Several businessmen in Peebles talked among themselves and decided to join forces in July, 1964, to promote the Peebles area as being highly suitable for business and development. A formal meeting was organized and held with the purpose of creating an officially structured group. The stated aim of the organization was: “...to advance, encourage, and promote industrial, economic, commercial and civic development” in the community which included Peebles as the heart of activities for Meigs, Bratton and Franklin Townships. The original incorporators were Lavon Bailey, Elmer Lucas and Mark Ryan with Richard Wallingford as the legal agent.

In the fall of '64, articles and a code of regulations were approved and received from Secretary of State Ted W. Brown, which incorporated the Peebles Community Development Association. Officers and directors were elected at a public meeting held at the old gym where residents of the area over twenty-one years of age were also encouraged to become members of the group.

Twelve directors were chosen: Charles Duminel, Charles Ryan, Clinton Glenn, Ralph Fannin, O.H. Ogden, Frank Heckman, James Louderback, M.O. Shoemaker, Roger Arey, Harry McAdow, Russell Webb and Lavon Bailey. Bailey was elected president, McAdow, vice president and Arey as secretary-treasurer.

The Peebles Community Development Association acted quickly to assist a couple of interested manufacturers in locating to the area. A textile company was among the first to be welcomed. Plans were also well under way to obtain property suitable for another factory that had expressed interest in to moving to Peebles. The association began selling stock to the public with the intention of using the money to purchase 17 acres on the southern edge of the village. The stock was sold for $10 a share.

Eventually enough money was raised, the property was purchased, and a building at the site was remodeled by the P. C. D. A. for use as a machine shop to be developed and operated by Appalachian Industries, Inc. Father Patrick O'Donnell, of Fayetteville, supervised the new company. Its original purpose was to hire and train persons who had been without work for an extended period of time.

In the beginning, the Appalachian Industries shop was supplied with a broad range of milling machinery that was surplus or had been discarded. The workers repaired and adapted the equipment to fit the shop's needs. A used truck was also supplied and refurbished for the company.

An early commercial product was a three-legged chair. Its design and construction allowed for folding the chair into a flat configuration for easy packing and shipping. A local lumber company supplied cherry wood that was used for the chair's framework.

A New York company approved designs for twelve individual products including a handcrafted silver cross packed in a wooden box that was also manufactured at the plant. Erma Stephenson completed construction of the crosses at her home; bending, cutting, soldering and polishing the pieces, and then matching them with the display box. The shop was also awarded a contract to build equipment for drilling nutcrackers for commercial sale. Another division of the business that grew in importance focused on faceted, or stained glass windows.

In March, 1967, plans were made to set up federal cooperative programs to train additional employees. Applications were made to the Manpower Training and Development Act For Rural Area Redevelopment. Appalachian Industries was seeking funds for 24 new workers that included ten glass glaziers, ten combined mill men and woodworkers and three jeweler assemblers. U.S. Shoe Corporation in Ripley, Ohio was also a part of the application, seeking money to train 100 new employees and to pay their wages for several weeks.

What happened?

Appalachian Industries' stained glass window business was highly successful under the guidance of Roy Calligan. He used his considerable knowledge from working at Hunt Studios in Pittsburgh and the assistance of glass cutter Joe Smith to grow the department into a major competitor in the stained glass market. Calligan had developed and patented several stained glass architectural procedures that were considered “important advances in the industry.” He had the products produced by the specially trained employees at the plant and handled the marketing himself. A.I. had applied to the U.S. Department of Labor for a grant through the “On the Job Training” program. The Ohio State Apprenticeship Council conducted a hearing where competitors argued that using government grant money to expand the business would create an unfair advantage for the Peebles operation. There was also opposition to the use of government funds to train unskilled laborers who might not be on an equal level to those who had worked their way up in the usual stained glass manufacturing industry.

At the time, Appalachian Industries had 16 associates – five in the stained glass department, a secretary, one in the machine shop, one in woodworking, three who worked from their homes and four trainees, all under the direction of administrator Father O'Donnell. He had started the business with $750 cash. He was able to keep training employees and creating product with $3,000 in loans, $2,000 in gifts and a $5,000 grant. The amount of the federal grant request to remain in operation was $12,000. The request was rejected by the administrators of the grant money.

Appalachian Industries eventually found it necessary to end its partnership with the Peebles Community Development Association and closed on September 1, 1967. Father O'Donnell stated that failure to find suitable funding and management to take over control of the enterprise was the reason. Calligan was able to adapt the training and production of the stained glass factory and moved to a new site in Somerset, Kentucky.

The Peebles group transformed into a few other associations with a variety of memberships over the following years.