Antique Wheeling Cushion Gloss Green Mottled Ceramic Tile 4-1/4" x 4-1/4"

This is an antique Wheeling Cushion porcelain ceramic tile in mottled green tones

At the turn of the twentieth century, technical invention revolutionized ceramic tile production. While the peak of the “tile boom” occurred during the Victorian era, ceramic tiles were an answer to public health concerns in a time when viruses, bacteria, and infection were still killing people at an alarming rate. Tile was considered easy to clean and more sanitary than other options.

Wheeling had its own well-known manufacturer, the Wheeling Tile Company. Located on several blocks between 31st and 33rd streets in South Wheeling, the company was created when two existing pottery and tile companies, Riverside Pottery and Wheeling Pottery, merged in 1912. Those two companies became larger and stronger when united under the Wheeling Tile Company name.

The company produced both ornamental and wall tile. By 1934, there were three separate plants at the South Wheeling location. Their tile was sent far and wide and marketed across the country. They filled orders from warehouses in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas. Wheeling Tile closed in 1962 after declaring bankruptcy. Part of the factory still remains at 31st and Eoff streets, and you can still make out the faded script of “Wheeling Tile” on the only surviving building of the complex.