by Andrew Henderson

The world’s oldest and largest ceiling-fan manufacturer blew into town recently to revisit its heritage.

They also toured the sites where the fans were once manufactured.

The company is planning on constructing a museum next year at its facility in Memphis, Tenn. with an emphasis on the Fulton years.

“This year marks our 112th year of rich heritage and history, which began in Fulton,” said John Andrews of Texas Ceiling Fans, Inc., the historical consultant for Hunter, which is currently based in Memphis. “Many of the manufacturing and engineering principals as well as designs in use today were implemented at the old Hunter Arms Building at the turn of the century. We are extremely proud of our association with Fulton.

“Even though Hunter left Fulton 62 years ago, the Fulton years have not been forgotten,” Andrews added. “The company today is really into the rich heritage of the Hunter Fan Co., and it all started in Fulton.”

Company history

The Hunter Fan Company was founded in 1886 in Syracuse by Irish immigrants James C. Hunter and his father, John Hunter. The business engaged in the manufacture of water motors and meters.

The father and son duo expanded their operations to include the production of belt-driven fans, the power for which was first provided by water motors and later by the Tuerk Electric Motor, which they developed.

In 1889, the growing company moved its operations to Fulton where it would spend the next 50 years at a plant located on Front Street, extending from Huling Street to Tolbot Street. After the death of John Hunter, his six sons incorporated the company and focused their attention on expanding the production of ceiling fans.

By the early 1920s, the company was best known for its electric fans. The fans were especially popular in India and China and throughout the Far East, where thousands were imported each year.

Desk oscillating fans had been added to the Hunter product line by the mid-1920s. In 1936, after purchasing the fan division of Century Electric Company, Hunter began manufacturing large pedestal air circulating fans and direct exhaust fans, as well, which were used by many of the finest hotels and stores. Two years later, the company began producing attic fans.

During World War II, the company suspended manufacturing of ventilating equipment for consumer use and concentrated its efforts on aiding the war effort. Hunter produced belt fans for government use in Army hospitals and barracks as well as portable ventilators and oscillators for the Navy.

With the post-war boom in the U.S. economy, Hunter expanded its operations to keep up with the growing need for commercial and industrial ventilating equipment. In 1946, the company moved its plant from Fulton to its present location in Memphis in order to take advantage of the rapid industrial expansion of the south.

“The majority of the product was being shipped to the south and freight costs from Fulton to Memphis was outrageous so the company was moved to Memphis,” Andrews said.

Fulton visit

During their visit last week, company officials and family members visited the Hunter homestead in Sterling Valley, a hamlet northeast of Fair Haven on Route 104A north of the Route 3 intersection. The Hunter family owned a grocery store and operated a post office in the hamlet.

The group also visited the site of the Hunter Arms Co. facility that was located along the Oswego River Canal near Black Clawson. That four-story building fell in 1950 during a violent storm.

In 1879, L. C. Smith and his brother, Leroy, formed a partnership with another man to make guns in Syracuse. In 1881, Leroy Smith and his partner decided to sell the company to L. C. Smith. Smith, who wanted to get out of the gun-making business and into typewriters, sold the company to the Hunter brothers of Fulton in 1884 with the stipulation that every gun must have L. C. Smith’s name engraved on it.

L.C. Smith shotguns were so well known that even movie star Clark Gable purchased two of them from the local company in 1939.

Hunter Fan Co. Senior Vice President of Marketing Product Development Jim Barrett and Senior Vice President of Sales Jeff Newman joined Jim and Teri and James Hunter, the great-great grandson of James C. Hunter, on the trip last week. The Hunters drove from Grosse Isle, Mich. to meet company officials in Fulton.

The group also visited a second manufacturing building owned by Hunter within the City of Fulton. “One of the rear doors were open and we went in and took some pictures,” said Andrews. “I don’t know how old that is. No one seems to know when the fan company occupied that building.”

The Hunter Fan Co. placed an advertisement in The Valley News nearly four weeks ago. The ad stated that the company was interested in historical documents, table and desk fans—anything that had to do with the company.

“I got so many calls from that ad,” said Andrews. “I wish I had come up a couple days early because I had all these people to contact who had history on the company.”

Andrews said that one Fulton resident, who lives in a house built in 1905, removed an old Hunter ceiling fan five years ago. That ceiling fan, built in 1906, cost $55 at that time.

“He has it in his garage and it has the original switch,” said Andrews. “It has two light arms with the original Victorian shades on it. It’s real possible that that ceiling fan was put in that house brand new, which was really an anomaly because back in those days, especially in New York State, there were not homes with ceiling fans in them.”

Andrews related that he received another call from a former Fulton resident who lives in Florida. The 88-year-old has a Hunter table fan with nickel blades that once belonged to her mother.

“She would like to donate that to Hunter Fan Co. for our museum,” noted Andrews.

Company officials said they enjoyed their visit and are planning on returning next summer as guests at the Hunter family reunion. The company’s current CEO, Charles Smith, is expected to attend.

“We at Hunter Fan Company would like to thank Teri and James C. Hunter, who coordinated our trip and drove to Fulton from their home in Detroit to join us,” said Andrews. “We would also like to extend thanks to Julie Yankowsky, the present Fulton historical society museum director, and Elma Smith, the past president and director. They were very accommodating and spent over four hours with us sharing historical documents and photographs on the various Hunter enterprises in Fulton.”

Andrews also thanked Rich Beyer, the local L.C. Smith historian who spent the whole day with company officials in Fulton. Beyer took the company officials to the site of the former manufacturing facility.

After writing an 80-page book about the Hunter Arms Company and its famous L.C. Smith shotguns, Beyer authored a 114-page second edition that includes additional historical information about the Fulton plant and its employees.

“He took us by the site of the old plant and it’s all overgrown and stuff,” said Andrews. “We found a dozen bricks from the old building, which were dropped off at the UPS store and shipped them back to Memphis for our museum.”

Looking for more information

The company is interested in historical items from the Fulton years, including desk top and ceiling fans, documents, business cards, catalogs, photographs, and advertisements from the following Hunter companies: Hunter Fan & Motor Co., Hunter Arms Co., Hunter Bicycle Co., and Tuerk Water Meter Co.

Samuel Tuerk founded the Tuerk Water Meter Co. in Syracuse in the early 1880s. He went into partnership with John and James Hunter in 1885. In 1890, he moved his manufacturing operations to the Hunter Arms building in Fulton and began building belt-driven ceiling fans, operated by Syracuse Water motors.

In 1896, he patented the first alternating-current ceiling fan, called the “Tuerk Type A.” Subsequent ceiling fans were “Type B,” “Type C,” “Type CO,” and “Type E.” The “B,” which came out in 1900, is extremely rare.

Those with information and memorabilia may call Andrews (512-415-8226) or Beyer (593-2002).