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Bloomingpedia:This week's featured article/2006 Week 52
Showers Brothers Furniture was started in 1868 when William and James Showers bought out their father's interest in a Bloomington cabinetmaking business for $300. From this humble beginning, the Showers Brothers Company would grow to the point that in the 1920s, it produced 60 percent of the furniture manufactured in the U.S., claiming distinction as “The World’s Largest Furniture Factory.”
Little is known about the origins of the Showers family business. Charles Showers, a preacher and cabinetmaker, came to Bloomington sometime in the mid 1850s. He opened a furniture and coffin-making shop on the Bloomington downtown square shortly afterwards. At some point, Charles' sons, William and James, bought out their father's interest in the business for $300 and moved the business to a new store on Ninth and Grant Streets when neighbors complained about the noise from the shop.
