Garton Tricycle

Q: I have a 50-year-old tricycle. I’m trying to find information about it but have had no luck. It has high handlebars and a “G” on the handlebar stem. Can you tell me anything about the bike?

A: The “G” on your tricycle stands for Garton. The Garton Toy Company in Sheboygan, Wisconsin was at one time, one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world.  E. B. Garton began the company in 1879 in a wood working shop. He started making all-wooden toys but soon started adding iron wheels.  Most of the toys eventually were made of diecast metal. Its first top seller was an iron velocipede bicycle which lead the way to the design of a child’s tricycle.  For about 50 years, the company introduced a new toy every year.  Garton Toy Company made pedal cars, baby walkers, sleds, wagons, tricycles, and other wheeled toys for almost a century until it was sold in 1973.  Their most recent factory was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 and is now an apartment building.