USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > History of Stephenson County, Illinois : a record of its settlement, organization, and three-quarters of a century of progress > Part 62
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The Stephenson County Democratic Club, which is analogous to the County Club, and represents the interests of Democracy in Freeport and the county as the former does the interests of Republicanism, was founded in April, 1903. On the twelfth day of that month, the leading democrats of Freeport and the county gathered together and elected F. Goodwin president of an organization, the object of which should be to promote the best interests of the Democratic party in this section of the state. Twenty-four names were affixed to the orig- inal charter, among them all the prominent democrats of Freeport.
Rooms were secured in the T. K. Best building on the corner of Chicago and Stephenson streets, and fitted up as club rooms. These rooms have ever since been maintained and form a rendezvous for the good democrats of the city to meet each other in a social and fraternal way. They contain billiard and pool tables and card tables, and are in charge of Thomas Beeler, who acts as custodian.
The membership of the club comprises now between three and four hundred democrats. Regular meetings of the club are held previous to all elections and during campaigns. The present officers of the club are as follows: President, H. B. Witte; vice president, Oscar E. Stine; secretary, Charles Straub; finan- cial secretary, Al Emerick; treasurer, Ed. Secker; directors, H. Poffenberger, Douglas Pattison, Robert Bruce Mitchell, William Milner, and Christopher J. Dittmar.
CITIZEN'S COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION.
While the Citizen's Commercial Association, as such, has only been in ex- istence a short time, its precursor, the Freeport Business Men's Association, dates back as far as 1901. On June 7 of that year, a meeting was held, at- tended by the leading business men of the city, at which steps were taken to form and incorporate an organization to be known as the Business Men's Association of Freeport. A short time later, an election of officers was held and the following were given posts of honor: C. W. Harden, president; D. C. Stover, vice president; F. M. Gund, secretary ; R. D. Kuehner, treasurer.
This organization was for a time a very lively one. An inducement was made to get new factories and business firms to locate in Freeport, and some very gratifying results were accomplished along this line. In the main, how- ever, nothing of importance was done, and the Business Men's Association gradually but surely declined in activity and importance.
On October 1, 1907, a revival was accomplished at the regular meeting held on that date. It was decided to employ a regular paid secretary to give his services to the association, with the understanding that he should transact all
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the business formerly entrusted to the directors. Wilbur Coons was chosen for the position, at a salary of $100 per month, with the agreement that he was to be employed for six months, and, at the end of that time, if his services had proven satisfactory to the officers and directors, he was to be retained as sec- retary at such salary as should be arranged for by the association.
From that time dates the activity of the Citizen's Commercial Association, although the name was not changed until over a year after that date. The activities undertaken by the association have been many and varied, and the two secretaries who have been in charge since the establishment of the custom, have succeeded in doing a great deal for the welfare of Freeport .- Their work has been carried on rather quietly and without much publicity; hence it is somewhat difficult to enumerate the various public services which the associa- tion has succeeded in rendering Freeport. They have really done much more to promote the growth of the city than would seem apparent from a mere statistical report. Among the various achievements and activities of the past two years have been the securing of several new manufacturing establishments for Freeport, and a large amount of improvement and change within the city itself.
The latest acquisition to the roll of factories and manufacturing plants has been the Freeport Casket Co. The Commercial Association aided the gentle- men interested in the organization of this concern to obtain a factory site on Jackson street in East Freeport. The plant will be immediately erected, and will soon be one of the most prosperous of Freeport's mercantile establish- ments. The association also bought the property of the Freeport Novelty Company, on Hancock avenue, and in the buildings formerly occupied by that company, they found quarters for the new manure spreader factory. This property as well as some of the adjoining territory was purchased from Miss Millie Baumgarten, and will be immediately laid out in factory sites. The section of the city south of Taylor avenue was platted out and organized en- tirely through the efforts of the Commercial Association, and it is probable that before many years this will become the principal manufacturing section of the city.
