The Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works Made the Hero Reaper

Though the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was begun in the mid nineteenth century, it was not incorporated until 1870, with W.F. Converse as the president. The 1874 Sandusky City Directory states that the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was located on Water Street between Jackson and Decatur Streets. The company manufactured threshers, corn shellers, portable engines and other agricultural implements. In the business collections of the Sandusky Archives Research Center is a catalog for the Hero Reaper, made by the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works in the 1880s.

The brochure’s cover claimed that the Hero Reaper was the lightest draft and strongest reaper in the world. It could work in any type of soil, and was easily pulled by a pair of light horses. The Hero Reaper sold for $125, and each reaper came with its own tool box of extra bolts, rivets and wrenches. Several pages containing testimonials of farmers who had satisfactorily used the Hero Reaper were printed in the 1881 catalog.

Another product manufactured by the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was the Excelsior Gleaner and Binder, which was said to be simple, efficient and light.

Eventually the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works was consolidated with the Klotz and Kromer Machine Company.

In the early twentieth century, the Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works name was dropped, and by 1929, the Klotz and Kromer Machine Company incorporated as the Klotz Machine Company. Later it was known as the Klotz Machine and Foundry Company, which was acquired by Union Chain in 1951. Today, the company formerly known as Union Chain is a part of U.S. Tsubaki, located on Edgewater Avenue on Sandusky’s west side.