No matter the purpose of owning your Griswold cast iron items, there are certain facts you need to be aware of. First of all, they are highly valuable, collectible, and rare. That makes this particular cookware highly desirable for real collectors and American history lovers. Believe it or not, its history goes back to the 19th century when many kitchen items were handmade.
Since these pieces are of high quality, have a good reputation, and century-long durability, many chefs, cooks, and housewives still prepare their meals in Griswold cast iron cooking dishes. Most of them refuse to replace them with contemporary cooking equipment because they disapprove of the theory that modern is better. Let’s discover the reason for their attitude.
Griswold “Erie” cast-iron skillet, using “Erie” logo before the “Griswold” logo was used. In the 1870s, Griswold began to manufacture skillets, pots, grinding mills and waffle irons. The company was renamed Selden & Griswold Manufacturing Company in 1873.
Griswold Large block logo with heat ring and no italic lettering (1920-1930)
From 1920 to 1939, people could find cookware with a large block logo and two different markings. The one from 1920 to 1930 didn’t contain italic lettering.
History of Griswold Cast Iron
The origin of Griswold cookware dates back to 1865 when the Selden and Griswold families from Pennsylvania transformed a small family-run factory into a new business.
The founders were Matthew Griswold and his cousins J.C and Samuel Selden. In the beginning, they made door hinges. Soon after, in the 1870s, they expanded their business to dishes, which became the most respectful iron cast cookware all over the world very soon.
Since the original factory established in Erie, Pennsylvania, most cooking items you can find on the market have an ERIE mark at the bottom. In fact, the ERIE logo was the first one that they used for their cookware.
After Matthew Griswold paid off the Selden family in 1884, a horrible fire devastated the factory. Without hesitation, Mr. Griswold rebuilt the facilities and called the new business Griswold Manufacturing Company. Since then, it became very successful and got the status of one of the most respected companies for cast iron production in the US.
The overall success and accomplishments of this company lasted until 1957. From the founding to that moment, the Griswold Manufacturing Company supplied the Americans with a significant amount of most elegant iron casts pans, pots, waffle irons, and many other cooking pieces of equipment.
A History of Griswold Cast Iron
FAQ
When was Erie cast iron made?
What are the oldest cast iron brands?
What is the most collectible cast iron?
Where was the Griswold factory in Erie PA?
Who made Griswold cast iron?
The company quickly off-loaded Griswold to the Wagner Manufacturing Company. Textron Inc. of Rhode Island buys Wagner Manufacturing. For approximately ten years, Wagner workers and owners of Wagner likely produced Griswold cast iron and utilized Griswold molds. This was under a leadership subsidiary company of Textron called Randall Company.
When was Victor cast iron made?
Circa 1930s-1940s. Victor Cast Iron is A Budget-Friendly Brand Manufactured By Griswold. Victor was a budget-friendly line of cast iron. Griswold made Victor Skillets between the 1890s and 1930s. The logo has also changed over the 50 years, with Victor at the 12 o’clock position like Erie skillets.
Did Griswold make Iron Mountain cast iron?
Griswold made Iron Mountain cast iron between the 1930s and 1940s. Since Iron Mountain cast-iron was a budget line, it is probably not a surprise Iron Mountain skillets have a heat ring for use on older wood and coal ranges. Here is an Iron Mountain skillet. Note the 4 digit pattern number and the unusually shaped handle.