Rockford Silver Plate Company
The Racine Silver Plate Company was formed in Racine, Wisconsin is 1875 when about $18,000 was raised and the machinery of a defunct Milwaukee concern was purchased and moved to that city. The company was not managed efficiently and it was soon found necessary to raise the capital stock to $30,000 in order to do a competitive business. This even, was not enough, and the company was continually in debt to the banks. The company was always lame, never had enough to pay its own way, but it kept on running and made good silver plated items. Finally in early 1882 the company landed a large contract that would have finally brought a profit to the struggling company.
It was a stormy night on May 5 of 1882 that a fire swept four business blocks in Racine, Wisconsin, the Racine Silver Plate Company being in the center of the ruined district. Nothing was left except a pile of molten metal and with little insurance and past track record, the company decided not to rebuild. Pullman, Illinois raised $75,000 in an effort to bring the silver plating industry to that place, but a group of Rockford capitalists sent a delegation to Racine and spent hours talking with the stockholders of the company there. Rockford landed the concern and it was renamed to the Rockford Silver Plate Company. While in Racine the representative's recruited skilled workers from the burned out silver plate company and were very successful in their efforts.
When the new workers arrived in Rockford, the plant of the Rockford Silver Plate company was located in the old dingy quarters of the Rockford Bolt Works factory on the water power. The workers were grievously disappointed over the change in environments as compared with the destroyed Racine plant. Among the people hired to work at the new silver plate company was George B. Kelly, the former manager of the Racine plant and who was instrumental in getting the Rockford plant up and running.
But before the end of the year they were located in in handsome new modern building at 202-206 South Wyman Street. - South Wyman and Elm Streets, in the downtown district. The Rockford silver plate company's plant was one of the finest and most substantial four-story brick structures in the city, forming an L shape, with ninety feet facing on South Wyman Street and One hundred sixty five feet along Elm Street. Several large annexes were also utilized. The entire plant was equipped with every device and appliance known to modern science that tended to facilitate or improve the business. The company employed around two hundred people, most of whom were high-priced skilled mechanics.
From the very inception of the Rockford Silver Plate Company, the company had manufactured nothing but the very best grade of gold and silver plated goods and had always been awarded the premium when their wares had come into competition with east coast or foreign goods. They kept in their employ several artists and designers who were constantly evolving new designs and styles. Their flatware and hollowware was guaranteed to contain twenty-five per cent more silver than the best triple plate made by other silver plate factories. The product was sold to the retail jeweler trade exclusively throughout the country. The company manufactured a wide array of table ware related products.
In 1883 the Pullman Palace Car Company of Chicago, built a magnificent exhibition car for the Railway Age, and the Rockford Silver Plate Company was chosen to produce the tableware and silverware for the exhibition car. The elegance of the silver, both in design and finish called forth words of admiration by all who beheld it and it was given special notices in all descriptive write ups of this moving Palace of beauty on rails.
In 1924 after almost 50 years in business, the firm's general manager died, and there was no one left with the knowledge to manage the Rockford Silver Plate Company, so the stockholders decided to liquidate it.
