Woodstock Manufacturing Company of Michigan bought Woodstock Die Casting from the Allied-Signal Corporation in 1985. After years of decline, the factory closed June 29, 1990 resulting in the loss of 757 jobs. The City of Woodstock took ownership of the property in 1991 and all the buildings were demolished in anticipation of redevelopment. The Water Tower was the last structure remaining on the site. Many townspeople watched as the tower, a landmark for more than 100 years, was toppled.]]> Don Peasley]]> IN COPYRIGHT

]]> As of 2026, the property is still vacant.]]> Don Peasley]]>
IN COPYRIGHT

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In the Typewriters notebook]]> Don Peasley]]>
IN COPYRIGHT

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Typewriters notebook]]>
Woodstock--Die Casting Timeline
Predecessors:
1893 Woodstock Public Improvement Committee offered a $20,000 bonus to attract industry
1894 Tappan & Wheeler Steam Pump Company moved from Chicago; produced pumps for Procter & Gamble, Colgate and other soap manufacturers.
1896 Oliver Typewriter Company produced typewriters sold all over the world. As the major employer of the area (1,400 employees), the company had a band, fire department, semi-pro baseball team and major social events such as a summer picnic in the Fox River Grove picnic grounds. The Oliver typewriter allowed the user to see the letters as they were typed, rather than raising the bar to read the copy. It went out of business in 1927 when it was deemed too costly to retool the factory. It stayed open a few years offering repair services.
1928 Alemite Die Casting & Manufacturing of Chicago produced aluminum cookware, parts for Hamilton Beach, Speed Queen, Whirlpool; electric trains and toys; and many other items. Their fireproof storage room held over 4, 000 different precision molds.
1935 Electric Auto-Lite made automobile parts and accessories, including door handles, grilles and hood ornaments for Ford Motor Company and Packard and others. It had over 2,000 employees in 1949.
1963 Woodstock Die Casting, (the name was bought from its parent company, Eltra Corporation) manufactured automotive, appliance and industrial fittings
1964 A five-year building and renovation project added 100,000 square feet to the complex
1979 Allied Chemical Corporation acquired Eltra.
1980 Allied merged with Signal Corporation and became Allied-Signal Corporation.
1985 Woodstock Manufacturing Corporation purchased the plant and named the company Woodstock Die Cast Corporation. Despite the name, the company was located in Southfield, Michigan.
1988 United Auto Workers Local 922 went on strike. The dispute over pay, pensions and safety issues lasted over two years.
1990 Woodstock Die Cast plant closed on June 29 with a loss of 757 jobs.
1992 Mary Ann Talbert and Pauline Gray convince officials to let them remove historical documents from the company vault the day before the building was closed-down and locked for good. Mary Ann donated the items to the McHenry County Historical Society.
1997 The 400,000 square -foot plant was demolished; the 204-foot smokestack was the last to go in May 7.]]> Don Peasley]]> IN COPYRIGHT]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Typewriters notebook
]]>
The original Tappan Steam Pump then Oliver Typewriter factory is located to the right of the right-hand smokestack. The old McHenry County Courthouse dome is in the center bottom. Buildings on Cass St., Throop St., Washington St., Main St., Benton St., Church St., Clay St., and along the railroad tracks can be seen. The smokestack on the left is part of the Woocstock city power plant on Wheeler St. Clay Street School is in the top center.

Woodstock--Die Casting Timeline
Predecessors:
1893 Woodstock Public Improvement Committee offered a $20,000 bonus to attract industry
1894 Tappan & Wheeler Steam Pump Company moved from Chicago; produced pumps for Procter & Gamble, Colgate and other soap manufacturers.
1896 Oliver Typewriter Company produced typewriters sold all over the world. As the major employer of the area (1,400 employees), the company had a band, fire department, semi-pro baseball team and major social events such as a summer picnic in the Fox River Grove picnic grounds. The Oliver typewriter allowed the user to see the letters as they were typed, rather than raising the bar to read the copy. It went out of business in 1927 when it was deemed too costly to retool the factory. It stayed open a few years offering repair services.
1928 Alemite Die Casting & Manufacturing of Chicago produced aluminum cookware, parts for Hamilton Beach, Speed Queen, Whirlpool; electric trains and toys; and many other items. Their fireproof storage room held over 4, 000 different precision molds.
1935 Electric Auto-Lite made automobile parts and accessories, including door handles, grilles and hood ornaments for Ford Motor Company and Packard and others. It had over 2,000 employees in 1949.
1963 Woodstock Die Casting, (the name was bought from its parent company, Eltra Corporation) manufactured automotive, appliance and industrial fittings
1964 A five-year building and renovation project added 100,000 square feet to the complex
1979 Allied Chemical Corporation acquired Eltra.
1980 Allied merged with Signal Corporation and became Allied-Signal Corporation.
1985 Woodstock Manufacturing Corporation purchased the plant and named the company Woodstock Die Cast Corporation. Despite the name, the company was located in Southfield, Michigan.
1988 United Auto Workers Local 922 went on strike. The dispute over pay, pensions and safety issues lasted over two years.
1990 Woodstock Die Cast plant closed on June 29 with a loss of 757 jobs.
1992 Mary Ann Talbert and Pauline Gray convince officials to let them remove historical documents from the company vault the day before the building was closed-down and locked for good. Mary Ann donated the items to the McHenry County Historical Society.
1997 The 400,000 square -foot plant was demolished; the 204-foot smokestack was the last to go in May 7.]]> Don Peasley]]> IN COPYRIGHT]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Typewriters notebook]]> The photo was taken for the Woodstock Die Casting employee newsletter "The Spotlite"

