Who Made It?

The Campbell & Smith Company began in 1892, and it was primarily a lumberyard and planing mill. Lebanon is the county seat of Boone County, Indiana, and Campbell-Smith-Ritchie named its Hoosier-style kitchen cabinets Boone Kitchen Cabinets in honor of the county. In 1905, the lumberyard was destroyed by fire. The company built a new facility on the edge of town. By 1910, its kitchen cabinet making business was doing so well that the lumberyard portion of the business was discontinued. An Indiana inspection report for 1913 described the company as engaged in manufacturing furniture and having 90 employees. It was also the largest employer inspected in Lebanon.

The company advertised nationally, and claimed its product was designed by women from all over the nation. Models of Boone cabinets were differentiated with names such as the Mary Boone, Bertha Boone, a larger model with storage closets at each end and Betty Boone, a small model for apartments or smaller homes. Some included a hidden ironing board. The company, like many companies, prospered until the Great Depression. Demand for Hoosier cabinets declined at the time, first because of the difficult economic times, but also because homes began to be built with built–in cabinetry in the kitchen. The company responded by cutting back on employee hours and diversifying into built-in kitchen cabinets and breakfast dining sets. This strategy enabled it to survive into 1940 when it was sold. The company continued for another 18 months, but was then liquidated.

The Coppes Brothers and Zook Company decided to concentrate on kitchen cabinets in 1914. Their manufacturing facility was located in Nappanee, Indiana, and their Hoosier cabinet brand name was the Napanee Dutch Kitchenet, using only one p in Nappanee. Using data from a study by a famous efficiency engineer, Harrington Emerson, the company claimed that their product could save 1,592 steps per day.

Earlier, the Coppes brothers had a sawmill business, a box manufacturing factory, and a furniture manufacturing company. An Indiana inspection report for 1913 described their company, named Coppes, Zook, and Mutschler Co. at that time, as a "saw mill, etc." and having 178 employees in a town with a population of 2,260. Right before the Great Depression started, the company began manufacturing built-in kitchen cabinets. This product was very successful, and continued for many years after the demise of the Hoosier cabinets. Production of high-quality custom cabinetry continues today and Coppes Brothers and Zook is the longest-continuously-operating cabinet manufacturer in the United States.

The Hoosier Manufacturing Co. began in Albany, Indiana in the year 1898. The founders were glassmaker James McQuinn, his son Emmett McQuinn, and two business partners from Muncie, Indiana, John M. Maring and Thomas Hart. Maring and Hart served as the president and vice president, respectively. The two McQuinns ran the business, with the elder McQuinn as the plant's general manager. The younger McQuinn was the advertising manager. Originally, the company used a former furniture manufacturing plant to make a seed separator used on farms. A secondary product, a stand-alone kitchen cabinet, sold better than the seed separator and quickly became the company's main product. Each of the early Hoosier Cabinets was hand–made. The cabinet was similar to a baker's cabinet, with storage bins below a work space and a two-door upper section. However, the Hoosier Cabinet had "meticulously organized interior storage", which enabled it to serve as a kitchen workstation with all the necessary equipment and material within arm's reach.

The company's Albany facility was destroyed by a fire in 1900. At that time, the owners decided to restart in New Castle, Indiana, which is located about 25 miles south of Albany.

In addition to its product, Hoosier Manufacturing's success can be attributed to its strengths in advertising, distribution, and manufacturing. Hoosier Manufacturing created its own dealer network, since some furniture dealers were not fond of a product that competed with their wares. In cases where they had no dealer, products were sold directly from the factory. Advertising was conducted in newspapers and national magazines such as Ladies' Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post, where the reader was likely to be a woman. In 1903, the company began streamlining its manufacturing process by using interchangeable hardware, standardizing its products, and using an assembly line. The employee responsible for these innovations, Harry Hall, was also granted patents related to innovations for the cabinet and for a safety apparatus.

By 1913, Hoosier Manufacturing, listed as a furniture maker by Indiana factory inspectors, had 470 employees. In 1916, the company sold its one millionth Hoosier Cabinet and was clearly the leader in free-standing kitchen cabinets. By 1920, two million had been sold. During its peak years, the company produced nearly 700 cabinets per day, and was the largest manufacturer of kitchen cabinets in the United States.

Free–standing kitchen cabinets began declining in popularity by 1930, and Hoosier Manufacturing responded by making kitchen cabinets that were meant to be built-in to the home. The company also began manufacturing kitchen tables and breakfast sets. During World War II, supplies and man-power became scarce. The company was sold and liquidated in 1942.

McDougall was one of the early manufacturers of Hoosier cabinets. An advertisement from 1919 identified the McDougall as "the first kitchen cabinet". George McDougall began the McDougall Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, sometime after the Civil War. The company's products were pie safes and kitchen tables. In 1898, the company name was changed to G. P. McDougall and Son. George's son Charles traveled to learn more about the furniture business, and persuaded his father to equip their kitchen tables with flour bins, a product that eventually became known as a baker's cabinet. Charles also traveled to Europe and the European influence can be seen on McDougall cabinets. In 1909, a disgruntled employee set the factory on fire, destroying the entire facility.

Charles McDougall, with several business partners, restarted the business in Frankfort, Indiana, in 1910. The company was named McDougall Company, and Hoosier cabinets were its product. The plant utilized the latest technology for furniture manufacturing. The McDougall Hoosier cabinet had a patented auto-front roll door that dropped down instead of rolling up. Its flour bin had a glass front to show the flour level in the bin. In 1913, the McDougall plant had 148 employees, making it the largest factory in Frankfort, based on the number of employees.

Near the end of the 1920s, the McDougall cabinets front door was changed to be similar to those used by other Hoosier cabinets. Its flour bins were made smaller. The Great Depression was difficult. The company was reorganized in 1931. The company lasted a few years before closing.

The G. I. Sellers Company was founded in Kokomo, Indiana, in 1888. The company made chifforobes, cabinets, and tables, and oak was their choice material. They grew to become the second largest manufacturer of Hoosier cabinets. By 1905, their manufacturing complex covered five city blocks. During that year, their plant was destroyed by fire. In order to restart their business as soon as possible, the company purchased a furniture factory in Elwood, Indiana. At that time, the company name was changed to the G. I. Sellers and Sons Company, and manufacturing was focused on Hoosier cabinets and tables.

By 1913, the Sellers plant employed 99 people, making it the second largest factory, based on the number of employees, in Elwood. Among features Sellers promoted were an automatic lowering flour bin, glass drawer pulls, hand-rubbed finish on oak, and ant-proof casters. The company initiated a "Votes for Women" contest for little girls in 1914. Prizes were Junior Special Kitcheneed Cabinets, which were two–thirds the size of the Sellers Kitcheneed Special.

In 1922, Wilfred Sellers, the company president, noted that the company typically produced 75,000 to 85,000 cabinets per year. Sellers introduced its Kitchenaire models in 1927, which had smaller flour bins but more drawers. In the early 1930s, coloring was featured, and new products were sold such as built-in kitchen cabinets and breakfast sets. By the 1930s, Hoosier cabinets had fallen out of fashion, and most manufacturers had stopped making them. The Sellers Co. continued building the cabinets, however, and the company's later designs were given sleek lines and curves that tried to tap into the art deco fashion of the day. During World War II, the company had difficulty acquiring raw materials and employing skilled workers. It ceased operations in 1950.