Captains of Industry

Captains of Industry. . , Industrial endeavors have been at the heart of South Haven's growth and prosperity since the first settlers arrived in the 1830s. Logging was the first industry introduced to the area. The first sawmill was built on the Black River in 1850, and the lumber from cleared forests was sold and used locally for buildings, ships, and other structures. , , Once large tracts of land were cleared, the fruit industry was able to blossom, and along came the need for baskets to ship peaches, apples, and pears to purchasers. The Pierce-Williams Basket Company answered this need beginning in 1882. In 1896, over two million baskets were manufactured at their factory. The company remained in business until 1952. , , The Cable-Nelson Piano Company began operations in 1905 and later purchased the Everett Piano Company name in 1925. They produced many types of upright and grand pianos and had seven different owners over eighty-one years. The S.E. Overton Company came from Chicago to South Haven in 1908. They produced piano legs for the Cable-Nelson Piano Company, then grew to produce wood turnings and carvings for different types of furniture. During World War II, the company fabricated gun stocks for the army. , , Bohn Aluminum opened for business in 1940 and produced magnesium castings for the war effort. After World War II, Bohn produced piston castings until the factory's closing in 1996.