Stover Bicycle Manufacturing Company

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Stover Bicycle Manufacturing Company was a Freeport, Illinois bicycle maker founded in 1889 by Hon. D.C. Stover. In its first year it produced 320 bicycles with 6 employees. The company later built a larger plant starting in 1890. By 1897 it was making about 20,000 bicycles a year (roughly 120 per day). It produced three models—the Tiger, the Iroquois, and the Paragon—and sold bikes under the Phoenix name. They were early makers of the safety bicycle. In 1899 the company was sold to the American Bicycle Company, a bicycle trust that lasted only a few years. The exact reasons for its failure aren’t known, but theories include poor organization and conflicting goals among the member manufacturers. After the breakup, the companies went back to competing.