield Baby Grand. This piece of farm equipment was called a manure spreader. It had many moving parts. Because all of the parts for this product were made in the factory, specialization and division of labor were used by the company. Using an assembly line, the company was able to mass produce their product. The Litchfield Company employed 85 workers when it opened in Waterloo in 1903. By 1922, the Litchfield Company employed over 450 people!
As Waterloo’s manufacturing industries grew and developed most of the factories used the mass production to make their products.
In 1903, William A. Welty was a blank book salesman and auditor for the firm of Matt Parrott & Sons. He also sold fountain pens for the company.
Source: John C. Hartman's History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II, 1915.
In 1902, W.W. Marsh started the Iowa Dairy Separator Company.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, August 16, 1922.
The WFC&N created a subsidiary company to build Electric Park. This amusement park provided much needed entertainment to the many factory workers and their families. You could ride the popular roller coaster, roll around in Barrel of Fun, or dance the night away. The WFC&N streetcars took you right to the park making transportation to the park easy.
The trolleys that ran to Cedar Rapids had open observation platforms, individual seats, and served meals! Those who used this service remember the plush cars and the speed at which it traveled (90 mph). As more and more families purchased their own vehicles, the company began losing money and made its last run to Cedar Falls in 1958.
Source: John C. Hartman's History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II, 1915.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, June 27, 1922
Source: John C. Hartman's History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II, 1915.
Source: John C. Hartman's History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume II, 1915.
From: Explorations in Iowa History Project, University of Northern Iowa.
Source: The Waterloo Daily Courier, August 5, 1922.
George P. Beck started the first sash and door factory in Black Hawk County, located on what was then the site of The Nauman Company
Source: "History of Black Hawk County and Representative Citizens" by Isaiah Van Metre, 1904.
From: Explorations in Iowa History Project, University of Northern Iowa.
Source: John C. Hartman's History of Black Hawk County, Iowa, and its people, Volume 2, published in 1915
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