Red Cross stove
Encyclopedia
The Red Cross stove is a kitchen stove
used for cooking and heating a home of the late 19th and early 20th-century. The reason for the name "Red Cross" was because of the advertising logo used in promoting the product, which had a red Gothic cross.
. This company made all kinds of heating stoves and cooking ranges. It eventually went out of business in 1930. This company that made the "Red Cross" stove was originally organized in 1867 by Nicholas Brayer and Edward W. Peck as the Co-Operative Foundry Company. Frank N. Brayer, father of Nicholas, became its president. Nicholas Brayer was foreman
at the John M. French Foundry Company in the mid-19th century where the "Red Cross" stove and other heating stoves were being manufactured originally. That production part of the company branched off on its own and became the Co-Operative Foundry Company.
The Co-Operative Foundry Company started with its employees all owning stock in it. When this co-operative was organized it
took over operations of a furnace and stove production plant called the French Foundry and used it as a branch location. In 1920 about $1,250,000 of furnaces, heaters, ranges and other kinds of stoves, including the "Red Cross" kitchen stove, were being manufactured. Frank M. Brayer, as president, was responsible for producing between 8,000 and 9,000 furnaces in the 1920s. It was estimated that over one million people were being warmed by these heating units that included the "Red Cross" stove.
The plant of the Co-Operative Foundry Company, where the "Red Cross" stove and other ranges were mainly manufactured, consisted of six major buildings and a few smaller ones with a combined floor area of 300,000 square feet.
The prosperious company had the latest technological devices for keeping the manufacturing air clean for the employees and had about 250 people at its peak operation. The company at its Rochester plant in 1920 had a recently installed porcelain enameling plant adjoining the main assembling plant. The enameling capability could then produce fifty "Red Cross" stoves a day. The concrete structure plant producing the "Red Cross" stove contained 7200 square feet of floor space. This "Red Cross" stove production branch had its own electric power plant equiped with a 450 horse power Kerr Turbine. The full line of "Red Cross" enameled stoves had its own special catalog to illustrate the models and colors available. The colors were grey, blue, green, and black. There was a prosperous European business for the "Red Cross" stove that was headquartered in the Netherlands
.
There was also another branch of the company in Chicago that started in 1879 that also produced "Red Cross" stoves. This branch was run by Robert Robinson under the name R. Robinson and Son located on Lake St. The company changed its name in 1890 to Robinson Furnace Company when they added warm air heaters.
Kitchen stove
A kitchen stove, cooking stove, cookstove, or cooker is a kitchen appliance designed for the purpose of cooking food. Kitchen stoves rely on the application of direct heat for the cooking process and may also contain an oven, used for baking.In the industrialized world, as stoves replaced open...
used for cooking and heating a home of the late 19th and early 20th-century. The reason for the name "Red Cross" was because of the advertising logo used in promoting the product, which had a red Gothic cross.
History
The "Red Cross" stove was manufactured in various versions and models from 1867 to 1930 by the Co-Operative Foundry Company of Rochester, New YorkRochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. This company made all kinds of heating stoves and cooking ranges. It eventually went out of business in 1930. This company that made the "Red Cross" stove was originally organized in 1867 by Nicholas Brayer and Edward W. Peck as the Co-Operative Foundry Company. Frank N. Brayer, father of Nicholas, became its president. Nicholas Brayer was foreman
Foreman
Foreman may refer to:* Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of the construction crew* Foreman of Signals, the most highly qualified non-commissioned signal equipment managers and Incorporated Engineers in the Royal Corps of Signals...
at the John M. French Foundry Company in the mid-19th century where the "Red Cross" stove and other heating stoves were being manufactured originally. That production part of the company branched off on its own and became the Co-Operative Foundry Company.
The Co-Operative Foundry Company started with its employees all owning stock in it. When this co-operative was organized it
took over operations of a furnace and stove production plant called the French Foundry and used it as a branch location. In 1920 about $1,250,000 of furnaces, heaters, ranges and other kinds of stoves, including the "Red Cross" kitchen stove, were being manufactured. Frank M. Brayer, as president, was responsible for producing between 8,000 and 9,000 furnaces in the 1920s. It was estimated that over one million people were being warmed by these heating units that included the "Red Cross" stove.
The plant of the Co-Operative Foundry Company, where the "Red Cross" stove and other ranges were mainly manufactured, consisted of six major buildings and a few smaller ones with a combined floor area of 300,000 square feet.
The prosperious company had the latest technological devices for keeping the manufacturing air clean for the employees and had about 250 people at its peak operation. The company at its Rochester plant in 1920 had a recently installed porcelain enameling plant adjoining the main assembling plant. The enameling capability could then produce fifty "Red Cross" stoves a day. The concrete structure plant producing the "Red Cross" stove contained 7200 square feet of floor space. This "Red Cross" stove production branch had its own electric power plant equiped with a 450 horse power Kerr Turbine. The full line of "Red Cross" enameled stoves had its own special catalog to illustrate the models and colors available. The colors were grey, blue, green, and black. There was a prosperous European business for the "Red Cross" stove that was headquartered in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
There was also another branch of the company in Chicago that started in 1879 that also produced "Red Cross" stoves. This branch was run by Robert Robinson under the name R. Robinson and Son located on Lake St. The company changed its name in 1890 to Robinson Furnace Company when they added warm air heaters.