The Moline Plow Company, also, whose Freeport branches are among the largest and most important factories owned by that mammoth concern came to Freeport invited by the Commercial Association. Through their agency, the Moline Company bought the defunct Robinson Mfg. Company, and turned it into the Freeport Carriage Company, a branch of the Moline Plow Company. An immense new addition to the old factory testifies to the present prosperity of that institution. The Moline Plow Company was also induced to buy the Henney Buggy Company, and has since made improvements and additions so extensive that the Henney factories now occupy the whole of the block bounded by Chicaga, Spring, Van Buren, and Jackson streets. The building of the Jackson street switch, from the Illinois Central tracks along Jackson street to the Henney plant, was fostered by the Commercial Association, and has since proved an invaluable asset to the factory.
Besides the larger factories, a number of smaller concerns have been induced to locate in the city, such as the Freeport Quilting Company, now located on
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Van Buren street. Negotiations are at present under way which will doubt- less result in the securing of more of these concerns, which, though compara- tively unimportant when compared with the Stover and Moline Plow Company factories, still give employment to a large number of individuals.
The Citizen's Commercial Association has also been active in other direc- tions. One of their achievements was the inauguration of the rest room, now located in the old post office rooms of the Wilcoxin block. The rest room is intended for the accommodation of out-of-town visitors, and especially the farmers who come to Freeport for the day. It is well patronized, and contains, in addition to the rest room itself and the woman's rest room, a restaurant, conducted by F. H. Bear, and the offices of the Commercial Association. The Freeport Woman's Club has also extended its aid to the rest room project. The ladies of that organization have always been interested in the civic wel- fare of the city, and at the solicitation of the association they agreed to raise the money to furnish the room.
The cooperative shop course now in effect at the Freeport high school, in accordance with which the boys of the city may gain an education, and at the same time work in the shops and acquire the practical experience necessary for the pursuit of their chosen trade, was originated by the Commercial As- sociation in consultation with Professors Fulwider and Raines. The plan fol- lowed enables the boys to go to school one week and work in the factory the next. They work in pairs, one section going to school and the other to the shops for one week, while the next week the order is reversed. The system has been eminently successful in Freeport and has since been adopted in other high schools, being known as the "Freeport Idea."
Recently the Commercial Association has been successful in having a sub- postal station established. The new station is in the Third Ward at Iroquois Square, at the junction of Iroquois, Adams and Williams streets, and is in charge of A. J. Robson.
A step has also been taken in a social way. Last winter the society min- strels were held in the Grand Opera House, under the direction of Mrs. Flor- ence Magill Wallace, of Moline. The object of the entertainment was to pro- vide funds for the maintenance of the rest room, and a large amount was raised. The society minstrels were so well attended and so heartily applauded that it is planned to make the winter festival an annual event. The program consisted of a minstrel entertainment and songs, dances and choruses exclu- sively given by home talent. The cafe scene, which formed the basis of the minstrel show, brought together on the stage several dozen of Freeport's popu- lar society people, all of whom manifested the greatest interest in the project, and were present in a body either appearing in the performance itself or in the audience.
Mr. Coons, the first paid secretary of the association remained in the city for over a year and left in December, 1908. Just before he left the name of the organization was changed from the Freeport Business Men's Association to the Citizen's Commercial Association, which name it has retained up to the present time. Mr. Coons was succeeded by Herbert Shearer who remained in Freeport for only a year. During Mr. Shearer's administration rapid prog-
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ress was made and today the Citizen's Commercial Association is an estab- lished fact, and is regarded by all as the cause of Freeport's rapid growth during the past few years.
The latest and one of the most important achievements of the Commercial Association has been the securing of Colonel Roosevelt to speak in this city on September 8, 1910. The event has not come off yet, but the Citizen's Com- mercial Association is almost entirely responsible for the enthusiasm which has been aroused over the coming of our ex-president. Rockford was very anxious to secure him for speaker on the same day, and it took a great deal of strenuous correspondence, and a good deal of hard work to persuade Colonel Roosevelt to come to Freeport instead of the larger city. It is quite certain that if the Citizens' Commercial Association had not directed its efforts toward bringing the colonel to Freeport, we should not have the pleasure of antici- pating his visit on September 8th.
