#42 Edwin Myers & Co. Cigar Box & Lithographic Works in York; Soon to be Urban Lofts
In my post Late 1800s Factory Inspection Reports Assist in Identification of an East Prospect Photo I wrote about finding these reports in the State Library of Pennsylvania. For this series on the Top 50 York County Factories at the end of 19th Century, I’m using data from the 10th Report of the Pennsylvania Department of Factory Inspection.
The 10th Factory Inspection Report is for the Department’s year ending October 31st 1899. I ranked the 479 York County factories by numbers of employees; #50 has 47 employees, on up to #1 with 510 employees. In the coming weeks, on Monday and/or Tuesday, I’m counting down to the top employer in York County at the end of 19th Century.
The Edwin Myers & Co. Cigar Box & Lithographic Works was located in a three-story brick building on the southwest corner of East Mason and South Howard Alleys in York. The address today is 30 South Howard; 30 SOHO in the jargon of the urban lofts coming soon. The sign on the east side of the building is an artistic rendering of the south and east sides of the completed lofts.
At #42 in the count down is the Edwin Myers & Co. Cigar Box & Lithographic Works in York. I have already written extensively about Edwin B. Myers, his family, his businesses and his land holding.
Edwin B. Myers and his wife Anna Iaegar Myers purchased a farm in Springettsbury Township, York County on June 24th 1901; they named it Meadowbrook. They made extensive modifications to the farmhouse, creating their Meadowbrook Mansion in the Georgian Revival style. This mansion presently stands as Christmas Tree Hill along Whiteford Road. Many remember it as the Meadowbrook Inn & Tavern or as the Avalong Farms Mansion.
The two part series on Edwin B. Myers are as follows:
- Meadowbrook Estate in Springettsbury Township, Part 1; Edwin B. Myers, his Family and his Businesses
- Meadowbrook Estate in Springettsbury Township, Part 2; Edwin Myers’ 458-Acre Estate nearly stretched to Tilden
The 10th Factory Inspection Report notes that on April 18th 1899 the Edwin Myers & Co. Cigar Box & Lithographic Works in York has 56 employees; 19 male and 37 female. Of these 56 employees, 40 are under 21-years-old, of which 1 female employee is between 13 and 16-years-old.
I’ve highlighted the location of the Edwin Myers & Co. Cigar Box & Lithographic Works on this section of the 1903 Atlas of York. The York City Directories of the time period list two separate businesses in the same building, it appears the factory inspector combined them, since the goods manufactured are recorded as “Cigar Boxes & Lithographing.”
The York City Directories list the two businesses in this building as: E. Myers & Company and T. A. Myers & Company. E. Myers & Company was established by Edwin Myers with his sons, Walter F., Frank E. and Thomas A. Myers, to manufacture cigar boxes. T. A. Myers & Company was established by Thomas A. Myers with his father Edwin and brothers Walter F. and Frank E. Myers, as printers and engravers. T. A. Myers & Company business primarily produced cigar bands and cigar box labels, however they also advertised as general printers and engravers.
In my count down of the 50 top factories in York County at the end of 19th Century, there are 12 cigar related factories represented. Only one cigar factory shows up in the top 15; do any of my readers care to guess where this factory, that made cigars and also cigar boxes, was located in York County—I’ve already had readers guess, Red Lion & Dallastown; which are not the correct answer in 1899. Edwin Myers had another of his companies make the top 50 list:
#42 Edwin Myers & Co. Cigar Box & Lithographic Works in York, with 56 employees, is the fifth cigar related factory in my count down of the top 50 York County Factories at end of 19th Century. Previous cigar factories that have made the list include:
- #43 Paragon Cigar Factory in York; 54 employees
- #46 George W. Gable Cigar Factory in Windsor; 50 employees
- #48 National Cigar Manufacturing Company in West Manchester; 50 employees
- #50 David S. Detwiler Cigar Factory in Wrightsville; 47 employees
