KING'S MILLS, THE ORIGINAL
TOWN FOR KING'S ISLAND!
Vintage King Powder Company
Original Explosives Shipping Tag.
NOTE: This is truly one of the rarer explosive's items we have come across. The history of this company is interesting AND far reaching (see below). You are purchasing a piece of early American Firearms and Mining Explosives History!
QUANTITY: ONE original, unused, blank King Powder Company explosives shipping tag. This tag would have been affixed to high explosives leaving the King Powder Company of Cincinnati / Kings Mill while in transit to the blasting site or reseller.
The King Powder Company high explosives shipping tag measures approximately 4¾" x 2⅜" (121 mm x 61 mm). This listing is for ONE tag, selected at random from a lot of shipping tags.
These tags were professionally made by the Dennison Manufacturing Company for The King Powder Company (i.e. these tags ARE NOT reproductions, they are original King Powder Company shipping tags). These shipping tags would be affixed to boxes, cases, crates or barrels of the company's Dynamite, Detonite, blasting gelatin, nitrocellulose (guncotton), nitroglycerin, blasting caps, permissibles, lead shot, ammunition and other products.
CONDITIONAL ISSUES: Overall, these tags are in extremely good condition. Slight browning and discoloration from decades of warehouse storage, maybe a small fold or crease.
ABOUT THE KING POWDER COMPANY: The King Powder Company, (also known as King's Great Western Powder Company) first appeared in the Williams & Company Cincinnati June 1885 city directory - as being located at 56 Main Street. The June 1887 city directory listed them as being located at 56 Main Street and at 8 & 10 W. Third Street, (i.e. Main and Third). These were likely their "city sales offices."
By 1900, the Cincinnati city directories indicate that the King Powder Company occupied an address at 5th & Main Street and by 1905 an address at 105 East 4th Street (in the First National Bank Building) where they remained for most of the early 1900's. There is no mention of them being at 3rd and Main after 1900.
Kings Mills in Deerfield Township in Warren County was originally known as Gainesboro or Gainsborough. It is believed to have been the site of the first mill in Warren County, built on the Little Miami River.
In 1878, King's Great Western Powder Company was incorporated. Joseph King and his nephew Ahimaaz King, two of the founders, built a small powder mill on the Little Miami River. Gunpowder was purchased from the government and then refined and sold. During the first year of operation, 12,768 kegs of sporting powder and 28,067 kegs of blasting powder were produced. When Joseph King died in 1885, his son-in-law, Gershon M. Peters, became president while Ahimaaz King remained as manager.
In 1887 "Peters" incorporated the Peters Cartridge Company. The company developed a round-table loading machine for mechanically loading shotgun shells. These were the first machine-loaded shotgun shells. Although it operated separately from King's Great Western Powder Co., there was a close relationship between the two (they were also located next to one another). Originally, Peters rented space from King's before it eventually purchased some of the land and buildings. In 1889 King's Great Western Powder Co. was changed to the King Powder Company and the town of King's Mills (with an apostrophe then) was started. It was primarily a company owned town with only a few privately owned homes.
In the early 1900s, about 1,000 people were employed producing, loading and packing cartridges. The plant was a major provider of cartridges for the United States, Great Britain, and other Allied countries. During World War I, Peters produced an average of 1.5 million cartridges a day. After the war ended in 1918, parts of the plant were closed, demolished or abandoned. In 1934, Peters Cartridge Co. was acquired by Remington Arms Company. The company revived with the start of World War II. The carbine was a short, light rifle used by many soldiers in World War II. When the army replaced the .45 caliber sidearm with the carbine, it meant that a new caliber ammunition had to be produced in great quantities. In July, 1942 the giant Kings Mills plant was converted to the production of this new caliber of ammunition. The plant turned out more than 50 million pounds of carbine shells each month for the government. The Kings Mills Ordnance Plant was operated by the Remington Arms Company under control of the United States Army, and was one of America's largest cartridge plants. Remington closed the plant in 1944. Since 1972, Kings Mills has been a neighbor to the Kings Island Amusement Park.
The King Powder Company was not without problems. On July 15, 1890, a train car collided with two fully loaded cars, each carrying 800 kegs of gunpowder. The massive explosion killed 11 employees and left a rather large crater. Most of the original building was completely destroyed. Then, on August 19, 1940, one of the powder mills exploded - this time killing three employees. The blast was felt 15-miles away. (Credit to numerous sources & The Cincinnati Public Library research staff and databases).
This rare explosive's tag would make a perfect gift for yourself, your favorite hunter, gunsmith, arms / munitions worker, "shooter," gun collector, on a shelf, or in your collection. This tag is a blank shipping tag.
DISCOUNTS?: Absolutely! In fact, we're offering two: A bulk purchase discount for Buyers purchasing two or more King Powder Company explosives tags at the same time -and- tiered shipping for domestic Buyers (please see “SHIPPING COST” below for clarification).
SHIPPING COST꞉ Your shipping cost is calculated when checking out. For Buyers residing in the United States or its territories, to keep your shipping cost as low as possible, the shipping cost is tiered: The shipping cost for the first tag is $1.00 The shipping cost for each additional tag is only .50¢... For buyers residing outside of the United States or its territories, your shipping cost is based on “DIM” (i.e. weight, package size and destination). This item ships by United States First Class Mail or United States First Class International Mail. Orders typically ship within one business day of your payment being received.