By 1883, Three Oaks, had established itself as a rural trading center.

Not having an important industries, expansion of had up until now been stymied. However something came along that would change forever the future of all of its inhabitants. In June of 1883, Edward K. Warren obtained patents on a new substance called featherbone.

Turkey feathers....the bane of every farmstead cook, would change the destiny of Three Oaks. Made from the heavy quill feathers of the turkey, featherbone would revolutionize the women's garment industry and transform Three Oaks into the center of a worldwide manufacturing conglomerate. In 1883 the process making featherbone was published in magazines and newspapers across the country, and describes as follows:

" The first thing is to strip the feathers of their plumage. Rollers with knives attached, split the quills in half. Sandpaper rollers revolving rapidly remove the pith. Then a series of interlocking knives reduce the quills to fiber. In this state, the material is fed into a machine that forms it into a strong fine cord; at that time it is being wound into a thread. In another machine, four of these tightly wound cords are wound together with thread, in such a manner as to form a flat tape."

Almost immediately the demand for the featherbone surpassed even the expectations of Warren himself. His company, which started with a workforce of a foreman and five others, grew into a two-shift operation employing seventy-five full time workers within a nine-month period. Sales had grown from $7,000 the first year, to $80,000 the second and to a staggering 800,000 by June of 1886. Branch offices were opened in major cities throughout the country as well as a many foreign cities, thus making the Warren Featherbone Company a truly worldwide operation.

In 1889, Edward Warren shook the hand of president McKinley at the Three Oaks station and heard President McKinley eloquently dedicate the Dewy Cannon Monument to the good people of Three Oaks and their contribution to the Spanish-American War. The campaign Warren created to compete with every other city and village in the nation successfully raised the most per capita contribution for the war effort and its veterans. It also spawned the phrase " Three Oaks against the World."

Things began to change shortly after the turn of the century. The newer fashions did not use featherbone. Warren saw this change coming and directed his plant to start manufacturing other millinery items such as ribbon, braid and elastic. As late as 1938, the Featherbone Factory employed 300-400 workers In 1976 the factory began its new life as the Wisner family opened Generations Hair Styling Salon in what was once the complexes Boiler House. Today, many of the original factory buildings are home to a wide variety of business, unique loft condos, large retail spaces including artists lofts and gallery space, the Acorn Theater, and several other local business ventures call the featherbone home......