The American Marble and Toy Museum

Former sight of The American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company (1892-1904)

MISSON:

To preserve, display, interpret and disseminate the history of the American toy industry as it developed in Akron, Ohio. To encourage children towards healthy playtime activities designed to inspire creative, challenging, meaningful educational experiences by exploring the scientific and artistic potential represented in toys, also to organize children’s sporting events designed to promote good sportsmanship, fair play and discourage delinquency.

HISTORY:

The modern American toy industry began in 1884, when Akronite Samuel C. Dyke invented the first fully mass-produce toy – a clay marble. This allowed the price of a toy to plummet and for the first time all children could afford to buy a toy with their own money, a penny bought a handful of marbles. The success of Dyke’s Akron Toy Company, spurred other local entrepreneurs to start up their own marble works. In 1891 Sam Dyke founded The American Marble & Toy Manufacturing Company, the largest toy company to operate in the United States during the 1800's. In total we’ve discovered roughly three dozen marble works operating in the greater Akron area making all types and styles of marbles from clay, stone, hand-made glass to those we know today the machine-made glass marble. Around the same time, men working on the other side of town looking for new uses for rubber, took notice of this new children’s market and turned out the first mass-produced rubber toys, balloons, balls, dollies, duckies and rubber baby buggy bumpers. Other local companies made cast iron and tin toys, also bicycles, peddle toys, tops, children’s books, etc. and sporting goods like golf balls, fishing tackle, etc.  Our research has identified almost 100 toy companies operating in the greater area of Akron, Ohio since 1884.

BACKGROUND:

In 1989 a group of interested citizens in Akron, Ohio began talking about creating a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the city’s role in creating the American toy industry. In 1991 we founded a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, The American Marble and Toy Museum, in the old marble works of The M.F. Christensen & Son Company, sight of America’s first machine-made glass toy marble factory. While negotiation proceeded for the purchase of Mr. Christensen’s marble works, we assembled large collections of marbles and forged ahead with our exhibitions and displays, which we took on the road, visiting numerous U.S. cities before it returned to Akron. We also revived the Akron District Marbles Tournament and sent a number of local champs to compete in the National Marbles Tournament. We developed various school/children’s programs – lesson plans on the Akron childhood experience through history, historical slide shows, clay marble-making (typically clay marbles were manufactured by women and children) and teaching the arts and games of marbles in preparation for school marble tournaments. While the negotiations to purchase Mr. Christensen’s old marble works looked promising, architectural plans showed the costs of restoration and conversion to public use at well over $1.75 million and there was only parking for eight cars. At this point the City of Akron, realizing the potential of attracting out-of-town visitors, promised to work with the museum’s board to find a new location for the Marble Museum.  In 1995 we moved out of the old marble works, putting everything in storage. The City of Akron made storage space available in the Akron Industrial Incubator for displays, the University of Akron Archives stored other holdings and we changed our nonprofit to dormant. For the next seven years we focused our attentions on historic research, our school/children’s programming and discussions with City officials.

OPPORTUNITY:

Toy Companies represented by The American Marble and Toy Museum

The Akron Toy Co., The S.C. Dyke & Co., Dyke's Stoneware Specialty Co., The Mishler Brothers Terracotta Works, The Albright & Lightcap Co., The J.E. Albright Co., The American Marble and Toy Manufacturing Co., The East End Marble Co., The Akron Stone Marble Co., The Akron Marble and Novelty Co., The Standard Toy Marble Co., The Akron Insulator and Marble Co., The M.F. Christensen & Son Co., The Akron Glass and Machinery Co., The Akro Agate Co., The Christensen Agate Co. Also James Harvey Leighton’s glass & toy marbleworks, Hobbs Brockunier & Co., The Buckeye Glass Works, The Eagle Glass Works, Iowa City Glass Works, The Ottawa Glass Works, The Bellmont Glass Works, The S.C. Dyke & Co., The American Marble and Toy Manufacturing Co., The Akron White Sand and Stone Co., The Akron Marble and Novelty Co., The Medina Glass Novelty Co., The Kent Glass Novelty Co., The J.H. Leighton & Co., The Navarre Glass Marble and Specialty Co., The M.F. Christensen & Son Co., The American Glass Marble Co., The American Marble Co., The National Marbles & Specialty Co., The Barberton Glass Novelty Co., The Shadyside Glass Novelty Co. Also, those German toy marble companies constituting the competition at times and worth trade partners at other times. Also, manufacture of marbles at The Peltier Glass Company, who owe their existence in part to certain citizens of Akron, including the heirs of Martin F. Christensen. Also, other American toy marble companies in competition from 1932 to 1951.

The American Marble and Toy Museum

Board of Directors

Brian Graham – President

Michael Cohill - Statutory Agent

Sara Bender - Sec. / Treasurer - 3rd grade inner city school teacher Akron Public Schools (local history taught in 3rd grade.)

Mary Stomer – Real Estate, President of the Akron Board of Education

Mike Woods – Schoolhouse Principal, Erwin Middle School, Coventry Local Schools

Carol Robinson - PhD, Professor of English, Kent State University

Scott Randby - PhD, Professor of Mathematics, University of Akron

Tom McCarty – Lawyer in private practice, former Ohio Assistant Attorney General

David C. Nelson - President, Premium Balloon Accessories; patentee of numerous toy balloon related patents

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