Portions from the “Historic Link to “Bicycle Craze” of 1896
A.D. Meiselbach bicycle factory. Image from the book Milwaukee--A Half Century's Progress.
The A.D. Meiselbach buildings merit a mention in national economic history as a artifacts of a classic “Boom and Bust” cycle. In this case it was the Bicycle Craze, which struck the nation (and world) soon after the 1885 invention of the “Rover Safety Bicycle.” The innovation featured a chain drive and equal-sized wheels with pneumatic tires, mounted on a hollow tube frame. This build is similar to the vast majority of bicycles in common use today. Everybody wanted a bicycle, whether they could afford it or not. Factories sprung up across the nation producing bicycles and their components. Milwaukee, with its expertise in manufacturing, was a natural center for the industry.
By 1896, when this factory opened at the height of “Wheel Fever,” it was the largest in the northwest and one of 150 bicycle plants around the nation, together producing over 1,000 different makes, as demand soared into the millions of units. According to Milwaukee, a Half Century’s Progress, 1846-1896 the new plant, located six miles from downtown, was a marvel to behold. It sat on five acres, and included a test and a speeding track, as well as railroad access, which made such a remote plant economically viable for nationwide business. Entirely powered by steam, it employed 400 workers, including young Harley. Meiselbach was a “maker to the trade,” creating bicycles for the many brands out there, as well as producing a house brand bearing the catchy Meiselbach name. The workers were busy in 1896: “The demand for their machines is increasing at such an astonishing rate that the combined forces of the factories in the United States cannot satisfy the call.”
In fact it was last call for the existing bicycle industry. Over-production, loose credit, a saturated market , mounting inventories of unsold goods and extreme price competition led to a crash. Bicycles that once sold for $100 went for $40. Meiselbach sold his interest in the business just two years later, in 1898. In 1899 the American Bicycle Company was organized, with the largest manufacturers banding together. Meiselbach was absorbed into the combine.
This cycle
Almost 20 years later, in
1920-24 a group from Chicago organized the
Shelby Cycle Frame Builders in a factory which was located at the site of the current Police Department building(Shelby ohio)...The company built bicycle frames that were shipped to other factories for enameling and assembling. In
1924, factory superintendent Leon A. Smith and 18 others kept the factory open after stockholders abandoned the company. According to Drain, a year later, local businessman Joseph Seltzer invested in the plant and the company transitioned from just making bicycle frames to manufacturing whole bicycles. At its high point, the factory employed as many as 390 people and had $3 million in sales.