Historical Images of Porter County

C. O. Hillstrom & Company, Organ Manufacturers
Chesterton, Indiana

Date: Circa 1900
Source Type: Trade card
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Unknown
Postmark: Not applicable
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: Every organ warranted for 5 years. Our organs are For Sale by . . . . C. O. Hillstrom, who had begun the manufacture of organs in Chicago in 1869, moved his factory to Chesterton in 1880, enlarging the plant in 1884 to a production capacity of eight organs a day. A strike among workers at Chicago piano factories in 1899 resulted in the Russell-Lane Company removing a portion of their production to the Hillstrom factory in Chesterton. Thus, Chesterton had both an organ and piano factory. In 1906 Mr. Hillstrom began the manufacture of a cabinet dresser. A branch of Hillstrom's business was established at Fort Worth, Texas. After Hillstrom's death, the organ factory in Chesterton ceased operation.

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Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook