John Boos’ company is one of the oldest in America, especially in his industry. He started it in a small town in Illinois and it has been there since early 1887. No one would have thought that he would have made it this far. He named it for one of his sons so that he could run the company when he got older. John did most of his crafting in a blacksmith shop that was on West Jefferson Street. He got his wood for his cutting blocks locally in Illinois that were made out of sycamore lumber. It was made and produced in a sawmill and then was shipped over to his place to finish the final process. Where it was processed at stayed in operation as a blacksmith shop until late 1892 when it moved to another side of town, where it still is today.
The sycamore tree that was used in making his blocks was used by the blacksmith. He would put the tree on 3 legs to make the horseshoes straight. The block of wood then got the shock of the hammer that was used by the blacksmith. The wood was very prone to withstanding such force. The butcher realized that he could use of these contraptions in his butcher shop. Mr. John decided to make him one and he still has his company today. He first started making the blocks for just meat markets back then that were popular, especially in the big cities. It was the only place that the public went to buy meat back then. The grocery stores didn’t carry much meat if any at all back then, so they had no choice but to go.
The Boos Company stayed on the path of making butcher blocks for the commercial use mainly until around World War 2. During this world war, the company noticed that the army needed tables and work tables for the soldiers. So they started designing and manufacturing these tables for the army and them during the World War. This was a big new source of revenue for the company. The Army was buying more than the company could supply. Once they realized that the company could build just more than butcher blocks, it was like a light bulb going off. So they started planning some other ideas that could make them more money.
The company knew that it had the resources to open up and do more. So it started planning to expand slowly by offering a dry kiln. It increased its office and warehouse space to help with the increased demand that was needed. The company was then set to move into the 20th century full steam ahead.