The Marugg Company

The Marugg Company was founded by Christian Marugg in the early 1870s in what is now Grueti-Laager. Seeing the need for a variety of farming tools, he started imparting tool components from Switzerland and Germany. These parts didn't come with handles, but Marugg found that American hickory was ideal for that purpose. It was strong, and could be steam bent to form a very functional handle for the scythe, an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. This handle, called a snath, became very popular when combined with the imported blade and was in high demand., Christian's son Martin, expanded the operation and moved to Tracy City in 1900. This new location offered telegraph and rail service not available in Gruetli at that time. Being a good businessman, he expanded into numerous other ventures besides tools. These included the "New York Stores" of Tracy City, Monteagle and Winchester. He was also a director of the Dixie Telephone Company (later Ben Lomand Telephone), and First National Bank (later Citizens Tri-County Bank). The Marugg Company also offered services that included electrical, plumbing, wagon repair and shoe repair. Martin became one of Grundy County's wealthiest and most influential men., The tool business grew until two wars with Germany largely stopped the import business. However a rebirth of the scythe business emerged sometime in the 1950s after Wendell Berry, a noted farming author, stated that the Marugg scythe - was an outstanding tool for grass and grain cutting. When a better source of wood was found in Alabama production increased again in the 1980s. More recently, a new market in the Amish communities provided the incentive to increase production, and the advent of online marketing has provided the ability to advertise and sell mare widely. , Photo caption: Left: the current Marugg Company building dates from the mid-twentieth century. Below, an illustration of an early farmer using a scythe. Later scythe designs utilized a curved wooden handle, for which Tennessee Hickory was well suited., 150 Years of Service , Over the years , Maria Company's owners: , Christian Marugg, 1870-1890 - Founder , Martin Marugg, 1890-1941 - Built present building in Tracy City, TN , Will Jossi, 1941-1950 - Executer of Martin Marugg's estate , John Anderson, 1950-1965 - Maintained business and repairs , Charles W. Baggenstoss, 1965-1993 - Reintroduced scythe through mail order , John E. Baggenstoss, 1993-2003 - Restored this building, expanding sales , Dean Lutes and Andy Weaver, 2003-2008 - Improved, updated wood handling , Nathan and Jessica Wilson, 2008-Present - Added new roof, instituted online business