The Acme Bolster Roll from Hinde and Dauch

The advertisement above appeared in the book What: Souvenir of Sandusky, Ohio and the Islands of Lake Erie, published by Hill & Dolly, and printed by I.F. Mack and Brother in 1903. The illustrations at the top of the page are for the Acme Bolster Roll, which was a popular item manufactured by Hinde and Dauch in the first decade of the twentieth century. Made of corrugated jute board and weighing only four pounds, it was used a decorating item. It could be covered with fabric to match the bedspread, and gave a neat appearance to the bedroom during the daytime. In another ad from Everybody’s Magazine, Hinde and Dauch offered a free 88 page booklet with hints on home furnishing using the Acme Bolster Roll.

Hinde and Dauch also made gummed security mailing envelopes in the early 1900s, as well as double corrugated paper fillers. The Hinde and Dauch Champion Bottle Wrapper was patented in 1896. The wrapper was used in the shipping of wine and liquor bottles, helping to keep the bottles from breaking during shipment. 

The Hinde and Dauch Company employed many area residents in the first half of the twentieth century.  Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to read more about the historic businesses and residents of Sandusky and Erie County.

Early Images of the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company

Pictured above are employees of the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company, probably around 1890. In 1888, Jacob J. Dauch and James J. Hinde took over the Sandusky Paper Mill, which was located at the southeast corner of Shelby and Filmore Streets. Both Mr. Dauch and Mr. Hinde had been farmers in Erie County, and they made extra income by baling straw and selling it to the Sandusky Paper Mill for use in making paper from the straw. 

The Hinde and Dauch Paper Company was incorporated in 1900.  That same year, this commemorative medal was presented to Hinde and Dauch at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, for the company’s achievements in the manufacturing of paper products.

Below are several of the company’s employees in 1905 at the Hinde and Dauch factory at the northeast corner of West Water Street and Decatur Streets, known in later years as the Keller Building.

        

The Hinde and Dauch Paper Company became known worldwide as a major manufacturer of corrugated boxes. The Water Street factory had to be re-built in 1906 in order to keep up with the demand for corrugated boxes. 

These Hinde and Dauch employees are seen riding on a truck, in preparation for a parade.

During the years of 1917-1918, the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company built a new factory at the site of the former Woolworth Handle Factory, which was across the street from the Water Street factory on a pier along Sandusky Bay. The general offices remained in the Water Street location.

In 1927, the general offices of the company were moved from the old Water Street factory to a new building at 407 Decatur Street, now home to the Sandusky City Schools Board of Education. In the first half of the 1900s, Hinde and Dauch had factories in several locations throughout the United States and Canada. In 1953, the company was acquired by Westvaco. For most of the 1980s, the company operated as Displayco Midwest, which was bought out by Chesapeake in 1989. The factory closed in 1997. The former Hinde and Dauch building, pictured above, at 401 West Shoreline Drive is now home to Chesapeake Lofts. An article which provides the history of the development of Hinde and Dauch is available online. 

Cora Gated, the Child of Hinde and Dauch

While not human, “Cora Gated” was a female who was often seen in Sandusky in the 1950’s. “Cora Gated” was a trademark of the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company, as seen on this silver lighter, which is now in the collections of The Follett House Museum.

On February 24, 1953,  the company filed for a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.  “Cora Gated” was a representation of a woman wearing a cardboard box hat and clothing in the shape of a corrugated box, one of the primary products manufactured by Hinde and Dauch. The trademark was registered on April 27, 1954.

Below are the several design codes associated with the “Cora Gated” trademark, which had the serial number 716442639.

Design Search Code

02.03.16 - Hats (women wearing); Women wearing hats 02.03.26 - Grotesque women formed by letters, numbers, punctuation or geometric shapes 04.07.02 - Objects forming a person; Person formed by objects 19.07.09 - Boxes, bread; Boxes, jewelry; Boxes, take out food; Boxes, tissue; Recipe boxes 26.05.02 - Plain single line triangles; Triangles, plain single line 26.05.13 - Triangles, exactly two triangles; Two triangles 26.05.21 - Triangles that are completely or partially shaded

 “Cora Gated” is no longer an active trademark, but she brings back memories of days gone by

in Sandusky.

