"THIS IS a picture of some of the employees of the old Turnbull Wagon Works, taken about 50 years ago. Perhaps old timers will recognize some of the faces.
At one time, the Turnbull Wagon Company employed about 400 workers. Native timber was used in the manufacture of wagons. Later, with the advent of the horseless carriage, the company produced wooden spoke automobile wheels.
When the native timber was depleted, the company bought a large tract of timber in Arkansas. However, it turned out to be an inferior timber, far below standards for wagons and wheels with the wood, water soaked and impossible to kiln dry properly.
The plant was located in East Defiance at the foot of Seneca St., and stretched along the south bank of the Maumee River. The plant had a complex of 24 buildings, two of them still in use.
The large brick building is used by the Compo Corp. for storage and another brick building is part of the Defiance Metal Products."
An extremely interesting and helpful piece. As curator of the Vermilion (Ohio) History Museum I recently found an advertisement from our old weekly where a company in Vermlion advertised and sold Turnbull Wagons. So I was interested in discovering who built them and where. Thanks.
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