The American Stamping Company, located in Battle Creek. This is by far, one of the hardest places in terms of history to document. We have found very limited information about this facility.
"American Stamping Company, c1911 Willard Library" Accessed from wbckfm.com
The American Stamping Company, located in Battle Creek, was established as a company in the year 1911. When you think of stamping, you might think of the traditional postage stamp that is used to send letters. However, this type of stamping company specialized in "deep-draw metal products." (Tales of Battle Creek, pg. 39) The Michigan Central Railroad line served the American Stamping Company the resources they needed to produce these deep-draw metal products of the time. Not much is known about the original operations of The American Stamping Co. from its opening year in 1911, until its eventual closing which happened after the 1980s. However, we do know that in November of 1915 an accident occurred at the company. According to a historical newspaper from the era, this accident involved an employee getting his finger stuck in one of the machines, resulting in an eventual amputation. The newspaper excerpt reads: "George Newman, employed at the American Stamping company plant, caught the Index finger of his right hand In a press Thursday night and it was necessary to amputate the member at the first joint." ([Williard Library Newspaper Archive] Battle Creek Moon-Journal, Friday, November 5, 1915, Page/Image 18) More information was brought to light 2 years after the incident at the American Stamping Co: According to a U.S. Department of Labor inspection that happened on March 17, 1917, American Stamping Co. employed 39 Men and 13 Women, for a total number of 52 employees as of that inspection in 1917. (Department Of Labor, 1917) This is a good number of employees for the day, and it was also especially good that they included the employment of women as well as men for this era. After coming across a Facebook post in a group dedicated to the historical preservation of the city of Battle Creek, a conversation was found between 3 individuals talking about the American Stamping Co, and their history with it. One user claims that, "American Stamping Company, was owned, I believe, by the Ordway family." This claim can be solidified as the truth via a patent that was filed for the American Stamping Company under the Ordway name in 1925. The patent seems to be for an apparatus that claims to be a "Combination holder for razor blades and paper." (Google Patents) The patent was filed by Howard B. Sherman and Donald P. Ordway. The latter of whom is presumably of the Ordway family in which the Facebook user mentions. We get some more insight on the operations of the American Stamping Company with another reply to the aforementioned Facebook post. Another user replied to the previous replies stating that the user actually worked at the company during the 1970s and 1980s. The user claimed that the company produced "parts for tanks burners for stove's hose clamps and a few more various parts," which were presumably stamped out using the original "deep-draw" technique that the company started with in the 1910s. Not much else is known about the historically elusive American Stamping Co, to The Forgotten Existence's knowledge.