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The Made-in-Chicago Museum, est. 2015, is a thoroughly unsolicited and independent historical research project focused on collecting, documenting, and celebrating the “everyday objects” produced during Chicago’s 20th century industrial heyday.
The Made In Chicago Museum's interactive "Factory Map" shows the former locations of more than 200 Chicago factories and businesses during the 20th century.
Hermann Paepcke founded the Chicago Mill and Lumber Company in the 1880s. Originally begun as the Paepcke-Wagner Company operating as a small lumber mill, the business grew to include box-making operations. The company eventually became a major lumber distribution company in Chicago.
The Newcomb-Macklin Company of Chicago, Illinois was a nationally prominent manufacturer of hand-carved and gilded picture frames. The company was in operation from 1883 until 1979.
In 1874, the original Seng Company was founded in Chicago, IL by our founder’s great, great grandfather, Wendelin Seng, who had immigrated to the United States from Germany in the mid-1800’s.
Back in 2015, when the Made In Chicago Museum was in its developmental stages, the Adjustable Clamp Company stood out as the rare “feel good” story amidst a sea of shuttered factories, outmoded merchandise, and forgotten dreams.
Chicago's furniture industry expanded in the mid-nineteenth century by serving a regional rural market. Farmers in the city's hinterland prospered by selling their products in Chicago, and they purchased manufactured goods, including furniture, with their profits.
