Matern Stove and Furnace Company

Henry Matern was born in Germany in 1827. He came to the United States in 1849, and settled in Sandusky in 1850, opening a stove and tinware business in town in 1856. His store was on the south side of Water Street between Jackson Street and Columbus Avenue. By 1869, his brother Phillip had joined the business with him. In 1889 Henry Matern organized the Matern Stove and Furnace Company. 

The “Jewel Grand” model was considered the grandest stove in America, according to a newspaper ad that appeared in the Sandusky Register in 1889.

Mr. Matern also had a floral shop on Washington Street. Henry Matern, Sr. passed away on April 10, 1898, survived by his widow, and seven children. Following his death, his son, Henry Matern, Jr., took over the stove business, and his widow, the former Lena Linkenbach, ran the flower shop.

The stoves carried by the Matern Stove and Furnace Company had impressive names such as Jewel, Sterling, and Garnet. In the ad below, which was featured in the October 4, 1901 issue of the Sandusky Daily Star, it was stated that a barrel of flour was baked into bread using only ten cents of hard coal. This stove was once demonstrated at the Erie County Fair.

A brochure published by the Detroit Stove Works, with story problems and puzzlers was given away by the Matern Company. It was entitled “Mental Nuts: Can You Crack ‘em?”

Puzzler number 3 read:

The Beggar

A beggar had a brother, the brother died and the man who died had no brother.

The answer to the puzzler is:

The beggar was a woman

The name of the business eventually was shortened to the Matern Stove Company. It went out of business in the fall of 1917. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to find information about the historical businesses and residents of Sandusky and Erie County.