Warwick China Co. in Wheeling

The Warwick China Co. produced china 1887 to 1951. Formed by local businessmen J. R. McCortney, O. C. Dewey, C.J. Rawlings, Albert F. Stifel and A.J. Cecil, the company came into being to fill the needs of a growing middle class with affordable chinaware. The first president was J. R. McCourtney, who served until June 1889, when he was succeeded by O. C. Dewey. Following the appointment of Thomas Carr as president and general manager in 1892, the output of the company increased nearly 100 percent, and the number of employees grew from 120 to 260. Charles (C. E.) Jackson,  who had introduced Vitrified Translucent China (1911-1935) to the Warwick line, took over as president in 1911. Carr left Warwick China in 1916 to start his own business — the Carr Pottery Company in Grafton, WV. George Bowers became the president of the company in 1934 , introducing the Santone China line, the last of the company's productions. S. H. Hubbard ran the company from 1944-1947 until the company was bought by Harry Bloomberg & Associates in a merger with Sebring China Company to form the Warwick China Corporation. Edward Kren served at the General Manager of the Corporation until the business closed in 1951, drawing the last kiln on October 29, 1951.  

Warwick China was noted for the Ioga line (produced between 1893 and 1911) and specialized in brown glazed pieces with portraits of Indians, monks, and fraternal emblems, as well as flow blue china and delft patterns. The company made vases, dinnerware, teapots, coffeepots, pitchers, bowls, and jardinieres, using decals or hand painting skills of their many artists to decorate their wares. 

The Warwick China Co. factory was located in Center Wheeling at 2140 Water Street, corner of Alley 18. Following declining sales, in November 1951, the factory on Water Street was sold to the Marx Toy Company of New York for $250,000. The property was used as a warehouse by Marx Toys. All the equipment was dismantled and the company records were burned. By the 1980s, most of the factory complex had been demolished with only the original factory building on the corner of 22nd and Water Street remaining.

The Warwick property was purchased by the City of Wheeling in October 2002 with Community Development Block Grant funds for $183,000. Engineering studies determined the 50,000 square foot original factory building was not structurally sound and it was demolished in 2004.

➤ Biographical sketch of Warwick China Co. from 1902
➤ Making China at Warwick China Co., Wheeling Intelligencer, Wednesday, October 9th, 1912
➤ Marx to Buy Warwick China, Wheeling Intelligencer, Tuesday, August 14th, 1951
➤ Memories and Treasures of Warwick China Club, Wheeling News-Register, Sunday, September 14th, 2014  

Location

➤ 2140 Water Street, corner of Alley 18 to 22nd Street. (Demolished - 2004) 

Images

Additional Resources

➤ Vertical File: Warwick China Co., Wheeling Room, non-circulating, ask for access at the reference desk.
➤ Warwick China: The Company Built By People, John R. Rader, Sr., 2000. Wheeling Room, non-circulating, ask for access at the reference desk.
➤ Why not Warwick : literary composition, ideas and private collection, Hoffmann, Donald C., 1975. Wheeling Room, non-circulating, ask for access at the reference desk.
➤ Archives Vertical File: Warwick China Company, non-circulating. View by appointment only. Please call 304-232-0244 or ask at the reference desk to make an appointment.