Former Pentwater Wire Factory | Halstead Table Company | Pentwater Boy | Sands & Maxwell
The former Sands & Maxwell Building looks relatively new but it is steeped in Pentwater history. The industrial building fills the block between between Carroll and Wythe and 4th and 5th Streets. Today the building is home to the Pentwater Wire Company.
In the beginning the Sands & Maxwell Building was a two-story framed blacksmith/wagon shop.
By 1887 the frame building was converted to two brick buildings designed for the manufacture of carriages, wagons and sleighs.
Between 1893-1895 the next iteration was the Halstead Table Company, a family business.
From 1910-1912 the building housed the Saunders & Chase Company and invented and sold to commercial fishermen the "Pentwater Boy,” a net lifter.
In 1916 the property was still owned by the Halstead family and Daniel Halstead launched the Pentwater Machinery Company.
In 1942 the company was converted to a defense plant during World War II.
After the war in 1946, the building was remodeled and expanded to add a 15,000 sq. ft and a second floor was added. The company made a number of products that included an outdoor grill and machinery for making concrete blocks. In 1950 the building was closed, and by 1953 the business had relocated to Fort Wayne, Indiana.
From 1956 to present, the building reopened as the Pentwater Wire Products and expanded to 68,000 sq. ft. and manufactures fabricated wire products.
Information Sources:
Online Company Information
The Historical Marker Database.
