In 1903, an important steel merger began as the Whitaker Iron Company became the first of a group to have 18 sheet and tin plate mills. The Wheeling Traction Company competed with the new City Railway Company for trolley car riders, and the city's population had reached 38,878. Lumbering had become a new and very successful business, bringing cabinet and furniture making with it. On this spot, William Nesbitt built his furniture store in 1903, serving a public with the money and opportunity to build and furnish fine Victorian homes in the city. Surrounded by the heavy business district near the two Market Houses, his furniture store drew steady patrons.