Structo

Structo Manufacturing Company was based out of Freeport, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Structo made toy construction sets before selling the patents to A.C. Gilbert Company, the well-known manufacturer of ERECTOR sets. Structo then started manufacturing “Auto-Builder” kits, including the High-Wheel Tractor, that children could assemble into working models.

Around 1932, the company stopped making mechanized toys and went into production of stamped steel push toys. Trucks, steam shovels, vans, and passenger cars were the first four categories of toys made.

During the Great Depression, the company fell into financial difficulty. William Ogden Coleman, president of the American Flyer Company, became a stockholder in the Structo Company. To help get the company back on its feet, he merged the sales department of Structo Toys with American Flyer’s, moving it to Chicago, and added a section in all American Flyer catalogs to advertise the complete line of Structo Toys.