At present Mr. C. H. Wright is secretary. The membership of the organ- ization includes about one hundred and sixty individuals and corporations, all of the prominent business firms of Freeport being represented. Mr. Jacob Weiss is president and a very able and efficient head of the organization.
BUSINESS ENTERPRISES.
STOVER MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
Probably the concern which is doing the largest business of any in Freeport is the Stover Manufacturing Company, makers of the Samson Wind Mill and the Ideal Feed Mill. Their plant is located in East Freeport on Henderson street, near Fairview avenue, near the city limits. It is a mammoth factory, and the various additions and enlargements which have been completed dur- ing the past few years make it more certain of its title than ever before.
The Stover Manufacturing Company celebrates its fiftieth anniversary this year. It was founded in 1860 by Daniel C. Stover, Freeport's late financier and inventive genius, who began his business in a small way on the corner of Stephenson and Cherry streets, where the Y. M. C. A. building stands today. The original name of the firm was the "D. C. Stover Experiment Works," and by 1880 the business had become so large that it was deemed advisable to in- corporate the company under the laws of the state of Illinois. This was forth- with done, and the plant was moved to the corner of Spring and Mechanic streets. Soon after the old carriage shop of F. S. Taggart was purchased, but the growing concern rapidly became too large for the new buildings. The site of the present Stover Engine Works were bought, on East Stephenson street and the river, and the present shops were erected. These have stood almost unchanged until this year. A large new addition to the west wing has just been finished, and this constitutes the first large addition to the engine plant.
In 1890 the tract of forty-five acres on Henderson street, where the main shops are located today, was purchased, and the buildings erected. They per- formed the service required of them until 1908, when the foundry was found
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to be of insufficient size to turn out the proper number of castings. Additional buildings were then constructed, and the original foundry was turned into a machine shop. Shortly before that a power plant had been built with a ca- pacity sufficient for generating a supply of electricity for both wind mill fac- tory and gas engine works.
So greatly has the business of the Stover Company increased that the day is evidently not distant when entirely new factories will be built. The high quality of the goods turned out accounts for the popularity of the article among farmers. Nearly all of the farms about Freeport are equipped with Samson windmills, and even in the remote parts of the United States the Stover product is to be found doing duty. Not only has the domestic business increased ap- preciably, but the foreign business is very large. The foreign trade of the Stover Manufacturing Company, although it is of recent growth, has already assumed such proportions as make it necessary for the plant to occupy larger quarters. The greatest care is given to every detail of the manufacturing. The plant is equipped with a chemical laboratory, and all mixtures are made by analyses, all of the metals, steel, wire, etc., that enter the goods are care- fully analyzed, and a high standard of excellence is thereby secured. The company is constantly on the look out for new and improved machinery, it em- ploys a number of mechanical geniuses on its force, and the business done is steadily increasing. The windmill output averages forty thousand of the machines annually, while a force of about four hundred workmen are em- ployed.
The Stover Manufacturing Company was formerly connected with the Stover Motor Car Company, an institution which was organized to manufac- ture gasoline engines for automobiles. The business was continued for about a year, and about thirteen months ago it was discontinued. The Motor Car Company plant, a large and modern building, in East Freeport, near the Stover Engine Works, has since been utilized by the latter concern for the manufacture of gas engines.
STOVER ENGINE WORKS.
Forty years ago, in 1870, the Stover Engine Works was established. It was an outgrowth of the Stover Manufacturing Company, inasmuch as the same men were connected with both companies, but as far as the organization was concerned, the two companies were entirely separate concerns and have always so remained.
