WorldWide Drilling Resource

The Mitchell, Lewis & Staver Legacy Adapted from Information by Mitchell, Lewis & Staver Co. Mitchell, Lewis & Staver Co. is one of the oldest businesses in the West. The com- pany has served the needs of the agricultural community for more than 170 years, by creating system designs for irrigation products, pumps, greenhouses, and related equipment, along with providing quality drilling products and accessories, including screens, bits, shafts, well screens, lubricants, sand, down-the-hole hammers and bits, and more. The company’s early story began when Henry Mitchell arrived in America as a Scottish emigrant in 1834 with his wife. They settled in Chicago where Henry built the first wagon in the small city, which started one of the largest and most respected wagon manufacturing plants in the world. Despite the success, something in Chicago did not click with Henry Mitchell, so the Mitchell family moved to Southport, Wisconsin, then later Racine, Wisconsin. The Lewis family came to America in 1838 from Wales, England, when William J. Lewis arrived with his wife in Utica, New York. In 1855, the couple relocated to Racine, Wisconsin, with their sons James F. Lewis and William Turnor Lewis. In 1864, William Turnor Lewis married one of Henry Mitchell’s three daughters, and within a year a new business partnership was forged through the establishment of H. Mitchell & Co. Two years later Henry Mitchell made a similar proposal to Calvin D. Sinclair, the husband of another daughter, and the company was renamed Mitchell, Lewis & Co. In 1882, the company opened the doors to a branch location in Portland, Oregon. By 1888, the plant in Racine had grown to 15 acres, employed 350 men, and was putting out 85 mountain wagons each day. The company was poised to take advantage of the explosive expansion which would come with the automobile boom. It was time for a third filament to weave into the tapestry, with George Staver being the new addition. Staver was part of a com- pany, Staver & Walker, which suffered a major setback in 1891, when Willis Walker was killed in a hunting accident. The next year would see the faltering company merge with Mitchell & Lewis Co. in Portland, creating Mitchell, Lewis & Staver Co. All the enterprising events of the 19th century among the Mitchell, Lewis, and Staver families reveal the beginnings of a company which came to prosper in the Pacific Northwest. The Mitchell family would remain an active presence in Mitchell, Lewis & Staver until 1983. Throughout the decades, Mitchell, Lewis & Staver has continued forward with the ideals of quality, knowledge, service, and support with the underpinning of customer relations. Their success with clients, end users, employees, and the agricultural community results from the relationships they cultivate and foster. 22 FEBRUARY 2018 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®