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Going to Work
Windmills, Wheelbarrows, Wagons
For Factories of all kinds—especially wood and iron wares—our
advantages consist in geographical location and the converging lines of
railroads . . . for the shipping in of raw materials and the shipping out of finished product.
H. F. Hall, Lansing Journal, February 26, 1898
Lansing's earliest industries, many located along the Grand
River, supplied goods and services—plows, wagons, grain milling and cider pressing—to
area farmers. Following the Civil War, some local manufacturers began expanding their
markets. By 1895, E. Bement & Sons shipped its stoves and plows as far away as Europe
and Africa.
 The mid-1890s were difficult years for
some industries. A nationwide depression caused layoffs at a number of Lansing factories
and the bankruptcy of the city's largest lumber mill, the Lansing Lumber Company. As noted
in the State Republican, however, business was clearly on the upswing by the fall
of 1897.
The 400 employees of Bement's company made up Lansing's largest workforce. Only a
handful among the city's other factories employed even 100 workers. Women did not work in
heavy industry. They found jobs at companies like the Lansing Pants and Overall Co., the
Michigan Knitting Co. or the Michigan Condensed Milk Co. Very few Lansing manufacturers
reported employing any youth or children.
Visit some of the industries featured in Lansing 1897—
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