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eshop at web store for Pad Locks American Made at Wilson Bohannan in product category Home Improvement Tools & Supplies

WIN up to $10,000 & use 10,000 Links to Made in the USA Products
Win up to $10,000 by using Made in America Secrets, it is the only website providing product specific links for Made in the USA Pad Locks, and 10,000 other American Made products. Finding any of the Made in America products in our database is made easy by using our search and navigation buttons. Clicking any of our links that result from searching for products connects the consumer to an online store that sells them.

Made in America Secrets is a unique search engine like tool that when used, returns only Made in America product providers and their web stores. We also are the only website giving away up to $10,000 for buying Ameircan made products. Our giveaway includes more too. Visitors can also WIN $100 and $1,000 just for buying Made in America products through our website. Check out our WIN $10,000 page it provides the complete details. No gimicks either we pay real money!

Since it's free - try our site next time you are looking for anything made in the US like American Furniture, American Apparel & Clothing, or even Watches that are Made in Detorit, Michigan. Check out our Gift Ideas tab when searching for Made in USA gifts it's quick and easy saving you valuable time. Also if you love Pinterest like we do, check out our Pinnables tab or go direct to our Pinterest Boards. These images are great as reminders for the next time you want to buy American Made products. Our research told us approximately 150,000,000 US consumers are either very interested or extremely interested in buying Made in America products. For them, one of the greatest deterrents to buying Made in America products is not being able to quickly find them. We solve that problem with Made In America Secrets it makes it easy for the US consumer to find and buy any one of thousands of Made in America products. The following are a few examples of these:


Made in the USA products in the Home Improvement Tools & Supplies category: American Made Pad Locks, Insulated Linesman Pliers, Insulated Open End Wrenches, Presses, Reverse Osmosis, Porcelain Lighting Fixtures, Kitchen & Bath Fixtures, Roofing Shears, Attic Ventilations, Tape Measurers, Lock Chains, Special Purpose Flashlights, Schoolhouse Lighting, Concrete Floats, Adjustable Hood Lites, Vinyl Windows, Commercial Wood Doors, Artisan Doors, Fans, Tool Belt Systems, Wrench. All from great American Made manufacturers. We link the consumer to thousands of Made in America products in over fifty categories.


Become a more informed American Made shopper by reading our buying tips
The Tip is 'City Magazines'

I was in the magazine section recently and saw the Indianapolis Monthly. The cover title read "Made In Indiana." I read the article and was amazed that all sorts of things were being made in the state. This is contrary to what most American's believe. Most of us think everything is made overseas. We still make the majority of what we consume and our buying tips we call Little Secrets help you realize that. Being from Indiana, I decided to visit several of the referenced web sites and I am proud to say I have purchased some of the best products ever. All thanks to the "City Monthly Magazine".

Other city magazines like the Portland Oregon monthly are full of wonderful facts about Made in America businesses. According to the Portland monthly, Oregonians have long had a love affair with beer and Portland is the unofficial brewery capital of America. As I recall, from reading the city magazine, Portland has 35 breweries with Oregon having over 100. During the summer Portland has three beer festivals that draw over 100,000 people.

Oregonians love affair with beer is responsible for a great Made in America product. This is evidenced by a popular Saturday morning CBS TV program choosing five made in Oregon beers as the best in America. Even though Budweiser Made in America is the most recognized it was not even on the list. According to CBS the top five beers in America are Widmer Hefeweizen , Full Sail Session Lager, Deschutes Green Lakes Ale, Bridgeport IPA, and Rogue Dead Guy Ale.


Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by Wilson Bohannan

After working for several other manufacturing companies, Wilson decided it was time to go it alone. Well not quite alone, he and his fourteen year old son, Wilson Todd Bohannan, set up a small shop behind their modest Brooklyn home and began assembling padlocks. Wilson Bohannan was granted his first patent on April 17 , 1860.

Their success didn't happen overnight, but by 1870, Wilson was able to move out of his garage and into a much bigger building. His new workshop was located on the comer of Kossuth Place and Broadway, also in Brooklyn. In a few short years, Wilson Bohannan & Co. began to enjoy some success. Steam engines were purchased and used to power several new machines. The steam also provided heat during winter to a vastly growing number of employees. Production increased dramatically.

FactoryIn 1888, the company was incorporated and business was booming. That same year Wilson Bohannan Inc. built a new factory on Lexington Ave. This factory was four stories and almost 10,000 square feet. This new factory also contained a brass foundry where all the padlocks were cast. By the turn of the century, nearly two hundred employees were now casting, assembling and shipping an estimated 100,000 padlocks. Railways were Wilson's biggest consumers. The most popular WB padlocks sold to the railroads were the models 115 and 119 .These models were produced in great numbers. Even today, these locks can readily be found at many flea markets and computer auctions at a very reasonable price.

Before Wilson Bohannan passed away on February 22, 1896, his patented padlocks could be found worldwide. He enjoyed a fine reputation for his Well Built padlocks and left behind many friends. His thriving business was left to his family so that future generations could follow in his footsteps.

Wilson Todd Bohannan, who was Wilson's only son, took his father's position with the company but died 1904 at the age of 44. The next generation to keep the business in the family was Wilson Bohannan Tway.

Lock AdBy 1926 the factory on Lexington Avenue was nearly 40 years old and Wilson Tway decided it was time to leave Brooklyn. Earlier in his life, while traveling across country in the army, he had gotten off a train in a small town in the Mid-West and was quite impressed with the towns relaxed atmosphere. This town was Marion, Ohio. So in 1927, he moved the entire outfit to the quaint town of Marion.

As times changed, so did WB padlocks. Switch locks were now outdated and the competition was already producing pin tumbler padlocks. By the late 1930's, WB introduced its first pin tumbler mechanism padlock. This new padlock allowed for many more key changes and, for the first time, master keyed systems were offered.

The market for padlocks was also changing. New highways filled with freight trucks were quickly absorbing electric railways. Now the focus was on Public Utilities, and they remain to this day, the largest consumer of WB padlocks. By the late 1950's WB introduced its first extruded solid brass padlock. This new weather resistant padlock was designed for outdoor utility usage and are still being produced today.

Wilson Bohannan is the oldest family owned padlock company still producing padlocks in the United States. A fact that Wilson would certainly be proud of.
by William B. Tway

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