The Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Company was started in 1909 by John Wardell and located in Detroit, MI. The company merged with Williams-Oil-O-Matic Corporation in 1945 to form the Eureka Williams Corporation, and was moved to 1201 E. Bell Street, Bloomington, IL. This manufacturing company had a broad spectrum of products but was best known for vacuum cleaners. Later manufacturing locations were built on Ft. Jesse Road in Normal, IL, El Paso, TX, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Corporate offices were moved to 807 N. Main, Bloomington (previous site of Mennonite Hospital) in 2000. Eureka/Electrolux ceased local production in the early 2000s and left the Bloomington area in 2010 when Electrolux’s US corporate offices were consolidated to Charlotte, NC.
Roseanne Hardesty Cornett was hired by Eureka Vacuum Cleaners September 7, 1966 as a Light Assembler. After 33 years with the company, she was terminated as part of the plant closure in 1999.