Half a Century of Rope Making, 1857-1907 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Half a Century of Rope Making, 1857-1907

Fifty years ago, in St. Louis, Adolph Leschen began in a small way to manufacture hemp or fiber rope. To-day the great manufacturing plant of the A. Leschen & Sons Rope Company, at St. Louis, covers thirty-three acres. The four branch houses and twenty-eight agencies handle the product of the works, and Leschen Wire Rope cobwebs the world. It is perhaps not out of place to refer briefly herein to these fifty years of progress and success, and to the policy which has distinguished our methods of manufacture.

In the early days, as now, the Leschen policy was "quality first," and the endeavor has not been to turn out a product larger than that of any other manufacturer, but to make wire rope of a quality which may always be relied upon.

Few changes have taken place in the half century, either in administration or in ideals. The firm name as it appeared fifty years ago was not changed until 1872. when Mr. Henry Leschen, now president of the corporation, became a partner with his father under the firm name of A. Leschen & Son. Five years later, upon the entrance of John A. Leschen, now vice-president, the name was changed to A. Leschen & Sons. Such was the growth of the business, that in 1886 it was deemed wise to incorporate it under the present title of A. Leschen Sons Rope Company. In 1898 Mr. Charles H. Tucker became secretary and treasurer.

The Leschen Works are located on the Terminal Railway Belt Line which connects with all the trunk lines of the United States. The St. Louis warehouses are on North First Street, and contain a large and varied stock of such types of wire rope as are in constant demand. To effectively handle the business of the Atlantic and Eastern States, the New York store was established at 163 and 165 Washington Street, and is now in the West Street Building, Nos. 87, 88 and 89 West Street. This, in addition to being one of the distributing points of enormous q…