Lake Erie Hide and Leather Company

A vehicle owned by the Lake Erie Hide and Leather Company is pictured above, in front of the Griswold-Wagg Motor Company on East Market Street in Sandusky about 1920. The Lake Erie Hide and Leather Company was incorporated on October 5, 1909, and was located at the southeast corner of Hayes Avenue and North Depot Street. In 1912 the officers of the Lake Erie Hide and Leather Company were: A.G. Kibler, president; M.M. Kibler, vice-president; A.F. Cronenberger, secretary; and S.J. Kibler, treasurer. The Kibler family was from New Washington, Ohio, where several family members were associated with a tannery business and other business and political interests. Products carried by the Lake Erie Hide and Leather Company included hides, furs, wool, tallow, and pelts. An advertisement which appeared in the January 5, 1922 issue of the Sandusky Register listed the prices for a variety of hides. Opossum hides sold for seventy cents, mink for seven dollars, skunks for three dollars, and large red rat hides sold for a dollar and fifty cents.

The hides, furs, and other leather products handled by the company were easily shipped via the New York Central Railway, due to the company’s close proximity to the New York Central Depot.

The 1923-1924 Sandusky City Directory listed S.J. Kibler as the president of the Lake Erie Hide and Leather Company. By 1925, the Lake Erie Hide and Leather Company was no longer operating in Sandusky, Ohio.