|
The Round Oak Stove Company was founded in Dowagiac, Michigan in 1871 by P.D. Beckwith (Philo D. Beckwith). Beckwith cast his first stove around 1867 to heat his struggling foundry and shortly after, the Michigan Central Railroad ordered the heaters for its depots between Detroit and Chicago. By 1871, Beckwith was mainly producing heating stoves, and thus founded the company.
The origin of the name Round Oak is unknown. The first theory is that Beckwith stoves were round and could hold a section of whole round oak tree in the firepot. The second theorizes that he named it after a foundry of the same name in England.
Round Oak was considered the finest heating stove money could buy because of the quality of its durable heating stove. This well illustrated catalog features 74 pages from Round Oaks 1927 catalog.
|
