Major Thomas G. Beaham came to Kansas City from Zanesville, Ohio and bought into Smith & Moffit, a company that sold coffee, tea and spices. The company became Beaham & Moffit. Later, Beaham & Moffit bought the formula for Faultless Starch from Bosworth Manufacturing Company. The name Faultless Starch Company was adopted in 1891 and the company was incorporated in 1902. After adding Bon Ami products to the line, the company again changed its name to Faultless Starch/Bon Ami Company in 1974.
 Major Beaham's first product, dry white starch, earned
immediate acceptance among housewives of the late
1880's because it was simple to use and did not require
lengthy boiling. Faultless soon became a household word in
the Midwest and Southwest, as women found that the product had many uses other than starching clothes, such as adding an elegant finish to embroidery and lace, treating skin irritations and as both a baby powder and a bath powder.
Faultless' popularity was enhanced, particularly in Texas and the Indian Territory, by the Faultless Starch books attached to the boxes of starch. Salesman John Nesbitt took wagonloads of the books into Texas in the 1890's and attached them to the Faultless Starch boxes with rubber bands. The books were designed as a supplement or substitute for school texts and primers and many people actually learned to read by reading the thirty-six books that were published from the 1890's to the 1930's.
The original Faultless Starch Company plant was rebuilt after the flood of 1903 in the West Bottoms area of Kansas City. As the company grew and required more space, the plant was expanded at the existing site at 1025 West Eighth Street. In 1968, it was apparent that the business had outgrown its office space within the plant building. The New England Building, constructed in 1887 (the year Faultless was founded) was purchased. The company offices moved into the building at Ninth and Wyandotte Streets in 1978. In 1991, the company moved its offices to the River Market district of Kansas City. It is a colorful, restored river landing district on the banks of the Missouri River.
The company is still run by the Beaham family with Gordon T. Beaham, III, the great-grandson of Major Thomas G. Beaham, serving as Chairman and Co-CEO; Robert B. Beaham, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer and Co-CEO; and David G. Beaham, President and Co-CEO; are members of the fifth generation of family members to be active in the business.
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Major Thomas G. Beaham |
