I was really looking for the Sani-Cream / Henny Penny building on a Halloween afternoon in 2009. It was just a coincidence I knocked off a couple frames of the Campbell Mattress Company at 3 South Hanover.
I didn’t realize the mattress company had been in business since 1933.
History of Campbell Mattress
Here are just a few of the stories from The Missourian:
- May 28, 1935 – Fire destroyed Campbell Mattress Manufacturing Co. plant at 29 South Spanish. Fire was caused by burning bales of mattress cotton.
- March 24, 1937 – A foundation wall gave way at the Campbell Mattress Co., 6 South Hanover street. “Four Negroes working in a ditch being dug for a sewer heard the crumbling of the brick wall and scrambled to safety. The ditch was being dug by A.E. Birk, a plumbing contractor.”
- December 31, 1941 – Campbell Mattress was one of Cape’s leading manufacturing plants during the year. The shoe factory was the largest employer, with 1200 to 1400 workers.
- December 7, 1955 – Common Pleas Judge J. Henry Caruthers, who served on the bench longer than any of his predecessors in the 104-year history of the court, died December 6, 1955. He and his brother, W.P. Caruthers, established the Missouri Mattress Manufacturing Co. before selling it to W.T. Ruff and Lee James. The Campbell Mattress Co. at 6 South Hanover is a successor to the original factory, and occupies the building erected by Judge Caruthers and his brother.
- September 30, 1987 – Manuel G. Campbell, 79, died September 29, 1987. He owned and operated Campbell Mattress Co. from 1933 until 1983, when he sold the business and retired.
- March 18, 1994 – Sprinkler system prevents serious blaze at mattress company.
- August 5, 2000 – Fire at Campbell Mattress Co. warehouse at 100 Minnesota St. caused estimated $375,000 damage.
- July 9, 2002 – Campbell Mattress Co. lands deal to provide mattresses for the Chicago Bears football team’s summer training facility. Owner Norman Wood wouldn’t say how many mattresses were ordered, but “they’re all king-size.”
