Here's quite a write-up of James L. Clark as the Proprietor of the Star Match Works:
Quote:
The Star Match Works was established in 1862 by James L. Clark. He named the company after his family's coat-of-arms, which was a 5-point star. The first building was erected in 1864 and the company eventually occupied 12 acres and five buildings in the vicinity of High, Osceola and Blackhawk streets. In 1871, the company employed 100 people, half of whom were children between the ages of 10 and 15. By 1879, the company produced over 53,000,000 boxes of matches (100 per box) and employed 400 workers. In 1881, the plant was sold to Diamond Match Co. and Mr. Clark went on to establish the Clark Carriage Works. He died in 1885. About 250 people worked at Diamond Match Co. in 1884. Diamond Match invented "book matches" and diversified into other product lines such as ice cream sticks, toothpicks and clothespins. The Diamond Match Company closed on Nov. 4, 1955.
Posted 11/10/2013 06:47 am
