Rock Solid
F.E. Myers & Bro. empire built on foundation of quality, innovation
By Jan Shellhouse
In 1815, Uniontown, Ohio, was little more than a frontier outpost. Less than 100 years later, the town had been renamed Ashland, and boasted 47 factories and a population of 8,000. As an early manufacturing center, Ashland was home to Reliable Match Co. (“Strike Anywhere Matches”), Kauffman Mfg. Co. (manufacturer of folding chairs used in Union Army encampments), Dr. Hess & Clark (veterinary supplies and disinfectants) and T.W. Miller’s Faultless Rubber Co. (rubber sundries, surgical goods and bicycle tires). But Ashland’s biggest manufacturer in 1915 was F.E. Myers & Bro., manufacturer of pumps and hay tools produced by a workforce of nearly 800.
Brothers Francis E. Myers and Philip A. Myers grew up on a farm just outside of Ashland within earshot of their neighbors, the Studebakers … yes, those Studebakers. That clan initially manufactured wagons, but left the area in the mid-1800s for South Bend, Ind., where they became automakers.
F.E. Myers got his start as a salesman of farm equipment and cider presses for the Ashland Machine Co. When that company went bankrupt, Myers represented Bucher & Gibbs Co. and the Imperial Plow Co., both of Canton, Ohio. At about the same time, in 1870, F.E. went into business for himself, and persuaded his brother, P.A., to join him. The pair first operated a repair shop and sold farm equipment.