The pool was demolished in 2007 after Woodstock Water Works was completed in 2002.]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In photos 1970-2002 notebook]]>
The photo was taken for the Woodstock Die Casting employee newsletter "The Spotlite"]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]>
112 N. Benton Stones
114 N. Benton Lloyds
118 N. Benton Hogan's Apparel (which has expanded into the space formerly occupied by Bushkopf's which is now in the Hotel Woodstock space on the corner).]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Die Cast Site 6 was taken on Clay St looking south toward the factory at the intersection of First St. The white residence at 703 Clay St is still standing.
Die Cast Site 7 shows the hood of a car parked in the train depot lot (on the west side of the track) that opened onto Wheeler St. The street crossing the tracks has since been closed off.
Die Cast Site 8 was taken from the train parking lot closer to the station showing a line of cars in that lot, the tracks, and then the back side of buildings on Clay St.The brown one is the back of White House Tavern and the white building is the Butternut Bakery Thrift Shop (see Die Cast Site 10 for the front).
Die Cast Site 9 is a longer view of the parking lot so that the entire south façade of the factory and the Woodstock Die Casting lettering is visible. This photo is good for seeing where the smokestack and the water tower were situated.
Die Cast Site 10 was taken on Clay St near the north end of the Moose & Hutchins . 409 Clay-White House Tavern; 421 Clay; 425 Butternut Bread; 425 Illinois State Employment Security.]]> Keefe, Jim]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Keefe Photos (original photos) notebook]]> 1928 Alemite Die Casting & Manufacturing of Chicago produced aluminum cookware, parts for Hamilton Beach, Speed Queen, Whirlpool; electric trains and toys; and many other items. Their fireproof storage room held over 4, 000 different precision molds.
1935 Electric Auto-Lite made automobile parts and accessories, including door handles, grilles and hood ornaments for Ford Motor Company and Packard and others. It had over 2,000 employees in 1949.
1963 Woodstock Die Casting, (the name was bought from its parent company, Eltra Corporation) manufactured automotive, appliance and industrial fittings
1964 A five-year building and renovation project added 100,000 square feet to the complex
1979 Allied Chemical Corporation acquired Eltra.
1980 Allied merged with Signal Corporation and became Allied-Signal Corporation.
1985 Woodstock Manufacturing Corporation purchased the plant and named the company Woodstock Die Cast Corporation. Despite the name, the company was located in Southfield, Michigan.
1988 United Auto Workers Local 922 went on strike. The dispute over pay, pensions and safety issues lasted over two years.
1990 Woodstock Die Cast plant closed on June 29 with a loss of 757 jobs.
Jim Keefe took a series of photos in 1997, just before the buildings were demolished. They show both the buildings on the factory grounds and also the surrounding neighborhood. This ID has 5 photos. 5 more are included in ID 407.
Die Cast Site 5 shows First St. on the left and Clay St across the open expanse of grass after the demolition.]]> Keefe, Jim]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Keefe Photos (original photos) notebook]]> This long shot shows the baseball field and dugout with the pool house in the background. Two horse-drawn wagons circle the edge. This is where the Dream Field is now.]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Submitted to Inde's Photo Detective for identification of the people 3-2019]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> ]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Small children ride in wooden seats linked by chains to the merry go round. The ride was set up on the softball field with Woodstock Softball painted on the snow fence. The Little League field is in the top left corner.]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> These photos were taken for the employee's newsletter "The Spotlite."]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> The Ferris Wheel is photographed looking west with the old Bigelow farm house partially obscured by trees at the right (the Water Works road went passed the house before it was torn down).]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> An unknown family relaxes under the pavillion known today as Main Pavilion.

Sent to Photo Detective column at the Woodstock Independent to see if the family can be identified.]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> ]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> This shows the Ferris Wheel, Tilt-A-Whirl and swings.]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook
]]> Woodstock Die Casting]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 6 Photos
In Photos 1970-2002 notebook]]> Keefe, Jim]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 9
In Keefe Photos (original photos)]]>
Jim started with a picture of the Woodstock Square taken near the E. Jackson St entrance that shows the smokestack in the distance beyond Main St. Next people gather to watch, including one photographer standing on his van. In the third photo, the chimney is starting to topple. In the fourth photo, only the dust remains where the smokestack stood. Finally, Jim returned to the same location on the Square to show the empty space in the distance where the smokestack stood.

For more photos of the demolition, see the Don Peasley collection.]]> Keefe, Jim]]> NO COPYRIGHT - NON-COMMERCIAL USE ONLY

]]> File Cabinet 9
In Keefe Photos (original photos)]]>