Going Greene: A Wheeling Industry

Dunkard Creek has often been an important part in the history of Greene County: an essential waterway, a way to navigate, and a connection to the outside world. Follow Dunkard long enough and you’ll reach the Monongahela River. Run it north to Pittsburgh and there you’ll find the Ohio River. We could easily argue that the Ohio is one of the most important rivers in American history, second only to the mighty Mississippi, and there, in Pittsburgh, the Ohio forms from the confluence of the waters of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers. From Pittsburgh, one of the first major cities you’ll come across on the Ohio is Wheeling, West Virginia.

Wheeling, an old town first settled in 1769 by Ebenezer Zane was originally called Zanesburg. Other families would settle there as well, including the Wetzels, Shepherds, and McCollochs. More folks would come to live in the area after the opening of the Northwest Territory, and it would become an important spot for those wishing to continue migrating westward. In 1793, Ebenezer Zane would divide his land into lots, and Wheeling was officially born.

The Ohio River was an extremely important part of Wheeling, allowing travel and easy access to Pittsburgh to the east and the Mississippi River to the west. Like all river towns, the Ohio was Wheeling’s very lifeblood. As time passed, the Industrial Revolution added a layer of life to the region, and the Ohio River played an even more important role.

Throughout the 1860s and 70s, industry blossomed in Wheeling, mostly along the banks of the Ohio, and the town prospered. Many individuals found the opportunity to start a business and forged a successful path for themselves in the changing world of the late 19th century. One of these men was Archibald Woods Paull.

Paull was born in Wheeling on November 26,1845, the son of a prominent citizen and judge, James Paull. He received his early education at the Linsly Institute and later at Washington and Jefferson College, in Washington, PA, where he graduated in 1865. After he completed his schooling, A. W. Paull began working in the book and stationary industry in Wheeling. This pursuit did not suit him, so, in 1877, Paull would establish his own company in a different trade. 

Nail City Lantern Company would be his business. Nail City was a common nickname for Wheeling, as one of the major industries was the manufacturing of cut nails. It was often said at the time that Wheeling was the “Cut Nail Capital of the World.” When the company formed, it initially employed 20 individuals and produced primarily hand (common use) lanterns, railroad lanterns, tin capped Mason jars, and small incidental items. At that time, the company was at 1212 Main Street in Wheeling WV, in a small four-story brick building.

Business for Paull boomed, and the company expanded, adding more employees, and moving several times until 1892, when they would settle in their last location in Wheeling at 2106-2116 Water Street. The company would remain there until 1956. The 1890s were an exciting time for Nail City Lantern Company: they produced several new models of lanterns for the market, with an innovative design, easy to stamp and assemble, and a new mechanism to raise the globe. This would be called the “Crank Tubular Lantern,” a popular item at the time and one of the most desirable lanterns to be found by collectors in modern times.

Joseph Bokanoski of Vernon, CT has been collecting Nail City items for over 10 years and has amassed one of the best collections of Nail City Lantern Company’s products known in existence today. Joe’s collection includes lanterns from all periods of the company’s history, Mason jars, meat hooks manufactured by Nail City Lantern Company, marked crates and boxes, signs and catalogs, and many examples of the Crank Tubular Lantern. His collection and knowledge have been a tremendous source of reference.

Throughout the 19th century, the company prospered. In 1894, the name changed to Nail City Stamping, with Archibald W. Paull still president of the Company. On December 2, 1898, Paull passed from this life, and the company went to his son, Archibald Woods Paull II. The company’s name changed to Wheeling Stamping Company, still housed in the same four-story brick structure on Water Street where it has been for the previous six years.

Lantern manufacturing changed, and simpler, more affordable yet still high-quality lanterns were created, and other tin stamped items were also regularly manufactured. During WWI, the company would make metal mess kits for soldiers on the front and may have possibly supplied our local troops that fought in WWI from Company K out of Waynesburg.

Still, the company would thrive under the leadership of Archibald W. Paull II, who would remain in control of the company for the rest of his life. His last significant act was overseeing the 1956 move of the company from its location on Water Street in Wheeling to the former Packer Trucking Company Building in the Warwood area of Wheeling. Archibald W. Paull II passed on December 2, 1957, 59 years to the day after the death of his father. Wheeling Stamping survived for many more years, finally dissolving on September 4, 1990.

Products made by Wheeling Stamping, especially in its early form Nail City Lantern Company, are now highly collectable. Nail City lanterns can fetch large prices at auction and their early Mason jars are very desirable amongst collectors, and sadly there are not an abundance of these items to be found, even locally in the region where they were manufactured. But should you ever come across something marked NCL, WS or Wheeling Stamping, or even a Paull’s Lantern made by Wheeling Stamping Company, know that you have found an important and interesting piece of our regional history.