The following has been submitted by the Logan County History Center:
By: Mary E. Mortimer
The Bellefontaine Mattress & Upholstering Co. produced mattresses, comforts, pillows, bed springs, mattress protectors, and wagon pads for nearly twenty years. The company was founded in September 1901 by Jesse T. Langdon at 103 S. Detroit Street. The company formally organized in June 1902 with W.W. Fisher as president, E.J. Howenstine as vice president, W.C. Huston as secretary-treasurer, John C. Sullivan as general manager, and Langdon as superintendent. Later that year, the company increased its capital from $10,000 to $25,000.
In August 1902, the mattress factory announced they were going to market a special high-grade mattress “that will meet the demands of the most luxurious and exacting taste as to comfort and sanitary conditions.” A contest was held to name the new mattress with Miss Sarah Lowe’s entry of the “Lotus Mattress” being selected.
In October, the company installed new machinery to produce rugs from recycled carpets. At that time, it employed 30 to 40 workers and regularly completed large shipments. During this period, John C. Sullivan sold his interest in the company to C.H. Morse of West Mansfield, who assumed management.
A new feather mattress and pillow company opened in Bellefontaine in August 1904. The Bellefontaine Feather Mattress & Feather Washing Company was established on Lawrence Street. They made “all kinds of pillows and paid the highest cash price for old feathers.” The new business operated independently and was not affiliated with the Bellefontaine Mattress Company.
The Mickle & Cheney comfort factory in Mechanicsburg was destroyed by fire in December 1904. Following the loss, the owners declined relocation offers from several communities and instead chose to consolidate their operations with the Bellefontaine Mattress factory. By 1907, the business had relocated to the corner of S. Main Street and E. Patterson Avenue.
In June 1911, the Bellefontaine Mattress & Upholstering Company consolidated with the Goodfellow Comfort Company of South Vienna, founded in 1904 by John Goodfellow. The South Vienna factory was dismantled and moved to Bellefontaine. Joining Goodfellow was C.E. Yoder and E.P. Humphreys of Bellefontaine. The company had an average of 40 dozen comforts a day and had approximately 50 employees. At that time, they were the largest comfort manufacturer in Ohio, shipping products nationwide and to Mexico.
The company was renamed The Peerless Bedding Company in 1913 and installed new shoddy-processing equipment. The process of the shoddy factory was to take the clippings of wool and cotton goods and put them back into their original state, after which it was used for furniture stuffing and upholstering. At the time, there were only four shoddy factories in the US, and Bellefontaine had one. They expected 75 to 100 carloads of clippings of woolen and cotton goods each year. Two new manufacturing machines were purchased with 35-horsepower motors, and an additional thirty-five laborers were hired.
Bellefontaine also had a bed spring company located at 118 W. Chillicothe Avenue. In 1915, John Shepherd invented “Head Section, Big Spring”. He manufactured bed springs and later transferred his business to Harry J. Miller and Foye B, Miller, who planned to continue the factory and sales room as Miller Brothers.
During World War I, Peerless Bedding secured a government contract for 15,000 felt mattresses and significantly expanded production. At this time, they were averaging about 250 mattresses every other day. They also manufactured mattresses of cotton, wool and silk fiber, and pillows made of both feathers and cotton.
Plans were announced in March 1920 to sell The Peerless Bedding Company to the J.C. Hirschman & Co. of Indianapolis. Co-owner H.E. Bennett was expected to remain as general manager, while John Goodfellow planned to retire. Although Hirschman initially intended to maintain the Peerless Bedding name and continue production in Bellefontaine, the company announced on July 30, 1920, that operations would cease and all equipment would be relocated to Indianapolis.
In 1930, the building was purchased by the Bellefontaine Plating & Manufacturing Company, a producer of cast and plated goods. The company’s first contract was with the A.J. Miller Company. Walter “Pete” Lewis served as co-owner and manager until his death in 1956, after which ownership transferred to Kenneth and Geraldine Crissman and their son, Kenneth Jr. During the 1960s, the company expanded into a marine division selling boats and motors. A fire in August 1964 damaged the facility and destroyed the adjacent Watkins Farm Supply Company. The Bellefontaine Plating & Manufacturing Company continued operations until the late 1980s.
Visit the Logan County History Center to learn more interesting aspects of Logan County History. The History Center is open for tours Wednesday – Sunday from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Admission is free.
