| Western Stove Company | |
| Type: | Defunct |
| Foundation: | 1920 |
| Fate: | closed down: early 1960s (approx.) |
| Location Country: | United States |
| Products: | gas ranges, electric ranges, built-in gas cooktops and ovens |
The Western Holly (sometimes written Western-Holly) stove was a brand manufactured by Western Stove in Culver City, California, which later became part of Rheem. Gas ranges and stand-alone ovens marketed under the Western-Holly brand were particularly popular in Southern California from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Western Stove opened its factory in Culver City in 1922.[1] By 1947 Western Stove employed 720 employees on 11 acres, a significant increase from its beginnings in two small buildings with just 20 employees. [2] By 1947, it sold its appliances in eleven Western states, expanding to Texas by opening an office in May of that year.[3] It 1948 it acquired the Bluebonnet Ordnance plant near McGregor, Texas and converted it into a factory for gas ranges.[4] The company then had facilities in both California and Texas.[5]
Rheem purchased stovemaker Western Holly in 1956.[6] It then sold the brand in 1958. [7]
Many Western Holly stoves feature porthole circular windows for their ovens, as opposed to the traditional rectangular shape.
In 1952, the Western Holly stove received a design and color award.[8]