Local History

Business

St. John Plow Works

By the 1880s, significant advancements had been made in farm implement design and manufacturing. Labor-saving devices like plows and cultivators revolutionized farming and created a host of opportunities for Kalamazoo’s inventors and manufacturers.

Dunkley Celery Co. (Samuel J. Dunkley)

Samuel Dunkley was an entrepreneur and an inventor. He operated a railroad line, a steamship company, and several canneries. He also held more than 30 patents for devices and processes that revolutionized the fruit preservation and canning industry.

Duplex Phonograph Company

As nineteenth century Victorian charm gave way to twentieth century modern, the phonograph emerged as a compelling new form of home entertainment. The skeptics, of course, refused to take the “talking machine” seriously at first, viewing it more...

Flinch Card Company

“The Acme of Parlor Games,” “More Simple Than Authors,” “More Scientific Than Whist.” Sound like fun? For the millions of Americans who have purchased it since 1902, Flinch has provided limitless hours of strategy and entertainment. The history of...

Flipside Records

Before E-commerce all but eviscerated the independent, small business landscape, first giving way to corporate power, and then later to the development of post-Napster streaming platforms, local record stores once served as a cultural gateway...

Fuller Manufacturing Co

For three generations, the Fuller family was among Kalamazoo's leading manufacturers. At first makers of wooden washboards, the Fuller Manufacturing Company became well known for producing high-tech transmissions for heavy duty commercial vehicles.

George W. Winslow

George Washington Winslow’s contribution to the early business landscape in Kalamazoo centered around the marble trade, a commercial interest with few competitors in west Michigan. Like many pioneers, Winslow came…

Germans in Kalamazoo

In the later half of the 19th century, Kalamazoo saw a significant rise in the influence and clout of German immigrants, many of whom brought to the Kalamazoo area skills and trade knowledge...

Gibson Inc.

Until the 1920s, Gibson had specialized almost exclusively in mandolins. But as America’s musical tastes evolved during the 1920s and 1930s, so did Gibson’s. Banjos, ukuleles, and guitars became increasingly popular. In the early ’20s, the company...

Gilmore Brothers Department Store

It seems like just about every resident of Kalamazoo has a fond memory or good story about the Gilmore Brothers Department Store. Perhaps this isn’t surprising considering that Gilmore’s was a central feature of Kalamazoo’s urban landscape for...

Globe Casket Company

“Among the most important enterprises of Kalamazoo is the Globe Casket Manufacturing Co., and it is probably no exaggeration to say that they are at least as well and widely…

Hanselman Building

“Kalamazoo has put on real city garments during the last two or three years. This is evidenced by the tall office buildings – sky-scrapers that have been erected where low ancient buildings once stood.”
The above statement was published in...

Henderson-Ames Company

One of the country’s leading producers of uniforms and regalia, the Henderson-Ames Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan, served lodges, secret societies, and other social organizations for forty years. Frank Henderson first moved to Kalamazoo from...

Humphrey Block

Don’t believe everything you read. There’s a historical marker at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Portage Street that commemorates the building’s designation as a Michigan Historic Site. The building…

Humphrey Brothers

Three brothers from Kalamazoo made a major impact on the modern world with a series of inventions, including a home hot water heater, a fireplace heater, a “water lift” pump, and a revolutionary gas streetlight called the “Humphrey Light.”

Huston, Hosea B.

Hosea B. Huston’s general store is considered the first permanent, pioneer storefront to do business in the county, first in Schoolcraft, and then in the nascent village of Bronson.

Kalamazoo Building

At the turn of the twentieth century skyscrapers were still a relatively recent development. The desire to build taller had historically been thwarted by the number of stairs people were willing to climb and how much weight masonry could support...

Kalamazoo Corset Company

At the turn of the 20th century, when respectable women risked their health by squeezing themselves into tight corsets in pursuit of a fashionable silhouette, the Kalamazoo Corset Company was the largest employer in the city...

Kalamazoo Funeral Homes

In Kalamazoo’s earliest days, there were no funeral homes in the sense that we know them, or even “undertakers,” but as the population became more urbanized, other arrangements gradually became necessary.

Kalamazoo Gazette

In the spring of 1834, Henry Gilbert, a young printer from Yates County, New York, was moving to Chicago with his wife. He stepped off the stagecoach in White Pigeon to stretch his legs and overheard John DeFrees say that he wanted to sell his...

Kalamazoo House

“Earliest of Kalamazoo enterprises to experience a business boom were its hotels–institutions which became the rallying places for the community and the scenes of many festive occasions in the first years of the city’s history."