First, a word about the term “Hoosier Cabinets:” this is a broad category term that implies a style of cabinet that was manufactured in or near the state of Indiana. Most of the older free-standing styles of kitchen cabinets were actually made in or near Indiana and, therefore, can be rightly called “Hoosier Cabinets,” but they should also be identified by their specific manufacturer. Here at Coppes Commons we have collected more than 120 names of different companies that produced kitchen cabinets that are easily grouped within the Hoosier Cabinets style. This information was found in advertising in magazines, in the antique markets, or in listings on Ebay. The list can be found at the bottom of this page.
The period of manufacture for Hoosier Cabinets begins before 1900 and lasts till the 2nd World War, a period of approx. 40 years, until the modern built-in kitchen cabinets took over the business. Some of the companies that made this “HOOSIER” style of kitchen cabinet likely followed the growing popularity of the new kitchen cabinets. They may have already been in the general furniture manufacturing business and just added kitchen cabinets because the general public wanted the new style of kitchen cabinets. Here at Coppes, we continued to produce the Napanee line of kitchen cabinets (Hoosier style) while making and selling the modern style of cabinet–wall hung units with long, straight countertops on the base cabinets. There are a lot of similarities in the Hoosiser style kitchen cabinet, most likely because companies borrowed ideas from the examples on the market. The accessories such as flour bins, glassware, and sheet metal parts were likely purchased from wholesalers who sold to several companies.
To make the issue even more complex, there was a large kitchen cabinet company in New Castle, Indiana that was named “The Hoosier Manufacturing Company.” So, when people ask “is that a Hoosier”, they may be referring to the Hoosier Mfg. Co. or a style of cabinet.
The factory that made the Coppes Dutch Kitchenet and or “Napanee” cabinets has a long history. It began with a sawmill in 1876 and is still in business today manufacturing kitchens. To read more about the history of the Coppes companies, visit the “Our Story” page on our site.
To identify the exact date of manufacture for a Coppes Napanee kitchen is difficult without access to our large collection of company catalogs. The model numbers changed quickly. In the approximately 40 years that the Hoosier style kitchen cabinets were mfg. by Coppes Napanee, we have counted more than 300 different model numbers. As you may guess, the actual changes to the different models were sometimes small. The addition of a cutting board, the style of legs, for example, or a different mfg. process would change the model number. Please remember, there is no hard and exact rule for dating these cabinets. Custom orders could be made at any time, also they wisely continued to use up existing parts and supplies even if the cabinet model number had changed. The catalogs may not have reflected the exact date in a change of model number. Dating kitchen cabinets is not like dating automobiles. Newer models did not always begin in the fall of the coming calendar year. To peruse some of our catalogs, visit our Catalogs page. Coppes Dutch Kitchenets usually had a metal name tag nailed somewhere on the front. There may also be a paper label on the back, top & bottom. In addition, the model number, color, or Stencil style were handwritten on the back with a thick ink type brush.