The Stover Engine Works manufacture a variety of engines, including stationary, portable, and pumping varieties of the horizontal engine, and in addition to the gas and gasoline engines a make which is run by alcohol is in- cluded in their manufactures. Like the windmill factory, the market of the Stover Engine Works is the whole civilized world. The foreign output has so increased of late years that an addition to the East Freeport plant has be- come an absolute necessity. The result has been the commodious west wing, a handsome building of red pressed brick, which is to contain also the offices of the company. The Stover Works employ about two hundred and fifty hands
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on the average. The output of engines is very large, and is increasing annu- ally. The time is evidently not far away when an entirely new plant will be the inevitable outcome. The officers are: President, P. S. Stover; secretary, J. Fred Smith; superintendent, William F. Freidag.
ARCADE MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
The forerunner of the Arcade Manufacturing Company was a small concern known as the Novelty Iron Works, which was founded as early as 1868. The men interested in the organization of the Novelty Iron Works were E. H. and Charles Morgan, composing the firm of "Morgan Brothers," and the first fac- tory of the company was built on the corner of Chicago and Jackson streets. Here they continued to do business for nearly twenty years. The company first occupied two small brick buildings and a total of ten hands were employed. In 1874 the old buildings were torn down and more commodious quarters, con- sisting of a machine shop, foundry, engine room, and offices were erected on the same site, at a cost of about $25,000. In 1877 J. P. Easter became a part- ner in the concern but retired in about a year and the old firm name was re- stored. During Mr. Easter's stay, the company began the manufacture of plows on a large scale.
Pumps, windmills, iron pavements, store fronts, and a variety of castings were manufactured by the Novelty Iron Works. The company went out of business in 1885, and the Arcade Manufacturing Company was then and there organized with E. H. and Charles Morgan and Albert Baumgarten as the original promoters.
The buildings of the Novelty Iron Works were utilized for a brief time only. They quickly became too crowded, and a move was soon made to a new factory erected especially for the purpose in East Freeport. From there the company moved, in September, 1891, to another site, and took possession of a building which had been recently vacated by the Emory and Williams Can- ning Company. This building was fitted up with suitable machinery, and a prosperous business start had just been made, when, on July 24, 1892, the factories were burned to the ground and all the new equipments lost. It was suspected at the time that the plant had been fired by an incendiary. How- ever that might have been, the entire factory with all its appurtenances was a total loss, and the Arcade Manufacturing Company, which had of late enjoyed such pleasant prospects, gloomily faced a deficit of over $20,000. Not only this, but about 40,000 coffee mills, finished and in the process of manufacture, were burned, and the new company was unable to fill its first orders.
The fire was a severe blow, and any but the most zealous of men would have been profoundly discouraged. Not so the new Arcade Manufacturing Company. Hardly were the ashes of the fire cold when negotiations were un- der way for the purchase of a new factory site in East Freeport. A large square of land, formerly belonging to the Keller-Wittbecker farm was bought, and part of it was divided up into lots. The newly platted section of East Freeport was known as the Arcade Addition, and on part of the land, the com- pany erected its new offices and foundries. In February, 1893, the new factory
William Walton
Hon. D. C. Stover
Lalon %. Farwell
PROMINENT BUSINESS MEN OF FREEPORT
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had been completed, and the Arcade Manufacturing Company was ready to begin over again. This time success crowned their efforts. The buildings which were constructed then are in use today, with a number of alterations and additions. The main building is a large brick structure, 200 x 40, while the foundry is 100 x 70. Besides the two lager factories are a number of smaller buildings, occupied by foundries, machine shops, drying houses, warehouses, general offices, etc. The plant is up-to-date in every respect, employs a large force of men, and turns out a variety of products.
In 1893 L. L. Munn became a partner in the firm. In December of that year, he invested heavily in the company, and thenceforth became the principal stockholder. For many years he filled the office of president, and, on his death, his interest in the concern was taken up by his son, L. L. Munn, Jr. Albert Baumgarten subsequently retired from the firm to found a factory of his own, the Freeport Novelty Works. This factory, the offices of which were located on Hancock avenue, in East Freeport, ceased to do business at Mr. Baumgar- ten's death, and its buildings are now occupied by the Freeport Manure Spreader Company.
