The Dilgart & Bittner Company

Here is an advertisement created by Gerald Abele Signs for the Dilgart & Bittner Company. (Most records list Dilgart as the correct spelling of the first partner’s name, though the sign gives the spelling as Dilgert.) According to A Standard History of Erie County, by Hewson L. Peeke, Dilgart & Bittner was “a business which Sandusky people regard with special pride, and for many years its development and prosperity have reflected upon the thorough commercial enterprise and character of William H. Dilgart, senior proprietor.”

William H. Dilgart came to Sandusky in 1901, and opened a furniture store in the Odd Fellows building. On March 4, 1905 William H. Dilgart and William P. Bittner formed a partnership, and the company was incorporated in 1907. The business, located on East Market Street, was a retail establishment which sold furniture, floor coverings, stoves, and other household items. After a fire in 1906, the store relocated at Wayne and East Market Streets.

After another fire in 1916, the Dilgart & Bittner store moved to East Washington Row.

In the mid 1920’s, the partnership between Mr. Dilgart and Mr. Bittner was dissolved, but William H. Dilgart continued in the furniture business. William P. Bittner went on to become secretary of the Erie County Investment Company.