When P.D. Beckwith started manufacturing stoves in the late 1860s, he had four regular employees.

By 1879, he had 40 employees, with the July 30, 1879, Dowagiac Republican noting that “his stove factory is a regular bee hive. Most of the money they earn is left here at home, too.”

On Oct. 15, the same paper reported on the expansion of the factory as he had to start building up as he had fully built up the grounds. The stove was so popular across the nation that he had trouble keeping up with demand.

The demand was both local and national. The Jan. 7, 1880, paper stated that “Mr. P.D. Beckwith has shipped an even 100 stoves to the single town of Eaton Rapids during last season. F.H. Ross and Company have sold over 40 about here during the same time.” Ross ran a hardware store on Front Street and to have sold 40 in one season seems like solid business.

So, how does this solid business impact Dowagiac?

Some American communities became “factory towns” during this era — the factory owners also owned the businesses in town, the housing units, etc. The factory would pay its workers, who would pay their rent back to the factory owner, buy groceries at the factory-run general store, and drink whiskey at the factory-owned saloon, further lining the pockets of the factory owners. Nearby Three Oaks, with the Featherbone factory, was a classic factory town.

Dowagiac did not operate as a factory town, however. Round Oak’s impact on the greater Dowagiac community was immense, but Beckwith did not own the shops. For example, the Republican wrote in its May 5, 1880, edition that “one manufacturing establishment in this city pays out about $1,000 per week to employees, who in turn, pay out about every dollar to dealers in our place.”

In other words, almost all the money he paid out went to local businesses, and a $1,000 weekly payroll was significant for a town the size of Dowagiac.

P.D. Beckwith was popular in town — city residents elected him mayor for most of the 1880s, despite the fact that he ran as either a Democrat or Independent in a Republican city.

This is largely because of his popularity with his employees. His workers regularly gave him gifts, including a birthday present in 1882 of a granite top table and statue of a scene from Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice.”

The manufacture of the “famous” Round Oak stove continued, the factory grew and Beckwith continued to improve the lives of his employees and the residents of the city. There is one well-known tale of him arranging for the purchase of a home for one of his first employees, who had a drinking habit.

Socially, Beckwith approved the organization of the Round Oak Base Ball team in the mid-1880s and set aside a part of the Stove Works grounds for a ball field. The Round Oak team entertained the city for decades.

Beckwith’s wife, Catherine, led the Dowagiac Ladies Library Society and had P.D. build the city’s first library in 1872, which sat on the site of the parking lot next to China Garden. Proceeds from various fundraisers over the years went to the library.

Beckwith helped beautify the city by planting trees as a private citizen and championed paving and other city improvements as mayor. His love of the arts led to the opera house on Beeson Street being constructed while his love of dance inspired the dual use of the Round Oak Hall as a warehouse and dance hall.

P.D. Beckwith died on Jan. 11, 1889, after a brief illness.

His legacy grew in stature long after his death. In 1893, the Beckwith Memorial Building (with the Beckwith Theater inside) on Front Street opened, which the family had built in his honor. Today, Beckwith Park sits on the site and the Beckwith Theater Company uses the family name in recognition of his impact on the city.

Dowagiac became a furnace manufacturing giant in the 20th century because of Beckwith’s initial foray into the production of heating stoves.

My favorite description of Philo D. Beckwith was printed in the Dowagiac Republican on April 28, 1880. A Capt. Hendryx had written to the Paw Paw newspaper a letter about Beckwith:

“I have occasionally been at Dowagiac and have often noticed Mr. P.D. Beckwith on the streets with a white horse hitched to a one-horse lumber wagon with a long bench for a seat, and always on the alert, sometimes hauling stoves to the depot, handling them himself. On Thursday of last week, I walked over to the works and perused them. A run through the establishment showed that if the master wasn’t there, he was around. I spoke to no one in the shop and no one even looked at me. Every man was right at his biz, and everything seemed to be moving like clockwork.”

The Republican concluded the article: “After a hard, long, and determined struggle, there are few men that have brighter pecuniary prospects than Mr. Beckwith. An increase of this world’s goods does not have the effect of making him think himself superior to his fellows, but rather the contrary, and on every hand we hear warm wishes for his future success and happiness.”

Beckwith clearly enjoyed the respect of his employees and the City of Dowagiac. Based upon visitor comments at the museum, that respect continues today.

Steve Arseneau is the director of the Dowagiac Area History Museum. He resides in Niles with his wife, Christina, and children, Theodore and Eleanor.