Jackson Guldan Co.

The Jackson-Guldan factory was located at 165 Main Street West. It was a brick building, three stories tall, with a one-story wing. The company was in operation from 1915 to 1971. George J. Gulden was one of the company's founders and served as the original superintendent. The earliest known published reference to the company appears in the 30 December 1916 issue of the Music Trade Review. It was one of the first American companies to use machine fabrication for certain musical instrument components such as the front, back, and scroll. During the company's early history their primary customers were for-profit music schools.

Originally known as the Jackson-Guldan Violin Co., the company changed its name to Jackson-Guldan, Inc. in 1954 after the company was purchased by F. L. Daniel of Chicago. At the time of the purchase the company had been in decline, with only five employees remaining. After the purchase the factory was modernized, raw material supply was increased, a new employee training program was established, and the company was expanded to 38 employees. In 1956 the company began to petition the U.S. federal government to increase import tariffs on foreign-made violins which undercut the pricing of Jackson Guldan products and had been leading, in part, to the company's and the industry's slow decline up to that point. At the time of its closure, it was the last remaining violin manufacturer in the United States.