This object is a Wehrle cylinder heating stove model 156. It was meant to burn coal or wood in order to heat a home. The Wehrle Stove Company is an excellent example of the American dream and of the ingenuity that made Ohio a leader in manufacturing during the Industrial Revolution. Joseph C. Wehrle, the company’s main founder, was a German immigrant who came to the United States with his family in 1836 at the age of 13. He was the oldest of ten children and spent his early adult years learning the molding trade and running several groceries. Wehrle also served during the American Civil War in the 76th Ohio Infantry Company E. At the end of the war, he was discharged with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. In 1883, Wehrle partnered with John Moser to establish the Moser & Wehrle Foundry. When Joseph died in 1890, his sons, William and August, and widow, Philomena, took a controlling interest in the company, renaming it the Wehrle Stove Company. Under their supervision, the company flourished and became one of the largest stove manufacturers in the nation. In 1904, the company held $1,000,000 in assets, employed over 3,000 people, and manufactured over 200,000 stoves. Although the Wehrle factories changed hands several times over the decades, they remained one of the largest manufacturing sites in Newark, OH, until their closure in 1975. This Wehrle stove and the company it represents are just one of many examples of how the American Revolution gave birth to a nation that has allowed peoples from all over the world to come, work hard, and build better futures for their families and communities.