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to help phonograph sales. The company also made entire unbranded phonographs to be sold to local businesses; department stores, music shops, or any business wanting to sell their own house brand for which they could apply their own tag/decal. The phonograph slump of 1922-1924 caused by an over
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In 1886, Frederick A. Dennett and his partner George B. Mattoon originally founded a chair manufacturing company in
Sheboygan, WI. A fire destroyed the factory in 1887, which ended Dennett's partnership with Mattoon. Dennett reorganized the company and moved it to Port Washington, and it was
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By 1954, the company had closed its sprawling but inefficient 1900 plant, which, like the 1889 plant, was located behind and east of the N. Franklin Street business district, partially encircling the city's inner harbor. It has now been demolished.
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After
Bostwick's death in 1935, Wisconsin Chair was run by Otto Moeser, a company trustee. The company almost failed during the Depression, surviving in part by limiting mass production and instead producing craft pieces for the luxury market.
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The company showed its resiliency by immediately rebuilding, and for many years remained the backbone of Port
Washington's economy. The incredible success story eventually ended as sales and profits became smaller and production slowed down.
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era while the label lasted into the early 1930s. While production on
Puritan phonographs ended between 1922-1923 the record label lasted until the late 1920s. The great depression ended all record production for the Wisconsin Chair Company.
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established as The
Wisconsin Chair Company on October 15, 1888. Unfortunately, the factory was destroyed once again in 1899. However, Dennett was able to rebuild with the help of investor, John M. Bostwick, a local jeweler and son-in-law of
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Surviving its first financially difficult years, the Chair company suffered its worst blow in 1899 when it was totally leveled by fire. The fire engulfed much of downtown Port
Washington and engines from
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was a manufacturer of furniture and crafted wood products from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. It ran a large factory that for over half a century was the economic backbone of
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The UPC produced several different brands, United, Paramount, Puritan, Vista and
Colonial along with incorporating the New York recording laboratories as a subsidiary for producing
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machines. Soon after they incorporated the United
Phonograph Corporation as a subsidiary for producing phonograph cabinets for other companies along with their own.
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work force. Its presence was most likely the chief reason that the city's Port
Washington population increased from 1,659 in 1890 to more than 3,000 by 1900.
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saturated market and early radio led the UPC to abandon most phonograph production, only the
Paramount brand lasting into the
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The first plant built by the Wisconsin Chair Co. became the largest employer in the area, providing work for one-sixth of the
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176:. Bostwick became the company's vice president until Dennett's death in 1920, after which he became the president.
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Filzen, Sarah (1998). "The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records", Wisconsin Magazine of History.
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were called in to help contain the blaze. The glow from the fire could be seen as far away as
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There is a historic plaque in the area where the plant once stood detailing the 1899 fire.
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John Bostwick (as vice president in 1899 and president in 1920)
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The company had a number of specialized divisions. One, the
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In 1915 the Wisconsin Chair Company began producing
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Official List of Wisconsin’s State Historic Markers
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495:Defunct manufacturing companies based in Wisconsin
490:Demolished buildings and structures in Wisconsin
314:Wisconsin Historical Society - Historical Marker
128:George B. Mattoon (as co-founder of predecessor)
485:Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1954
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381:"Remembrance on the Wisconsin Chair Company"
281:United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners
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475:Buildings and structures demolished in 1959
460:Manufacturing companies established in 1888
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410:Marker 414: Wisconsin Chair Company Fire
326:"The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records"
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470:Industrial buildings completed in 1900
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379:van der Tuuk, Alex (July 31, 2007).
465:1954 disestablishments in Wisconsin
450:1899 disasters in the United States
387:from the original on March 5, 2018
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480:1888 establishments in Wisconsin
359:from the original on 2020-09-19.
336:from the original on 2023-03-27.
440:1899 fires in the United States
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349:"THE WISCONSIN CHAIR COMPANY"
270:National School Equipment Co.
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161:Port Washington, Wisconsin
104:Port Washington, Wisconsin
67:Port Washington, Wisconsin
53:1886 as chair company in
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226:Phonographs and Records
157:Wisconsin Chair Company
139:Furniture & Records
17:Wisconsin Chair Company
383:. paramounthomes.org.
324:Filzen, Sarah (1998).
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237:Edison's diamond disc
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45:General manufacturing
435:History of Wisconsin
330:wisconsinhistory.org
55:Sheboygan, Wisconsin
145:Number of employees
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445:Fires in Wisconsin
347:González, Sergio.
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220:Model 30 Paramount
455:1899 in Wisconsin
244:Paramount Records
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248:Puritan Records
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149:800 (1899)
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37:Private company
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212:20th century
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174:Barnum Blake
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99:Headquarters
34:Company type
28:Main Factory
253:Orthophonic
50:Predecessor
429:Categories
299:References
279:under the
277:union shop
233:phonograph
118:Key people
198:Milwaukee
194:Sheboygan
187:1899 fire
167:Formation
391:March 4,
385:Archived
357:Archived
334:Archived
136:Products
73:Founders
65:1888 in
42:Industry
287:Closure
94:Defunct
83:Defunct
62:Founded
393:2018
246:and
196:and
155:The
91:Fate
86:1954
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307:^
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
