O. C. Barber

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Ohio Columbus Barber (1841–1920), was an American businessman and and industrialist called America's Match King because of his controlling interest in the Diamond Match Company. He also founded the city of Barberton, Ohio.^[1]

[edit] Biography

Barber was born the second son of George and Eliza Barber in Middlebury, a small Ohio village which is now part of Akron. His father hand-made matches which his sons sold door to door. Eventually the business grew and at age 16, Barber became the company salesman. The company experienced many difficulties through the American Civil War and the death of O.C. Barber's eldest son. But by 1880 the Barber Company had become the biggest match producing company in Ohio and one of the largest in the nation. Competition made it difficult for the Barber Company to keep stable. So in 1881, the Barber Company and 11 other match producing companies merged into the Diamond Match Company, which dominated the match market, holding 85 per cent of it.

Eventually, O.C. had helped found several companies including the Stirling Boiler Company, which later became the Babcock and Wilcox Company. He needed a new area of land to expand, so purchased a large area from the town of New Portage, where he built the industrial city of Barberton. To help with the development of the city, Barber founded the The Barberton Land and Improvement Company. Within a few years the city had expanded with industrial and residential areas.

Economic problems could have destroyed the city but Barber decided to move his match making plant in nearby Akron to Barberton making the city more prosperous. In 1905, he began his last project by creating farms in an open area of land in Barberton. This business saw wide distribution and was successful. In 1920, O.C. Barber died at his mansion in Barberton.

The Barber neighborhood in Chico, California was named after him. The neighborhood was originally built to house the employees of the Diamond Match factory in Chico.