Swisher Brothers Cigar Company

The Swisher brand of Cigars owes its origins to Newark, Ohio. David Swisher (b. 1829) and three of his children—Edward W., Harry, and John H.-began and expanded a cigar-manufacturing business in Newark in the latter part of the 19th century. As early as 1870, David and his son Edward, who was only 17 at the time, were involved in the sale of cigars.

E.W. Swisher and Bros.

Swisher Brothers Cigars manufacturing facilities from Greater Newark, (1911)

Edward W. Swisher founded a cigar manufacturing business, "E.W Swisher and Bros.", in 1875; it would form the kernel of a series of companies and manufacturing centers in the cigar industry built by the Swisher brothers. Edward would pass the company to his brothers, John H. and Harry Swisher (who were fourteen and eleven years his junior) in 1891. Edward would continue his cigar business in Columbus until 1903, but the tradition of cigar making would proceed in Newark under his brothers. David Swisher, who does not seem to have played a leading role in the management of the business, was known as "veteran cigar manufacturer" for a company which produced more than 6 million cigars in 1890, using tobacco imported from Cuba.

Swisher Brother Cigar Manufacturers

The Swisher Brothers Cigar Manufacturers stood at 57 and 59 West Main Street in Newark. The Swishers consolidated their three Ohio manufacturing plants into one in Newark in 1892 and employed over 200 people. From 1895 to 1909, the company had expanded outward in Ohio once more, opening factories in Ironton and Chillicothe and counted more than 1,000 people in its employ. Many of the individuals employed in the day-to-day operations of the cigar manufacturing were women; at the site on West Main street in Newark "the floor space is taken up with work benches where nearly 200 girls sit side by side at work. The place is as busy as a hive, but as quiet as a country Sunday school." The women worked at a piece rate and a newspaper article from the period claimed that they could earn between $7 and $12 per week. The repeated use of the term "girl" does reflect the use of youths or children in the facility, particularly in the process of stripping the tobacco. The article even advertises that girls as young as 14 could be employed at Swishers', declaring that the girls were "under rigid rules and the best influence possible while in the factory."

John Swisher bought Harry's portion of the company in February 1913, and the business relationship of Swisher Bros. ended on something of a sour note; Harry Swisher attempted to incorporate a new business after the sale, utilizing the Swisher Bros. brand, but John Swisher successfully challenged Harry's use of the name in court and prevented the further use of the brand name by his brother.

John Swisher and his son Carl continued to grow and expand the business. They elected to relocate the primary site of manufacturing from Newark to Jacksonville, Florida, though the family continued to own property and have ties to Licking County. The new construction in Jacksonville provided Swishers' with a modern factory, allowing them to increase production in order to make a tenth of the nation's cigars in 1937 with 2,000 employees. Swisher remains a cigar manufacturer to this day with its headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida.

J.G.