Compiled by:
Originally posted on:
This document is presented with permission from the original researchers, Dwayne Henson, Ton Penkava, and various members of the Wagner and Griswold Society. The above credits must be included with any and all copies of this document, including the original authors and sources.
- 1889 – Atlanta Stove Works started. John R. Dickey a founder.
- 1890's- Reorganized as, Georgia Stove Works
- 1893 – Alexander S. (Stephens) Seals (b. 12/29/1858) hired as Vice-President, General Manager, C.W. Hunnicutt was President and John R. Dickey Secretary/Treasurer of Georgia Stove Works. (The Cotton States & International Expo of the South. 1896)
- 1898 – Reorganized back as, Atlanta Stove Works. Sam D. Jones invests in Atlanta Stove Works, Alexander S. Seals is President. Sam D. Jones is made Vice-President.
- 1899 –- September 22 at age 40, Atlanta Stove Works President-Alexander S. Seals dies of TB. Sam D. Jones and his brother, Bolling Jones Sr., together purchase the stock from Mr. Seals’ estate. The two now own approximately 82% of the corporate stock
- **1902 – Alabama Manufacturing Co. started in Birmingham, Alabama, to only make hollow ware, cast iron cookware for Atlanta Stove Works. The Barrett Range was ASW’s main product and they needed the hollow-ware to sell/give with it. 80 convicts are leased from the state of Alabama for labor. [1]
- **1909 – Alabama Manufacturing Co. renamed Birmingham Stove & Range Co. after buying the stove and range patterns from a foundry that had gone under. B. Harry Hartsfield, Vice-President and General Manager. S.T. Price (Sr.) Secretary/Treasurer (A History of Birmingham & It's Environs, a Narrative Acct, Vol 2)
- 1915 – Original BS&R plant burned (Was in N. B’ham) starting in the porcelain enameling section.
- 1916 – Land acquired and construction commenced to replace building previously lost to fire. Located on the corner of 27th Avenue North and Huntsville Road (now called Shuttlesworth Drive)
- 1930 – Sam D. Jones dies
- 1930's – "Piggy" Greenfield (BS&R Salesman in LA) suggested turning the charcoal Sad Iron Heater into a Fish Fryer. The Sportsman Grill is invented.
- 1933 – Bolling Jones Sr. dies. Bolling Jones Jr. (who was named after his uncle, Sam D. was his father) becomes President of both ASW and BS&R
- 1938 – Legally renamed; before this time ASW and BS&R were separate companies, they became known as The Atlanta Stove Works Inc. D.B.A. Birmingham Stove & Range Co. Prior to this a holding company called Republic Stove held all the stock. Holding Companies became illegal in 1938, hence the name change.
- 1947 – Saunders Jones II begins working at ASW
- 1948 – BS&R’s Porcelain enameling plant burns down, not rebuilt
- 1949 – Began casting Lawn Furniture (or as Mr. Jones II called it-Cemetery Furniture)
- 1957 – Atlanta Stove Works, Foundry-Closed. BS&R continues to produce products under both the ASW and BS&R names. Century line started, named by S.T. Price Sr., "Made to Last 100 Years!”
- 1959 – S.T. Price Sr., General Manager of BS&R retires after serving for 50 years (1909-1959). Saunders Jones II (Bolling Jones Jr’s son) becomes the GM at BS&R.
- 1966 – The first of the automated molding machines installed. (DISA Matics)
- 1967 – 2nd DISA Matic installed. Cornbread Skillet by Billy Washburn (Foundry Foreman then) and Mike Bryan (Personal Mgr.) created.
- 1968 – Total of 4 Disa Matics
- 1973 – Boilling Jones Jr. dies, his son, Saunders Jones II becomes President of BS&R
- 1975 – New melt facility with a holding furnace built
- 1977 – A&B Parts Division created. a parts depot for ASW and BS&R stoves and heaters. November 15, Hugh Rushing joins BS&R.
- 1984 – Majority Shares sold to Wisely Group, Oscar Wisely becomes President. Saunders Jones II remains as Executive VP
- 1986 – December 31, the legal name of Atlanta Stove Works D.B.A. Birmingham Stove and Range Company is changed to A&B Foundry. The trademarks; ASW, BS&R, Century were still used/retained.
- 1987 – Martin purchases A&B Foundry's (ASW D.B.A. BS&R) gas heater, wood and coal stove patterns and jigs.
- 1988 – Saunders Jones II retires
- 1991 – May 31, A&B Foundry (Birmingham Stove & Range Co.), Closed. DISA Matics are moved to Robinson Iron in Alexander City, AL. Robinson ran A&B (BS&R) labeled cookware using those transferred DISA Matics and A&B (BS&R) patterns. Robinson did NOT sell any of the cookware it was still labeled Century. Lodge ran Lawn Furniture casting for A&B (BS&R). April, Hugh Rushing leaves company (VP Marketing for BS&R/A&B) for the Cookware Manufacturers' Association becoming their Executive Vice-President in 1992.
- 1993 – January 6, A&B Foundry (BS&R) took Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Relinquishes patterns of the Sportsman Grill to Lodge to satisfy debt.
Sources: Saunders Jones II, President of BS&R (1973-1984), Saunders Jones Jr., Hugh Rushing, VP Marketing BS&R/A&B (1977-1991), C. Moreman, Sales Manager BS&R.
This is the type of information archived at the Wagner and Griswold Society Forum (WaGS), member's side. Compiled by Dwayne Henson and Tom Penkava and others at WaGS.
- Statement by Dwayne Henson, Wagner and Griswold Society: "When I posted this I knew it would end up in other places. I am considering doing some kind of pamphlet or such on BS&R and would hate for someone down the line to think I snatched this time line off the internet, So may I request the following. that if this is copied, by anybody, that it is only copied in its entirety. Including the heading, where it was originally posted, BS&R Cast Iron Cooking and More. Plus all the BS&R sources in their entirety as listed on the bottom including WaGS, Tom and I as compilers, that all that stays with this timeline. This is not just to toot my own horn, but IMO goes to Academic Honesty. I just shake my head whenever someone lists some internet site as a good source of BS&R material and as I read from that site it it includes direct quotes of phone interviews I conducted and recorded on WaGS, but that information is never sourced or credited as to where the writer obtained it. As recorders of the past, documentation matters and is important. We should always ask in our minds while reading anything, where did this writer/recorder get this information? And anyone that writes or records history should always document where the information came from." – posted to the Facebook group BS&R Cast Iron Cooking and More, June 25, 2015, 7:57 AM: [2]
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