Local
Looking Backward: F. N. Burt Company
by
/ May. 8, 2018 4pm EST
“Until you put on a smile, you are not properly dressed for business.” – F.N. Burt Co. newsletter
The F. N. Burt Company, 500 Seneca Street, was once the largest manufacturer of small paper boxes anywhere. The company fit into a space no larger than a living room and parlor when Frederick N. Burt established it in 1886, but by the time Mary Rebecca Cass took the helm of the company in 1909, it was the largest concern of its kind. Cass was among few female captains of industry in the US in the early 20h century, heading up a factory with thousands of (mostly female) employees before she was allowed to vote in a presidential election. The headquarters plant on Seneca Street still stands, recently reactivated as a mixed use development.