A Brief History: When was the first Locker Created?

With the locker market total being worth $1.2 trillion in 2019 and expected to be $1.5 trillion by 2024 it would seem the locker industry has gone a long way. Now you may be asking, “but where did it all begin?” In this article, we will be discussing the history of the locker when the first locker was created.

According to studies, we can trace its roots all the way back to ancient Greece approximately 2500 years ago. Back in ancient times, there are three essential parts to competition and training centres.  There is the place where the athletes do their run and rings where they do their wrestle.

The last essential part is used for the undressing and change of garments. It is also here where the athletes wash afterwards. This place is called the gymnasium and the athletes trained and competed in these centres. Men of all ages have used these facilities for their daily exercise as well.

Athletes would often unclothe themselves for their sports events and leave their personal belongings on the benched-line dressing rooms in a secure and safe place like cubbies or on shelves with security provided by an attendant.

Due to these rooms being large and often overcrowded, the Greeks found it necessary to impose a strict law against thefts. A law attributed to Solon enacted the penalty of death on anyone who stole any object. This very same practise still occurs today. All belongings were kept safe through the aid of a security attendant.

The First Locks

The oldest known lock was found by archaeologists in Nineveh, Egypt. It is a lock made of wooden pin type tumbler that is dated approximately 4000 years old. The padlock has also been found to be used by Romans and ancient Greeks between 500BC and 300AD. The first known lockers were identified as simply being stacked of cupboards with padlocks and may have been used at the Harleton Green Gold Club in South Carolina in 1786.

Storage Lockers were found in Victorian-era wreckage of a British warship HMS Terror dating back to 1848. Yale Lock Company came up with their first padlock in 1857 and their cylinder lock in 1865.

Introduction to the Locker Rooms

We all know that a locker is a small usually narrow storage compartments that in placed in changing rooms, locker rooms or dressing rooms. Locker rooms have always been a gendered specific space. Some facilities may even have a locker room attendant who can look after your belongings until you come back to take them.

Since the conceptualization of lockers, they have always been used to store items of value. In North America and Europe, the market is driven by demand from recreational centres, health clubs, hospitals, office break rooms, schools, restaurants and the likes.

Custom lockers cabinets were built on the job-site by cabinet makers of wood and by 1923 W.N. Vance Receives a patent for his metal locker design. Lyon Metal Products started manufacturing metal lockers in 1924. Later on, Lyon merged with Durand Steel Locker Company of Chicago in 1928. Master Lock patented their padlocks in 1920. Worley started manufacturing metal school lockers in Orinda, California in 1920. The side-mounted single prong coat hook was also patented in 1931.

Modern Lockers

Today’s lockers are manufactured using wood, fabricated wood, metal, steel, stainless steel, plastic, solid phenolic and others. These lockers are pre-manufactured in limited sizes and colours. They are often shipped off the shelf or custom made and manufactured to order.

The locking system has also evolved. From simple padlock or combination locks to the latest keypad digital/electronic locks. Most are often integrated with WiFi functionality providing auditing trails and account management with ease.

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