Utilizing the abundant supply of shoe leather tanned at the Cappon & Bertsch tannery, the Holland Shoe Factory went into production on this site in 1902. The building’s original cornerstone was set in 1901. Within a year, the factory had become one of the busiest in Holland, employing 200 people and producing 1,000 pairs of shoes a day. By 1914, these numbers had increased to 400 employees and 3,000 pairs of shoes daily. In 1939, the Holland Shoe Factory merged with the Racine Shoe Company from Wisconsin, forming the Holland-Racine Shoe Company. During World War Two, the company joined the war effort by supplying the U.S. Navy with 240,000 pairs of shoes. In 1964, the Holland-Racine Shoe Company was sold to a St. Louis firm. In February of 1967, it was announced that the plant would close. Competition from low cost imports had taken its toll on Holland-Racine, as well as many other shoe manufacturers across the country.