Local History (McHenry County and surroundings): September 2013

          At the turn of the twentieth century, Huntley had the claim of being the milk capitol of the world, producing more dairy products per capita than any other place on the globe. One of the main facilities in this small town was Gail Borden's condensery. Constructed in 1907 with a reported cost of around $100,000, the new structure was known as the "Queen of the West." This nickname was given to the facility due to its updated dairy processing. Gail Borden ransacked the corners of the Earth to find the best and most updated ways to handle milk. He applied this knowledge to the Huntley facility, setting it apart from the others of his fleet.
          The large structure was constructed of cream colored brick with 7 cupolas and a large smokestack. A hill stood on the south side of the building where the milk was dropped off from local farmers. Rocks spelled out the name "Bordens" in the hill for all to see. The north side of the structure contained a large loading dock on the ground level. Later, the overhang for the loading dock was dismantled and reconstructed on the Marlowe Feed and Hatchery building. Just south of the structure was the office building, constructed of the same cream colored brick. Later a large wood water tower was constructed behind the office.
          Bordens remained at the site until the mid 1910s, when the site was purchased by Victor Mey, who previously had a creamery on Mill St. Mey operated his creamery at the site until March of 1925, when he sold to Ira J. Mix, another dairy producer. Mix already had an abundance of milk, so the Huntley facility was not needed. This resulted in the sale of the building.
          In 1926, the structure became a short lived furniture factory. Huntley Furniture Industries Inc. lasted only about four years before an auction for the dissolution of the corporation was held in 1930. Later, according to 1930s Sanborn Maps, the structure was supposedly owned by Elgin Stove Company, though whether they used the site or not is still unknown. Even the old office found a different purpose, serving as a short lived residence to the Schwartz family in the late 1930s. It wasn't until the WWII that the entire facility had new life breathed into it.
          In the 1940s, Wm. Fencil Gasket Co. started operation at the site. Previously, they were located near the downtown in the old Cornell building (Catty Co. later). Fencil was a producer of gaskets for automobiles and refrigerators, among other products. In 1945, Fencil added a large addition to the structure. Around the same time in the 1940s, Fencil operated a fuze factory south-east of town for the war effort. Even though both sites were owned by the same company, the brick factory did not deal with the fuzes, advertising "no powder here" in a 1945 McHenry Plaindealer newspaper. Due to both of the facilities being in operation, Fencil was a major employer in McHenry County, attracting employees from neighboring counties as well.
          In 1948, Wm. Fencil left the site, and the facility was purchased by Union Special, an industrial sewing machine company. Union Special already had a long history of production, with their first facility opening in Chicago in 1881. Production at the Huntley site began on May 3, 1948, and from the '50s through the '80s, the facility kept expanding. One of the main reasons for the constant expansion was from operations in Chicago being moved to Huntley. In the 1980s, all of the operations from Chicago were consolidated and the Chicago plant closed. With this consolidation, the Huntley facility saw its final addition, bringing it to its current size. This left the Huntley facility as the last of Union Special's factories in the United States.
          Along with the main factory, Huntley saw a new training school constructed in the 1970s.  The school was located at the end of 4th St. on the north side. Here people were taught how the machines were constructed and how they operated for easy maintenance. When someone graduated they received a diploma and a belt buckle. Across the street, Union Special purchased the old brick bungalow constructed by the Seiler family. The company renovated the home and added more bedrooms in the attic, transforming the structure into a rooming house for foreign students at the school.
          Like many large companies, manufacturing transferred overseas due to lower production costs. This left the large factory in less need than in the mid century. Union Special began renting parts of the building to other small businesses. The old training school was rented for offices and even a driving school before becoming vacant in the 2010s. Much of the old factory is rented out, however Union Special still maintains the site and continues small operations there. The future of the site is uncertain, but as long as Union Special remains, the historic Bordens plant will always have a purpose.