Online Exhibitions:

Documenting Change: Industry and Business in Troy and Rensselaer County, NY

Garden Way Manufacturing Company

Records, ca. 1960-

Extent: ca. 168 cu. ft.

Historical Note: Garden Way's roots are in the Rototiller Company founded in 1930 by Cadwallader Washburn Kelsey. Kelsey moved his operation to the Lansingburgh section of Troy in 1937. After his retirement in 1957, his chief engineer George Done purchased the supply business of the company. In 1961 Done invented a new rototiller which came to be christened the Troy-Bilt Rototiller. The name of the company became Garden Way Manufacturing. The company maintains manufacturing and office facilities in Troy and in East Greenbush as well as in other locations in the United States.

Scope and Content: These records consist primarily of advertising and marketing materials. They include detailed information on Garden Way's marketing plans through magazine advertisements and through direct sales at temporary locations around the country. Includes log books recording serial numbers and names and addressees of purchasers of Troy-Bilt tillers. Also includes auxiliary enterprises including copies of gardening books published by Garden Way Publishing and video tapes of gardening tips broadcast on television.

Location: Rensselaer County Historical Society, 57 Second St., Troy, NY 12180

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