Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
F. A. MILLER BROOM FACTORY
F. A. MILLER BROOM FACTORY. The firm of F. A. Miller manufactured brooms, brushes, and turkey feather dusters. It was also a dealer in all kinds of broom materials including handles, wire and twine. The company, established in 1870, was located at 243-247 Iowa Street in the 1880s.
In 1910 it was the largest broom factory in Iowa. Brooms were manufactured for a number of wholesale grocery firms of the northwest and then labeled with the grocery firm's name and sold as their brand. Annual production was estimated at 225,000 brooms using approximately 400,000 pounds of broom corn.
All the work was done by machinery. The corn, or straw as it was also known, was sorted into different lengths by machinery. The seeds were removed and the corn wound onto the handles with wire. Another machine sewed the broom in place to hold its flat shape.
The company's territory included Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska and the Dakotas.
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Source:
"The Miller Broom Factory Has a Record of 40 Prosperous Years," Telegraph Herald, Feb. 1910]