Home › History › Businesses › Marseilles Manufacturing Company
The Marseilles Chapter of the Adams Manufacturing Story
Part of the Augustus Adams Series
When Augustus Adams reorganized his Sandwich enterprise as the Sandwich Manufacturing Company in 1867, he had already established himself as one of the pioneer manufacturers of agricultural machinery in Illinois. But his ambitions extended beyond Sandwich. Recognizing the manufacturing advantages offered by the Illinois River at Marseilles, Adams organized the Marseilles Manufacturing Company in 1870, creating a second industrial center that would carry the Adams name across the nation.
While the Sandwich works concentrated largely on hay presses and related machinery, the Marseilles plant became the principal manufacturer of the Adams power corn shellers, machines that would make the firm nationally known.
Origins and Division of Labor
Augustus Adams moved to Sandwich in 1857 and, with his sons J. P. Adams and Henry A. Adams, founded A. Adams & Sons. The firm was incorporated on April 15, 1867, as the Sandwich Manufacturing Company, with Adams serving as president.
In 1870, recognizing the superior advantages of Marseilles as a manufacturing point, particularly its river power, Adams organized the Marseilles Manufacturing Company and established his younger sons there. This strategic division allowed production to expand efficiently between two plants.
From that time forward:
• Sandwich focused on hay presses and binder machinery
• Marseilles concentrated on corn shellers and related implements
The two companies operated in close coordination but as distinct corporate entities.
Pioneers in the Binder Business
Before the Adams sons entered the binder trade, William Low and T. L. French of Cedar Falls, Iowa, had developed early hand and wire self binders. The concern was first known as Low, Adams & French, and later Adams & French Harvester Company.
Sandwich Manufacturing Company eventually acquired that interest and manufactured the Adams & French Harvester.
The early binder years were difficult. A severe fire on March 18, 1883, struck at a time when the factory was filled with material for summer production. The loss crippled operations for years, yet the firm rebuilt and continued.
By the late nineteenth century, the Adams name was firmly associated with corn shellers, windmills, cultivators, and feed grinders.
Product Lines of the Marseilles Works
Period advertisements and catalogs reveal the breadth of production at Marseilles:
• Cyclone Feed Power Corn Shellers
• Marseilles-Adams Power Corn Shellers
• Adams Windmill (for pumping and rotary power)
• Spring Corn Cultivators (riding, walking, combined)
• Universal Feed Grinders
• Horse Powers
• Hand Corn Shellers
• Binder Trucks and Bob Sleds
• Corn Stalk Cutters and Pumps
An 1887 Marseilles Manufacturing Company catalog prominently featured the Adams portrait and advertised branch offices in:
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Council Bluffs, Iowa
• Cedar Falls, Iowa
• Baltimore, Maryland
This confirms the company’s national distribution network.
Trade advertising in The Farm Implement News (Chicago, October 20, 1892) demonstrates the firm’s prominence within the agricultural implement industry.
Fire and Resilience
The 1883 fire marked one of the most severe setbacks in the firm’s history. Occurring during peak production season, the loss was substantial. Yet the Adams enterprises were resilient. Under Augustus Adams’ leadership and with the managerial skill of his sons, the company recovered and continued expanding its market reach.
Leadership and Legacy
Augustus Adams served as President of the Marseilles Manufacturing Company from its incorporation in 1870 until his death in Sandwich on October 10, 1892.
His sons carried the enterprise forward:
• Henry A. Adams served for decades in executive roles within the Sandwich works.
• J. P. Adams was instrumental in expanding foreign markets, including trade in Argentina.
• Other sons took leadership positions in Marseilles and related manufacturing ventures.
In 1909 or 1910, the Marseilles plant was purchased by the John Deere Company and relocated to East Moline, where production continued on a larger scale.
The Sandwich Manufacturing Company would later be sold to the New Idea Company in 1930.
Adams in Marseilles History
Augustus Adams was regarded in Marseilles as one of the town’s industrial founders. In 1933, when naming a new bridge, a committee recommended the name “Clark-Adams” in honor of Roderick Clark and Augustus Adams, pioneers credited with courage, vision, and leadership in developing the town’s resources.
More than six decades after its founding, the Adams enterprise was still shaping local identity.
Historical Significance
The Marseilles Manufacturing Company represents more than an industrial offshoot of Sandwich Manufacturing. It reflects the strategic vision of Augustus Adams, a man who understood location, power sources, distribution networks, and generational leadership.
By dividing operations between Sandwich and Marseilles, Adams created a manufacturing system that thrived for over half a century and helped shape the agricultural economy of the Midwest.
Today, while the factories are gone, the Adams name remains woven into the industrial history of both Sandwich and Marseilles two towns linked by invention, machinery, and ambition.
Sources
Farm Implement News, Chicago, October 20, 1892
Marseilles Manufacturing Company Catalog, 1887
“Do You Know—How the Original S.M. Co. Started?” (Free Press reprint)
Fifty Years’ Recollections (biographical sketch of Hon. Augustus Adams)
Brian Wayne Wells, “The Sandwich Manufacturing Company of Sandwich Illinois,” Belt & Pulley Magazine, July/August 1998
Adams family photographs and archival materials