
Conveniently located only 4 miles away from the Rock Falls hotel is the historic Wahl Clipper Corporation. That began in 1911 by Sterling High School junior, Leo J. Wahl, experimenting with a vibrating electromagnetic motor. Later as an engineering student at the University of Illinois, Leo Wahl designed a vibrating medical massager. In 1919 on October 14, Leo J. Wahl applied for patents on his newly developed electromagnetic hair clipper, and manufacturing began at the Wahl Manufacturing Company.








