This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Iowa washing machine pioneers and industry growth
A historical overview traces the rise of Iowa washing machines from hand labor in pioneer homes to mass production. It covers early devices like Doty and Universal wringers, the Voss and One Minute lines, and the dominance of Newton and Grinnell plants, noting key firms Maytag Dexter and Bergman, plus regional centers Davenport and Waterloo.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
John Deere
Cyrus McCormick
Iowa
Connecticut
Ford
W. L. Winter
Marion
Richardson
Universal
Davenport
William H. Voss
Voss Company
Hawkeye Incubator Company
Newton
Fred H. Bergman
Ben McCuen
Bergman
Dexter
F. H. Bergman
Fairfield
Dexter Company
Kelvinator’ Company
Grinnell
Thompson Manufacturing Company
Grinnell Washing Machine Company
One Minute Company
F. L. Maytag
Maytag
Woodrow
O. B
John Nelson
H. L. Ogg
Automatic Company
O. B. Woodrow
Pella
Woodrow Company
Oskaloosa
One Minute
Automatic
United States
Brammer
National Metal Products
Waterloo