Arcade

Arcade Manufacturing Company was incorporated in Freeport, Illinois, in 1885, succeeding the Novelty and Brass Foundry. It made household goods, industrial castings and coffee mills. After moving to a new building in 1891, the company suffered a major fire the following year. It reorganized in 1893 and built a factory in the area later known as the Arcade Addition. L.L. Munn joined as partner and president; Edward H. Morgan was vice-president, and Charles Morgan was treasurer and superintendent.

Arcade bought machinery, tooling and patterns from the failed Union Plating & Manufacturing Company in 1896. By early 1897 it had added cast-iron toys and safe banks, and in 1900 issued a catalogue devoted to toys and notions. In 1921, Arcade agreed to make a miniature Yellow Cab; its success led the company to concentrate more on larger toys. A Fordson tractor followed in 1922, then a toy food chopper, stove and doll furniture. Arcade added a larger factory in 1927. During the Depression, its automotive toys helped sustain the business, and a toy bus modeled on the Century of Progress fairgrounds in Chicago sold well in 1933. The company also made woodworking machines by 1935. Arcade ceased toy production in 1941. In 1945, Munn sold the company to Rockwell Manufacturing, and toy production did not resume.