Geo. Challoner was an Omro business that manufactured shingle machines. In about 1884 or 1885, the firm of Geo. Challoner became Geo. Challoner's Sons. John Challoner seems to have had some sort of falling out with his brothers. In 1886 he did some work for P. B. Yates. The following year he moved to Oshkosh and founded Challoner Co., which began making shingle machines, and eventually made tenoners and door-making machines.
In 1906, Challoner Co. re-formed as Wilkin-Challoner Co., and in 1945 it was renamed to C. K. L. Machinery Co. Challoner is now a brand name for Wisconsin Automated Machinery Corp.
Information Sources
- Used shingle machines in 1917 catalog.
- Ad in 1955-56 Hitchcock's Wood-Workers Digest Directory.
- Patent records confirm the general timing of the company founding. The date is also given in a company history on a previous version of the WAMCO website.