ca. 1923
The Home Stove Co.
Indianapolis, Ind.

Representing the highest evolution of the cast-iron parlor-heating stove, this model was designed to heat up to seven rooms. It was billed as a clean, low-maintenance heat source, free of smoke and soot because of the coal or coke, which fed automatically into the fire bowl from a storage magazine by gravity. One to two fillings of the magazine with 55 pounds of coal would run the heater up to 24 hours. The stove weighed 660 pounds and the massive weight helped retain heat. Triple heat flues helped extract the maximum amount of heat from the burning gases while heating the floor and circulating air. Radiant heat passed through the transparent mica of the doors transmitting light and warmth.

The Home Stove Company was located at Kentucky Avenue and Henry Street in Indianapolis. George Alig, founder of The Home Stove Company, came to Indianapolis in 1871 from Switzerland at age 19. Alig had not learned a trade, but he spoke seven languages. He worked with his brother in banking for a short time and also visited cities throughout France and Italy in connection with his father's land holdings and cattle shipments. He entered the stove business with D. Root & Company and then became vice president of the new Indianapolis Stove Company in 1874.

In 1893, Alig disposed of his Indianapolis Stove Company holdings and founded the Home Stove Company with 60 employees. Home Stove employed as many as 275 skilled workmen at its peak in the early 1900s. The line of products included wood and coal heating stoves, cooking stoves, warm air furnaces and gas ranges. A wide variety of models were offered based on standard foundry patterns distributed to local manufacturers across the nation, such as Home Stove, which then added their own brand name and detailing to customize their castings. Customers could purchase trim pieces at additional cost in either plain cast iron or polished nickel to suit their tastes and budget.

Alig retired from the stove business in 1928, turning it over to his son, George Alig, Jr. A sharp decline in the traditional cast iron stove business following World War II and rapid changes in heating and cooking technology left the Home Stove Company with little market share. The company finally sold off its remaining patterns in the mid-1950s.