Making Toys in the US

We have been making toys in the US for a long time. The location of the first mass produced factory in the US was located in Akron,Oh. The ability to turn out over a million marbles a day changed the way children played.
Marbles have a long history and are thought to have originated in Pakistan. They have been documented in Egypt and the Roman empire. Who would have thought that the US could have such an impact on a storied toy.

The first glass marbles made in the US for the toy market was produced by the S.C. Dyke & Co. in 1884. They had the capability to produce over 1 million marbles a day. This filled up 5 rail road cars every day.These were clay marbles that were affectionately known as commies.

The reason they became known as that were due to the abundance of the marbles. Making toys had been a largely manual business. Samuel Dyke had been able to produce the marbles on a level that now allowed children to spend their own money on a handful of marbles. They got one handful for a penny.

The children spending a penny led a lot of resentment towards the company as they were taking money from children. Making toys is never easy. The mass production of marbles led them to increase in popularity.

As with all popular things they tend to fade away. There are only two marble manufacturing companies left in the United States. I never knew that when I was looking for some marbles I would learn how they launched an entire industry and solidify a town.

Little did they realize that many of the things that the children did back then would also transpire today. The situation has changed along with the implements, but they are still the same.

We are not keeping up with the Joneses, but we still are knuckling down.