History |
The Whitmer-Jackson Company operated from 1909 until 1969 when its remnants merged into another company. The company, nicknamed "Whitjax" in the 1920s after it incorporated, operated a network of warehouses and factories around the nation in the mid-20th century.
Image of one of the Whitjax plants, taken from the company's 1923 catalog.
The company was founded as the Whitmer-Jackson Sash & Door Company in 1909 by Samuel H. Whitmer, Thad E. Whitmer, Ward B. Jackson, and Israel O. Wood (Cincinnati Enquirer, 3/6/1909). It is unclear how the partnership was formed; Jackson and Wood lived in Indiana and the Whitmers were from Ohio. The company originally operated a factory in Cleveland, Ohio. It began to issue small catalogs early in its history, with the earliest known catalog being its "Catalogue No. 10" and dated 1910.
Whitmer-Jackson expanded rapidly. It built a warehouse on Hamburgh Street in Buffalo, New York, in 1914, followed in 1920 by a plant in Rochester, New York and one in Albuquerque, New Mexico (this one closed in 1953).
After Samuel H. Whitmer died in 1921, the expanding company decided to incorporate. Its charter had been filed in 1909 in Indiana, even though the company had no presence in the state. While incorporating, the name of the company was shortened to the Whitmer-Jackson Company (Albuquerque Journal, 7/10/1922). The following year, the company issued a 140-page catalog that is posted at Archive.org; the catalog touted its "Whitjax Promptness" on the cover, indicating that its nickname had emerged by that time.
By 1927, Whitjax operated plants in Los Angeles, Buffalo, Cleveland, Rochester, and Albuquerque, plus a glass and glazing plant in Sandusky, Ohio (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, 10/3/1927). Later properties included a warehouse in Medina, New York (1952-1963), Massillon, Ohio (opened 1955), and Youngstown, Ohio.
Whitjax declined through the 1960s. In 1961, the company president, Thomas M. Hatch, resigned. He was a grandson of Israel O. Wood, one of the founders. The new company president was David Whitmer, who was locally renowned for capturing a Nazi spy in the United States during World War II. Whitjax was closing its distant warehouses at this time. In 1967, Whitjax began to merge into the Iron City Sash & Door Company. Whitjax was phased out over the following years, with its final appearance in the newspapers.com database in 1969.
Millwork catalog at archive.org:
1923
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