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Wrought Iron Range Co.

Location: St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri
Founder: Henry Harrison Culver (1840-1897)
Period of Production: 1881-1960
Products Manufactured: Limited Line

WIRCO cookware, made and sold primarily as an accessory to its main product, cook stoves, was also cast from the more malleable iron used to good effect on its ranges. This unfortunately resulted in most WIRCO skillets becoming warped.

WIRCO Timeline

1864 - H.H. Culver and two of his brothers work as travelling salesmen marketing cook stoves to farmers.
1873 - Frequent complaints of breakage compel Culvers to leave the cast iron stove business.
1874 - After several failed business ventures, the Culver borthers settle in St. Louis, MO.
1881 - Culver brothers innnovation of using wrought iron instead of cast iron for stove manufacture leads them to establish Wrought Iron Range Co.
1881 - H.H. Culver suffers debilitating stroke, and retires in 1883.
1930s - WIRCO's Home Comfort line of wood and coal-fired ranges enjoys popularity on up through the 1930s.
1960 - Company sold to Universal Match Co.

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