Scotten-Dillon Tobacco Co. of Detroit 

                 Long before Detroit became famous as the motor-town of America, the manufacturing of  tobacco products had come to play a vital role in the city’s booming economy.  During the period between the Civil War and WWI, the city  was home to more than a dozen makers of cigars, chewing tobacco and cigarettes. By the turn of the century tobacco manufacturers were the city’s largest employers, turning out an estimated  210 million cigars and 14 million pounds of chewing tobacco annually. This volume of production was consistent well into 1920s.

    The roots of the industry date back to the mid 1800s when many Germanic and Jewish immigrants settled in the area and brought with them the skills of cigar-making from their homelands.  During the Civil War, “seegars” and chaw made in Detroit were brought to the far-flung battlefields throughout the land by  local soldiers and quickly earned a reputation as inexpensive but quality products. By the mid 1880s, there were five major companies operating in the city as well as dozens of smaller shops. Banner Tobacco Company made mostly chewing tobacco and employed some 125 workers. Rothchild & Brother Tobacco Co. produced  Cuban tobacco cigars with 150 employees and Globe Tobacco Company made 3000 pounds of chewing tobacco and 5000 pounds of cigarettes every day. Globe’s brands included Gold Flake, Sweet Tokay, The King, Sweet Violet and Sweet Victoria Cigarettes along with Crack Cheroots.  The fourth major Detroit enterprise was The Mayflower Tobacco Company. This was founded by John Bagley  and was reported to have imported 1 million pounds of tobacco annually for its’ famous Mayflower Chewing Tobacco. Scotten-Dillon was  the other major manufacturer from that era.

     Daniel Scotten started in the tobacco business in 1852 as an apprentice to cigar maker Isaac Miller. He slept at the shop and saved his money hoping to open his own business some day.  Eventually he did start his own factory just before the Civil War. By the late 1880s, Scotten had moved to a larger factory on West Fort Street after taking on a partner and changing the name of the firm to Scotten-Dillon Tobacco Company.  During  the 1890s, the company employed 1200 workers and had  $4 million in annual sales. Concentrating on cigars, chewing tobacco and flake tobacco during the early years, cigarettes were not prominent with Scotten Dillon late in the life of the firm. Brands such as Peachy, Grade A1, Ramrod and Yankee Girl Cigarettes were all introduced in the early 1920s. Despite an abiding distrust of railroads and railroad travel, Scotten was able to  keep track of his far-flung business empire by traveling in a specially made horse-drawn coach. By the time of his death in 1899, he owned real estate throughout Detroit and its’ environs totaling more than $7 million in value. 

    John Bagley  apprenticed to cigar maker Isaac Miller at the same time that Scotten was there. Also resourceful and thrifty, Bagley eventually bought out Miller and re-named the firm Mayflower Tobacco Company. Later, under the name of Bagley Tobacco,  the firm made several brands of cigarettes including Message, Turkish Patrol, May Flower and Bagley’s Sweet Tips. Like Daniel Scotten., John Bagley rose to become one of Detroit’s most prominent citizens. He eventually served as governor of Michigan for four years and by most accounts was an able an honest leader.

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