J.J. Hinde and J.J. Dauch, the Men behind the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company

Image of James J. Hinde courtesy of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, Ohio

James J. Hinde was born in Huron Township, Ohio on March 31, 1855 to Mr. and Mrs. William J. Hinde, who were both natives of Ireland. Jacob J. Dauch was also born in Huron Township, on July 2, 1857, to Philip and Mary Dauch, who were of German descent. In the 1880 U.S. Census, both J.J. Hinde and J.J. Dauch were residing in Huron Township of Erie County, and they both listed their occupation as farmer. In 1888, Hinde and Dauch formed a partnership to harvest and bale straw to be used in paper making. One of their customers was the Sandusky Paper Mill, which made butcher wrapping paper from straw. The paper mill ran into financial difficulty, and after leasing it for a time, in 1892 Mr. Hinde and Mr. Dauch purchased the mill. The company eventually became known as the Hinde and Dauch PaperCompany.  In its early years, the business was not very profitable. After  developing corrugated paper, Hinde and Dauch Paper became a leading company in its field. 

An article in the March 2, 1986 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that J.J. Hinde was the inventor, and J.J. Dauch was the business man in the partnership. Below is a drawing from Patent Number 1,005,836, for a machine for making paper board, designed by James J. Hinde in 1910. The patent was issued on October 17, 1911.

 Eventually the Hinde and Dauch Company became the largest manufacturer of its kind in the United States. There were box factories in several cities of the U.S. and Canada, and paper mills as far west as Iowa. 

In 1910, J.J. Hinde left the Hinde and Dauch Company, in order to pursue other interests. Among his later business interests were the Sandusky Automobile Company, the Hinde Paper Company, and the Hinde Brick and Tile Company. Unfortunately none of these ventures proved to be successful.  Mr. Hinde died from pneumonia on February 22, 1931. In his obituary, found in the 1931 Obituary Notebook at the Sandusky Library, we learn that Henry Ford visited J.J. Hinde, where he showed Ford the first tractor that he had ever seen. Mr. Hinde was known as an ardent conversationalist, and he often spoke fondly of Ireland, the birthplace of his ancestors.

J.J. Dauch became the president of Hinde and Dauch after Mr. Hinde departed.  In the image below, J.J. Dauch is with a group of Hinde and Dauch employees, who were all graduates of the Sandusky Business College; the photo was featured in a promotional booklet for the school. The picture was accompanied by a letter of endorsement for the college on stationery from another business Dauch owned, the Dauch Manufacturing Company.

Mr. Dauch had been a graduate of the college in 1876, when it was known as the Buckeye Business and Telegraph College. In 1881, he purchased the Sandusky Business College, but sold it in 1884. 

Sadly, Mr. Dauch died in an automobile accident on August 15, 1918, at the age of 61. His chauffeur, Harry Hicks, also died in the accident, and Dauch’s wife and daughter were injured. Another injured passenger in the car was J.W. Wellington, the president of the Matthews Engineering Company. 

An article by Tom Twitchell which highlighted the life and career of industrialist J.J. Dauch appeared in the March 2, 1986 issue of the Sandusky Register, available on microfilm at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.  In the article appeared a quote by local historian Gordon Wendt, about J.J. Dauch, “He was the wealthiest man in town, and the most important.”  

In 1953, Hinde and Dauch was acquired by Westvaco. For most of the 1980s, the company operated as Displayco Midwest, which was bought out by the Chesapeake Corporation in 1989. The factory closed in 1997. The former Hinde and Dauch building at 401 West Shoreline Drive is now home to Chesapeake Lofts. An article which provides the history of the development of Hinde and Dauch is available online. Tom Jackson wrote an excellent article for the Sandusky Register covers the Paper District in Sandusky.

Though J.J. Hinde and J.J. Dauch were associated with the Hinde and Dauch Paper Company for a relatively short time, their names live on in the history of Sandusky and the paper making industry.