Edwards Manufacturing was started by Charles Douglas Edwards in 1875. The first product manufactured was the Open Ditcher, made to drain swampland. The Open Ditcher could only be operated during the dry season, so there was a need to expand the product range. Edwards branched out into a wide variety of manufactured products including Road Graders, Manual Shears, Farming Equipment, Rotary Snow plows, Waterloo Bar Benders, Intake Grates, and many more products throughout the years. Horse-drawn Road Graders were a main focus of Edwards in the early 1900s. In 1928 Edwards had over ten different models of road graders. However in the 1930's Horse-drawn graders fell out of favor and Edwards focused on some of their other products. Metal Culverts became a main focus of Edwards from the '30s to the '80s. Their other focus was the Manual Shear, a single blade with a large handle giving the operator enough leverage to cut metal. These products would eventually continue to be improved and evolve into the ironworkers of today.