Did you find a Round Oak stove in a barn that you need identified? We provide some information below and the Dowagiac Area History Museum has the resources to help identify most heating stoves made by Round Oak in Dowagiac, Michigan. The Dowagiac Area History Museum does not appraise or value Round Oak stoves. There were many imitation ‘Oak’ stoves made over the years– the museum does NOT have information on the other ‘Oak’ stoves made by other manufacturers. If you have another company’s Oak stove, we do not have information. Round Oak also made hundreds of models of cookstoves for almost 50 years. There is a $25 fee to have your cookstove identified because it usually involves extensive research. To have your cookstove identified, email images of your stove to and staff will assist with identification. The book “Identification and Dating of Round Oak Heating Stoves” (Book Order Form) provides greater detail. For more detailed information on the history of the company, the books “Round Oak: A Good Thing From Doe-Wah-Jack” and “The Round Oak Stove People” provide detailed information on Round Oak and the people behind the company. To identify your stove, follow these steps:
Additional identifiers: 1. The numbers (12, 14, 16, 18, 20, etc.) indicate the size and usually appeared before or after the model letter. The size of the stove was the diameter of the firepot. 2. After P.D. Beckwith died in 1889, Round Oak was incorporated as the Estate of P.D. Beckwith. Beginning with the B-model stove in 1898, most stoves had “Estate of P.D. Beckwith” cast in it. You do not have P.D. Beckwith’s personal stove. Air Tight Round Oak Base Burner Double Burner Square Base |