Marsh Wheeling

In 1840, Mifflin Marsh, at the age of 22, began making and selling stogies to steamboat crews and passengers and Conestoga wagon drivers. The price was four for a penny. He made these stogies in his home and sold them in a basket that he carried around. In 1869, Marsh went into business with his son, William, and formed M. Marsh and Son. Mifflin served as president until his death in 1901 then his son took over. Stogies were traditionally had rolled. A good roller could roll about 1,000 a day, but with the mechanization of rolling cigars, the hand rolling soon became obsolete. In 1931, M. Marsh and Sons rented more than 40 machines, each producing more than 5,000 stogies a day. Women were hired, especially during World War II, as the operators of these machines. At the peak, the factory employed 600 workers. After the war, Marsh became the only large stogie manufacturer still in business. In 2001, National Cigar Corporation bought all of the brands owned by Marsh and the plant was closed down and production was moved to Frankfort, Indiana. Marsh was in business in Wheeling for 160 years.