E.C. Simmons Hardware Co.

Location: St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri
Founder: Edward Campbell Simmons (1839-1920)
Period of Production: 1871 - 1960
Products Manufactured: Food choppers, lard presses, knife sharpeners, grist mills, waffle irons, coffee grinders, apple peelers
Brand Names: Keen Kutter

The Simmons Hardware Company was a hardware manufacturer based in St. Louis with locations in six states.

The "Keen Kutter" trademark, originally applied to axes, was extended to almost the entire Simmons product line.

Simmons Timeline

1871 - E.C. Simmons and Company founded.
1874 - Company incorprated as Simmons Hardware Company.
1880 - Simmons publishes one of the first fully illustrated hardware catalogs.
1989 - E.C. Simmons retires from active participation in the business.
1920 - E.C. Simmons dies.
1922 - Firm sold to Winchester Repeating Arms.
1934 - Great Depression causes Winchester to file for bankruptcy.
1935 - After reorganization, focus shifts from tools to housewares, Keen Kutter pocket knives retained.
1940 - Simmons assets sold to Shapleigh Hardware Co.
1959 - Shapleigh goes out of business.

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