Kewanee, Illinois - Industry

Industry

Kewanee was well known in the steam industry for fire-tube boilers. The Kewanee Boiler Corporation manufactured and sold thousands of boilers throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada and the world for well over one hundred years. However, the company failed in 2002 and was forced to go out of business. However, these boilers are still extremely common. An example of a Kewanee steam boiler can be seen in a scene in the movie The Blues Brothers. Specifically, when Cab Calloway's character named Curtis offers to "buy you boys a drink", he takes Jake and Elwood down to the orphanage's basement, where the boiler is easily seen in the background. A Kewanee boiler is also the dwelling place for the character Suzie DeSoto, played by Debra Winger, in the 1982 film version of John Steinbeck's book Cannery Row. The Kewanee High School athletic teams are nicknamed the "Boilermakers."

Kewanee was also home to the Walworth Company, Kewanee Machinery and Conveyor Company and Kewanee Manufacturing Company – all manufacturers that employed many local blue collar workers in their heyday. Kewanee, once a prominent industrial town, has fallen into silence like many similar communities in the past twenty years. Beyond the falling indunstries there have been a few blooming businesses that shine as prominent growing developments, for example, Goods Furniture Store. Goods is known across Kewanee, Illinois, and further for being an excellent source for beautiful and affordable furniture.