Owosso Manufacturing Company
Owosso, Michigan
Owosso, Michigan
This company was established in 1884-5 as D. Thompson & Co. and Alvin M. Bentley acted as manager. The company manufactured farm tools and also sold hardware. Bentley bought out Thompson and in the fall of 1886 built a new building and changed the name of the firm to the Owosso Tool Company.
The small factory grew to include two extensive buildings, large lumber yards and railroad side tracks. The company claimed to have one to two million feet of hard wood and pine lumber. Owosso Tool manufactured hay rakes and tool handles and in 1889 began to manufacture door and window screens. In 1891, this company employed 125 to 150 men year around and also manufactured scythe snaths, grain cradles, hayrakes and many other kinds of wood handles.
Looking north from Main St. On the far left is Chipman St. Notice the stacked lumber at (24)
Below is an example of their early all wood snow shovel
Here is a snow shovel and the Humpty-Dumpty Egg crate made at Owosso Manufacturing Co.
The egg-crate is marked Owosso, MI and Benton, Arkansas.
Below is a dresser and label that was manufactured in the Benton, Arkansas plant in the 1940's - 50's era. The Owosso plant did not manufacture furniture.
Please e-mail any history on the Owosso Mfg. Company plant of Benton, Arkansas, below, to the webmaster.
Bentley was responsible for bringing Reliance Motor Truck to Owosso.
A.M. Bentley also founded the Continental Screen Door Company of Detroit, of which his son Calvin P. Bentley was the president. His grandson, Alvin M. Bentley, served in the U.S. Congress in the 1950's.
In 1953, Owosso Manufacturing and Ionia Manufacturing company merged to become the Mitchell-Bentley Corporation under the leadership of Don Mitchell. On the night of February 11, 1955 a devastating $2,000,000 fire swept through the automotive trim plant of the Mitchell-Bentley Corp., the occupant of the old Owosso Manufacturing building, which was a four-story brick structure that occupied an area equivalent to six square blocks.
The Mitchell Corp. developed station wagon bodies for the auto industry in the 1950's. They became a major supplier of quality automotive interior trim parts including seat cushion covers, door trim panels and bucket seats. Certain Lincoln Continental bodies were built in Owosso and the first Corvette bodies were built here also.
