William Kaut, formerly of Kaut-Reith Shoe Company located at 200 South River (see Clio entry for address), organized a new shoe company with several local investors. A steel reinforced concrete and stucco building designed by Percy Simpson and constructed by P. J. McNerney was built for the company at a total cost of $50,000. When operations opened eighty workers began making product, manufacturing 750 pairs of shoe a day. As the workforce increased to several hundred workers, up to 2,500-3,000 pairs could be made each day. When and why Kaut stopped manufacturing in the 1920s is not known. Carmo Shoe Manufacturing Company moved to this site and may have leased other manufacturing sites in Carthage including the Goodhealth Shoe Company building (4th and Maple Streets, see Clio entry for address/company). They operated through the late 1940s. Once Carmo closed, the building was used for storage by other local manufacturers, including Smith Brothers Manufacturing, and then became a furniture factory until the structure was torn down and a used car lot occupied the site until the current business was constructed.
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