Schiller Piano Company

The old Schiller Piano Company, also known as Conover Square, is located in Oregon, Illinois the county seat of Ogle County. The company was founded in 1890 and remained in operation until 1971. The company produced many thousands of pianos through the years and in 1936 the company merged with the Cable Piano Company and produced pianos under the name Cable and Conover. The company's 120,000-square-foot , stucco clad factory and its iron water tower base still stands in Oregon and both are considered contributing properties to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places Oregon Commercial Historic District. In 1975 the facility was converted into the Conover Square Shopping Mall and has remained so ever since.

The Schiller Piano Company, which was historically the largest industry in Ogle County, was founded around 1890. When founded, the company was located at the northwest corner of Oregon's Second and Washington Streets. The Schiller Piano Company was started using money from Oregon resident and the first president of the company, F.G. Jones. Jones was not active in the company's management until 1895 when he reportedly left his well-established mercantile business to take an active position at the piano company as general manager and president of the factory. Sources conflict as to whether Jones actually left his mercantile interests behind, which included work as the president of the Oregon Electric Light and Power Company and Oregon Machine and Foundry. In addition the Schiller Company owned an interest in the Power Company and two Jones sons, George H. and Edgar B., held management positions with the firm.

Wikipedia