Eljer, Inc. was founded in February of 1904 by Raymond Elmer Crane and his cousin, Oscar JERome Backus, from whose middle names "ELJER" was coined. Eljer''s original location was Oakland, California, where flush valves were manufactured. Shortly thereafter, a move was made to Newark, New Jersey, where the firm manufactured a diaphragm-type flush valve with mediocre success. In 1907 an old dinnerware plant was purchased in Cameron, West Virginia, and converted into a sanitaryware plant. In the beginning, only a washout closet bowl was produced. However, it was in this plant that the first vitreous china tank was developed. Prior to the advent of the china tank, copper-lined wood tanks were the vogue. Eljer continued to grow, and in 1918 purchased a dinnerware pottery in Ford City, Pennsylvania, located approximately 40 miles northeast of Pittsburgh on the east bank of the Allegheny River. The Ford City area was particularly well-suited for the production of plumbing fixtu... [Detail]