A help for locals breaking out of the Great Depression

The former The W. A. Stokes and Company began their local operation in 1917 when it purchased the planing plant of H. H. Smith, which was located on Railroad Street, next to the American House Hotel in the borough.  Prior to being a  woodworking shop, the building was hotel's dance hall named the "Odeon

            It was slightly over 80 years ago, as the United States was slowly climbing out of the Great Depression, that a local manufacturer brought good news to the area in the form of more work and more jobs.

            W. A. Stokes and Company, located along the tracks of the Reading Railroad's Perkiomen line, announced the purchase of a product line of tables from a nationally known company.  The increase in industrial activity at the Pennsburg plant was expected to add a million dollars to the existing production output.

            At the time, Stokes employed 45-60 employees througout the year.

            The W. A. Stokes and Company began their local operation in 1917 when it purchased the planing plant of H. H. Smith, which was located on Railroad Street, next to the American House Hotel in the borough.  Prior to being a  woodworking shop, the building was the hotel's dance hall named the "Odeon."

The property of the W. A. was once home to Dr. Charles Q. Hillegass; paper manu- factureing business.

             In 1927 Stokes added the nearby factory buildings of the late Dr. Charles Q. Hillegass who died earlier that year.  The buildings were originally constructed to house Hillegass' paper manufacturing business after his Perkiomen Paper Mill burned to the ground in 1917.  Later, Stokes constructed an additional sturcture on Fourth Street that was used as a warehouse.

            Employment, at times, reached 150 workers.

            The W. A. Stokes Company was a maker of "knock-down" furniture then.  That is, they manufactured the furniture components then shipped them to other locations for assembly and ultimately, retail sellers.

            At the time, about 80 percent of Stokes' furniture was shipped to New York and 10 percent to Philadelphia.  The company also sold furniture to other parts of the world including China and South America.

            Over the years, the company continued to expand till it covered a two-block area from Cherry Street to the railroad tracks and from Second Street from Fourth Street.

            The company ceased operating in Pennsburg in early 1972.  The property was sold in Nov. of 1972 for $76,000.

The vacant building that once housed the W. A. Stokes Co. in Pennsburg was de- stroyed by fire on Sept. 25, 1976.

            The building complex sat vacant for several years.

            During the early hours of Sept. 25, 1976, a devastating fire roared through the building and destroyed the oldest building on the four-acre site.  The inferno sent debris from burning tar-paper over a wide area of the borough.

            The remaining buildings were eventually razed to make way for new homes.