Champion Hardware Company

Geneva, Ohio

The Champion Hardware Company traces its origin to the Champion Safety Lock and Novelty Company which was founded in 1883 in Cleveland, Ohio.  In 1901 John A. and Ezra W. Hasenpflug moved the company to Geneva, Ohio and changed the name to the Champion Safety Lock Company.  Production of builders hardware resumed in January 1903.  Their offerings included hinges, locks, and bolts for doors and windows in addition to other items for household use.

On February 13, 1912 the company changed its name a second time, to the Champion Hardware Company.  This new company was known to have produced cast iron toys and banks as early at 1922.  Their only toy safe, the Champion Safe Savings Bank, dates to 1934 and was offered in several different color combinations.  Like many companies of their day, toy manufacturing ceased around 1941 as they geared up and shifted focus to products that supported the war effort.

In 1954 the Champion Hardware Company was sold to the Washington Steel Company.   The plant was closed in June of 1957 and the equipment sold to the Safe Padlock Hardware Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.