Editing Chester, Illinois (section)

===International Shoe Company===
In 1916, Messrs. Bronson, Albert Gilster, Frank Wolff and John Herschbach developed the site for the [[Furniture Brands International#International Shoe Company|International Shoe Company]] in the center of town where the Gilster Mary Lee Corp. is today. In 1922, a second building was built, and the company had more than 1000 employees and was producing thousands of pairs of children's shoes. During World War Two, the factory operated primarily by women produced military/combat boots for the troops in service. In 1953, payroll reached over $2,000,000. The factory was closed by the company in the early 1960s after 45 years of operation.<ref name="Gordon, Eileen 1979"/>