One of the most successful early businesses in Marshall County was the Edgerton Basket Factory. Ease of transportation is critical for growth of trade. And Marshall County, being a crossroads, was attractive to businesses looking for a home. One such was Edgerton Manufacturing, which grew to become the LARGEST BASKET FACTORY in the entire country. Baskets were crucial shipping containers for agricultural products, and Edgerton Baskets were the gold standard.

In 1910 alone, 1,632,892 baskets were created. That’s enough baskets to line the road from Niles, MI, to Bloomington, IN, ROUND-TRIP, and still have 45 miles of baskets left over.

At one time, Edgerton offered thirty-nine grades of baskets in 178 different sizes!  Some of these sold as low as thirty cents per dozen, and others as high as $106 per dozen.  This translates to $9.23 to $3,621. per dozen today. There were shipping baskets for fruits, vegetables, crackers, candy and coffee; carrying baskets for coal, lime and cement; round baskets for feeding and cotton picking; reed, splint and diamond weave baskets for clothes; bamboo, splint and diamond weave baskets for delivery, market, display, crockery, satchels or lunch, fancy waste hampers, and all kinds of laundry baskets.

The wood varieties used included oak, elm, beech, maple sugar, basswood, poplar, cottonwood, gum, sycamore, ash, hickory and other kinds.  The company imported 55,900 pounds of rattan from Germany at a cost of five cents per pound. Sadly, Edgerton Basket Factory closed their doors in 1939.

Edgerton was unusual for its day in that they actively recruited and employed women and offered insurance as an employment benefit. Just one example of some forward thinking by county residents. A child labor law was passed in 1897 and in May Edgerton discharged all those under the age of fourteen.  It was reported that there were less than a dozen under that age.

At the Marshall County Historical Society Museum, we have the “warning whistle” which was sounded before the startup of the main engine so that anyone working on the line-shafting had time to get down safely.  We also have several beautiful examples of Edgerton baskets. Stop at the front desk the next time you visit and ask to see them.