The Arcade Company has always made a specialty of coffee mills, but it turns out a variety of goods. Besides the dozens of coffee mills of different designs the Arcade plant turns out hinges, screen door hinges, stove pipe dampers, lid lifters, cork extracters, corkscrews, and numerous small notions and novelties. A large number of children's toys have also been manufactured, such as toy coffee mills, miniature trains, swings, doll carriages, etc.
In whatever new department of manufacture the Arcade Manufacturing Company chooses to venture, its results are sure to be attended with success and its products are invariably the very best. Everything is made from the finest material obtainable, and by skilled workmen. The road agents and trav- eling salesmen of the Arcade Manufacturing Company are to be found in every state of the Union, and wherever their articles are introduced, they are sure to find a popular market. The affairs of the company are in the best of con- dition at home, financially and otherwise. The concern has been forced by circumstances to pass through a number of exceedingly trying situations, not the least of which was a prolonged strike which aroused a great deal of agi- tation about a year ago, but it has come through them all successfully, and would seem to be enjoying at present a well earned season of prosperity. The officers of the institution are: President, Edward H. Morgan; vice president, Charles Morgan; secretary, Loyal L. Munn, Jr .; treasurer, E. H. Morgan; su- perintendent, Chas. Morgan.
MOLINE PLOW COMPANY.
The Moline Plow Company owns and operates two large plants in Freeport : the Henney Buggy Company, and the. Freeport Carriage Company. The former is a very old concern, which has done business in Freeport for nearly half a cen- tury, and has but recently passed into the hands of the Moline concern. The Freeport Carriage Company, under the name of the Robinson Manufacturing Company, did business in a small way for many years before it was absorbed
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by the new company. Its founder and president, J. L. Robinson, began the manufacture of carriages in a wagon shop on Exchange street. As his business increased, he found it necessary to secure larger quarters. The ultimate out- come of the need was the building of the factories west of Stephenson street and bordering on the Illinois Central Railroad tracks, and there the concern did an apparently thriving business for many years. About four years ago the concern became insolvent and the factory was purchased by the Moline Plow Company, who have since made extensive additions nearly twice the size of the original factories.
The Moline Plow Company, as an institution, was organized in 1868, and is incorporated. The present officers are: President, G. A. Stephens; vice presi- dent, F. G. Allen; secretary and superintendent, C. R. Stephens. All of these gentlemen reside in Moline. The local manager of the business is M. A. Steele, who has been here for many years, and is a thoroughly competent and able official.
Since taking hold of the Freeport factories, the Moline Plow Company has almost doubled their size, and is now contemplating more extensive additions. The Henney Buggy Company is located on the block bounded by Chicago, Spring, Jackson, and Van Buren streets. It originally occupied only about half of the block, while the rear of the premises were filled by warehouses and lumber sheds. Within the past few years, buildings have been added to such an extent that now the concern's factories cover the whole of the block. The output of the Henney Buggy Company branch is enormous, being about thirty thousand carriages of various sorts per annum. That of the Freeport Carriage Com- panies branch is nearly as large, being about two-thirds as much or twenty- thousand vehicles. The total output of the Moline Plow Company's buggy factories in Freeport is thus on an average fifty thousand. The factories give employment to a large number of men, and are a great boon to the city of Free- port in every way.
Recently the Henney branch began to feel the need of better transportation facilities. The Freeport Carriage Company is located on the Illinois Central lines and is thus easily accessible to the Northwestern and C., M. and St. P. roads, but the Henney plant is several blocks from the nearest railroad. The need was formerly met by a side-track which ran through the alley between Spring and Jackson streets, but this single switch presently became too small to meet the demand. Then, through the efforts of the Citizen's Commercial As- sociation of Freeport, who were also instrumental in persuading the Moline Plow Company to locate its branches here, permission was secured for laying a branch switch along Jackson street from the Illinois Central tracks to Van Buren street. This switch was built early this year, and has proven itself indispensable to the crowded Henney plant.
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