Crawfordsville Match Factory
Source: Daily News-Review Feb 21, 1901 p 1
The match factory stockholders, or rather the majority of them surrendered their certificates of stock today to OM Crawford who is acting as trustee for Col. I.C. Elston and received one dollar and fifty cents for each dollar they invested. 50% in six months is not bad but at that several of the company have an abiding faith in their stock and are rather hanging back on the surrender of the same. They hold that Col. Elston secured the options without consideration and are disposed to feel that they are neither legally or morally bound to sell. However if Col. Elston has any concern on this score he does not show it. He says the options were drawn by competent attorneys and that he thought at the time they would hold water. The deal is regarded as a very shrewd business move on the part of Col. Elston. He secured an option extending beyond the time of the first annual statement of the business. If this statement should not prove to his liking, he could let the option expire and be nothinmg loser. If, on the other hand, it should show a handsome profit, as in fact it did, he could avail himself of the contracta nd the stockholders could do nothing but sell. The nice profit, however, is quite a balm to the chagrin of the stockholders. Col. Elston's assurance that the factory is not to be turned over to the trusts to be treated as was the wire factory, is very gratifying to everybody and it is to be hoped that the dividens will continue as asatisfactory as they have in the past and warrant the proposed enlargement and improvement of the industry. - transcribed by kbz
Source: Crawfordsville Indiana Daily News-Review March 11, 1901 p 8
Manager OM Gregg, of the Match Factory in making out his pay roll Saturday evening discovered that the employees of that institution now number 276. This does not include the office force nor the men employed cutting timber. For an industry scarcely 8 months old this is certainly a fine showing. - transcribed by kbz
Source: Crawfordsville Daily News-Review March 6, 1901 p 1
There was an explosion at the match factory this morning but fortunately no one was hurt. It occurred in the composition room, in which only two or three men were working and the room itself being fire proof, little damage resulted.
Source: Richmond Indiana Item 8 Oct 1903 p 5
Crawfordsville Oct 8 – The girls employed in the packing department of the Indiana Match company drew the color line. The scarcity of help caused the management of the concern to employ several colored girls in the department. The white girls resented this action and an indignation meeting was called. It was resolved to wait on the manager and inform him that unless the colored girls were at once released a strike would be ordered. As such a movement would seriously embarrass the factory, the management acceded to the demand and the colored help was dismissed.
Source: St. Louis Missouri Post-Dispatch 19 Nov 1904
Crawfordsville, Ind June 18 – This city has become the greatest match-making center in the state. Two varieties are made, parlor matches and matrimonial matches. The parlor match industry has, within the last few years, grown to enormous proportions and the matrimonial matches in the same time have exceeded all former records. The two sorts of matches evidently have gone hand in hand. Before the match factory was located in Crawfordsville the town girls experienced the same difficulty in making suitable matches as girls in most towns without match factories usually have. But with the coming of the factory and several hundred good looking, eligible young men the matrimonial market was glutted with excellent match-making timber and that the girls of the town were quick to size up the value of the timber is evidenced by