MFMA
Hall of Fame
 William Horner
Born in St. Catherines, Ontario 1852, moved to Reed City, Michigan
in 1882. Put up a planning mill and began the commercial
production of maple flooring in 1891. His business grew until 1910 when
fire
wiped out the flooring plant entirely. He built a new
facility, regarded as one of the most modern plants of the time being
built of brick
and steel. The initial plant contained two flooring
machines (lines) but as business grew, two addition lines were added.
In 1914, the
kilns at the Reed City plant burned. These were rebuilt
and at the same time a new plant was built in Newberry, Michigan. The
two plants
together had eleven machines. Production ran up as
high as thirty-six to forty million feet of maple flooring per year.
This represented
twenty percent of the total production of maple flooring
produced in the United States. In 1919, fire destroyed the entire Reed
City
plant and in the same year, consumed the dry kilns
in Newberry. Undaunted, William rebuilt both plants and production continued
to grow. He was
regarded as being the largest employer in Reed City,
employing upwards of 200 men when the plant was running two shifts.
William, was supported
in the maple flooring manufacturing industry by his
son Sam, who carried on the family tradition for decades.
William Horner
died on December 26, 1926 at the age of 74.
Sam died on May
2, 1954 at the age of 77.
Back to the Hall of Fame
|
