Vermilion County, Illinois - Chapter 25: Manufacturing Interests, 1911

Notwithstanding the evident advantages to be found for factories in cheap coal and ready means of transportation, Vermilion County is not the manufacturing center it should be. It is rather an agricultural and mining community. There have been attempts made to locate factories but they have in more cases failed than have met with success. In Hoopeston, the manufacturing interests are such as are needed to help out the canning industries. There is one exception to this in the horse shoe nail factory. Many factories in Danville, have either gone out of business or moved away. A mention of the names of some of these may, perhaps recall their possibilities. The Wrought Iron Wagon Works, the Garland Tile factory, The Great Western Machine and Engine shops, the carriage shops of D. Force and William Whitehill, the organ factory of J. Miller and son, and the Morris Burley & Co., manufactory of fine furniture. The William Stewart general foundry and machine shop has a successor in the Danville Foundry and Machine Co., of 520 Junction ave. The Holmes Bros, conduct a large machine shop where everything in the way of machinery can be made from the parts of an automobile, traction engine, and mine and mill machinery, to automatic bell ringers for locomotives, shaker screens, weigh hoppers, smoke stacks and car lifts. Their products are shipped to all parts of the country, a complete set of milling machinery being, within the last year, shipped to a number of South American mines. This extensive business started in Danville under the firm name of Baker & Holmes, thirty years ago, in a small building near the Wabash railroad, by Robert Holmes and P. T. Baker. Mr. Baker withdrew from the firm in 1890, and Sherman and Grant Holmes entered the firm and the present name was assumed. Later the business was moved to the corner of Hazel and North streets and Holmes Bros, offered "everything on wheels" to the public The business has grown famously, they taking on the sale of automobiles, being the first in the county to deal in these machines.

The Western Brick Co. was erected nine years ago, being opened in 1900. When first started, the capacity of the plant was 150,000 bricks per day, but the improvements have been made, until now the output of this factory is 250,000 bricks per day. This is the largest brick plant in the world. The company owns about 350 acres of land, all of which is underlaid with coal and shale, both quite necessary to modern brick-making. The surface covering of the shale is removed by hydraulic pressure. The shale is then removed by a huge steam shovel, with a capacity of many yards, the shale is then loaded in small dump cars and hauled to the plant, some distance away, by miniature locomotives, two of which are used in hauling the train loads of shale to the plant and the third used in the hauling of coal from the company's mines, after the shale has been removed. The shale is first crushed, then by a number of very expensive machines, it is reduced to a powder. This powder is subjected to a certain treatment, after which it is then mixed with water and given to the brick-making machinery. Four large brick-machines are constantly in operation, manufacturing a variety of products, more than thirty different shades and varieties being turned out at this plant. The plant has never ceased operation since starting, and gives yearly employment to 30x1 men. The Western Brick Company make a specialty of medium priced vitrified facing brick and produce over thirty shades and varieties, ranging in color from a bright cherry red to black. This is one of the principle factories of Danville. The Danville Brick Co. is a local enterprise which ran perhaps a half dozen years and about four years ago was given material help by the fact of four men taking hold of it and pushing it to its fullest capacity. Its capacity was increased from 16,000 blocks to 60,000 per day. These are the large sized paving bricks, which, if computed in regular brick size, would be a little more than 120,000 per day. The closing of the mines had very little effect on this company. The Danville Brick plant is located in a peculiar depression, where the best grade of shale is to be found. The shale from which the big paving blocks are made is taken from below the first vein (No. 7) of coal, that shale being more flinty, much harder and at the same time more like cement than the upper shale, of which the product of most companies is made. This lower strata of shale is very thick and compact and heavy shooting is necessary to loosen it. It was because of this that the company petitioned the city council to declare the plant outside the city limits. When completed, the blocks weigh eleven pounds, or there abouts. Two grades of paving blocks are handled by this company, first and second class bricks. Only first class bricks are sent out for paving streets ; the seconds are used for house foundations.

There are several planing mills in Danville. The oldest perhaps is that of E. C. Lamm, or N. E. Holden. In the case of the latter the business was inherited from his father so that the name of Holden and the business of the lumber trade has been associated for years. The name of Lamm is as closely associated with the lumber interest however, since the older brothers of Mr. E. C. Lamm were lumber merchants, nearly, if not quite, as long ago as was Mr. John Holden. Other planing mills are the Eureka Planing Mills, located at the corner of Woodbury and Robinson streets, Frank L. Hill, Trent Bros., S. P. Swisher, and the Bolander Lumber Co.

The Already Box Company is another of Danville's factories, at present. This is located at the corner of Section street and Big Four tracks.

The Kelley Block and Tile Co., located at 1909 is another small factory. So also is Powers and Supple, located on N. Hazel street. The Danville Lounge and Mattress Co., located on Franklin street between North and Main, is an established business and is a factory which reflects credit on the city. The Harenden Milling Co. is located in the east part of the city and has a profitable output of good products. The Street Railway and Light company operates a gas plant, an electric light plant, street railway lines, and a central station heating plant. They operate about eighteen miles of city street railway lines, all of which are either new or have been rebuilt within the last five or six years. About six miles of the lines are double tracked. The company operates eighteen cars and gives a service varying from six minutes on certain lines to twenty minutes on other lines. The cars are operated from six o'clock in the morning to midnight, and handle about ten thousand cash and transfer passengers per day. The electric lighting plant covers practically every part of the city with lines which carry lights equal to about 65,000 sixteen candle power lamps. The signs which the merchants of Danville have installed, and which are run by this company, are a great attraction, and add much to the appearance of the city. There are about 25,000 miles of gas mains in Danville which furnishes gas to all the more thickly settled parts of the city both for lighting and cooking purposes. About three miles of steam heat furnishes the business and adjacent residences with steam to take the place of other fuel. The power house of this great system has 5,000 horse power installed in boilers and about 6,000 horse power installed in engines and generators, all of which are worked to their full capacity. This plant furnishes power to the interurban line to a point within about fifteen miles of Decatur. The Headley Glass Company, and the Sweet Window Glass Company both promised much as factories, but did not meet expectations. The same can be said to a greater extent of the Danville Car Co., located at Tilton. An extensive plant came to Danville in 1904. It was the Regeler Smelting works. This plant was the outgrowth of the factory of the same nature under the management of the father of these men and with which they, had been associated before coming to Danville. The firm bought several hundred acres of land and the coal under even a greater extent. This plant is one of unusual interest and is one for any community to view with pride. Another plant of value to the city of Danville is the Illinois Printing Co. It is a stock company and manufactures a high grade of blank books as well as does other work generally found in such an establishment.