William Shimer, Son and Company
Freemansburg, Pennsylvania
In June of 1875 William B. Shimer established Shimer & Company in a former woolen mill near Shimersville, Pennsylvania. The firm consisted of William Shimer, his two sons, Milton J. and Irwin H., and William’s brother Jacob T. Shimer. The new foundry specialized in the manufacture of sad irons, scales, toys and small hardware. On October 18, 1877 Irwin Shimer married Amanda Hoffman of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Later that same year the name of the company was changed to William Shimer and Sons. The 1880 census listed the occupation for both Milton and Irwin as ‘MFTRS HARDWARE’, while that of their father William Shimer was listed as ‘Farmer’.
Milton Shimer was married to Georgia Bixler. Their nephew, Lewis Sharps Bixler, started working in the foundry in 1877 at the age of 15. By the age of 18 he was promoted to foreman, and by age 28 was the General Superintendent. In 1899, Lewis Bixler resigned and joined C. A. Jones to form Jones and Bixler who was known for the manufacture of toys and novelties in Freemansburg, Pennsylvania. He was later associated with Kenton Hardware, and for a short time the Hubley Manufacturing Company, who also made toys.
In April of 1885 Irwin Shimer left the foundry and joined with his father-in-law, James Jacob Hoffman, who was an established carriage builder in Bethlehem. The new business was called Hoffman & Shimer. It was at this time that the name of the foundry changed again, to William Shimer, Son and Company.
On March 14, 1893 Milton Shimer was granted Patent No. D 22,291 for a Trolley Bank. This was their only know patent for a toy bank. His father, William Shimer, died on July 16, 1899 at the age of 78. It was around this time that Stanley D. Shimer, Milton’s son, joined him in the day-to-day running of the company.
In 1915 there was a fire at the foundry that proved to be the death knell for the company. While Milton originally pledged to reopen, the company never did. In February of 1916 Lewis Bixler, by then with Kenton Hardware, purchased Shimer’s profitable toy pistol business.
