USA > Indiana > Elkhart County > A twentieth century history and biographical record of Elkhart County, Indiana > Part 25
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87
The Hawks Furniture Company, Goshen, was organized in 1873 by a partnership consisting of Cephas, Eleazer and Joel P. Hawks, to- gether with Daniel Fravel, for the purpose of manufacturing common bedsteads and tables. As the business grew it became necessary to enlarge the facilities, hence frequent additions to the plant were made. In 1884 the business was incorporated under the present name. In 1885 the frame buildings were destroyed by fire, entailing a loss to the company of over $25,000. With the spirit of enterprise which has always been a characteristic of the Hawks family, the ruins were scarcely cold before plans had been prepared for a plant on a more extensive
23
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
scale, and the present substantial brick factory buildings are the result. These were completed in 1886.
From the manufacture of the very cheapest kind of furniture with- out being finished, the line of manufacture now consists of chamber suites in solid mahogany, bird's eye maple, and quartered oak, to- gether with all that goes to make up a complete line of chamber furni- ture.
The officers of the company are Edwin W. Hawks, president ; Frank E. C. Hawks, vice-president ; and Herbert H. Gortner, secretary and treasurer.
The Goshen Rubber Company, established at Goshen in 1902, capi- tal stock $75,000, has become one of the important manufacturing con- cerns of the city. The present officers are: B. F. Deahil, president ; G. B. Slate, secretary and treasurer and general manager ; Geo. F. Alder- man, vice-president. The number of employes is about twenty per- sons. The annual business is placed at $60,000. The manufacture is a general line of rubber goods and rubber specialties, and the taking of special contracts, a booklet of sixteen pages being given to a list of manufactured articles.
The I X-L and Goshen Pump Company has a history dating back nearly half a century. The Goshen Pump Company was established in 1854 by William D. Platter, in 1878 was purchased by William L. Bivins, and in 1885 by the I X-L Pump Co. The I X-L Pump Co. was established in 1879 by James A. Arthur, Alfred Lowry and John Kor- rady. Jr. The two companies were incorporated under the laws of Indiana in 1885, and in 1895 were consolidated under a state charter. The present officers of the company are B. F. Deahil, president : John Hale, vice-president ; George Mutschler, Sr., treasurer; James A1. Ar- thur, secretary. The capital stock is $36,000, the average number of employes is sixty, and the value of the annual output is one hundred thousand dollars. The main line of manufacture is now kitchen furni- ture, also including window and door screens, ladders, swings, steel tanks, etc. Recently the company began the erection of an addition to their finishing room. 48 by 112 feet. two stories and basement, of brick, with modern freight elevators: also a brick building in which to install an electric lighting plant. and a hundred and sixty feet of modern lumber sheds. These improvements were made necessary by the rapid increase of business within the past few years, an increase which the
232
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
members of the company claim is due to their strict adherence to the mottoes: "Good Goods from Goshen." and " Prompt Service."
The Goshen Churn and Ladder Company was established and in- corporated October 5. 1901, by the men who still figure as its officers : namcly. J. B. Hager, president : Charles McDonald, vice-president : J. B. Cripe, manager: . Aaron Hartzler, secretary and treasurer. The capital stock is ten thousand dollars, and during the busy season, which extends over the greater part of the year, from seventy to seventy-five persons are employed in the manufacture of the "Famous" churns and ladders.
The Thomas- Albright Company, founders and machinists and manu- facturing hydraulic presses exclusively, was established in 1878 by Eli M. Albright and George N. Thomas, was incorporated in 1891, and its present officers are E. M. AAlbright, president : Bella Willhide, vice- president ; W. . \. Willhide, secretary and treasurer. There are between twenty and twenty-five employes, and the annual output is valued at seventy-five thousand dollars. A sixty-page catalogue describes the va- rious presses manufactured by this company, among them being tank- age presses, lard presses, leather, baling, book and paper, veneer, and many other presses, all operated by hydraulic power.
The Art Novelty Company of Goshen began business in July, 1904, and in the past year its sales have run up to fifteen thousand dollars. The output consists of plate, book and hat racks, bolsters, screens, easels, cabinets, etc. William AAckerman is president: Woodson V. E. Mes- sick, secretary and treasurer: J. C. Messick, vice-president ; and C. H. Messick. designer.
A manufacturing business valued between $75.000 and $90,000 per annum is carried on at Goshen by the Boreal Manufacturing Com- pany, manufacturers of gloves and mittens. This business was estab- lished in December. 1903. by Louis J. Phillips, and the officers at pres- ent are Edw. S. Rogers, president and treasurer, and Nathan Ashcer. manager. The capital stock is ten thousand dollars, and seventy-five persons are employed.
The Goshen Pharmacal Company, manufacturing pharmacists and chemists, established their business at Goshen in 1890, at first as a part- nership between E. D. Chipman and A. E. Davis. Incorporation was effected in 1000, with a capital stock of $25,000, and the present offi- cers are: Frederick Simpson, president ; L. W. Vail, vice-president :
NEW GOSHEN THEATRE
142
t
3
233
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
E. D. Chipman. secretary, treasurer and general manager. There are twelve employes, and an annual output valued at $30,000.
GOSIIEN OPERA HOUSE.
The new business block and theatre building, in course of erection in the summer of 1905 by the Sanders, Hay and Neidig Company, gives Goshen another institution of distinctive character and one of which the citizens may well feel proud. Erected at a cost, including real estate, of $75,000, with a frontage of 111 feet and depth of 162 feet, three stories high, material of buffed Bedford limestone and buffed Roman mottled brick, the entire building is of unsually beautiful proportions and effective design. The theatre, 67 by 162 feet, is on the ground floor. Three sets of doors go from the street into the main vestibule, and two sets admit to the lobby. To the right as the lobby is entered is the private office of the theatre manager. Adjoining it is the box office, with ticket window opening into the lobby as well as the gallery passageways. Next to the box office, and with an opening from the foyer, is a check room for hats, coats, etc. Two sets of doors open from the lobby into a ro-foot foyer, at the right and left of which are the stairways, each 41/2 feet wide, leading up to the balcony. The stairs are very easy, the rise being six inches and the tread 11 inches.
Col. J. M. Wood, the architect, has followed the classic style of architecture in the interior of the theatre and tends somewhat toward the Ionic. The decorative effects will be subdued, dignified and very artistic. The scheme of coloring will be a harmony of delicate greens, blended with old ivory. All of the furnishings, including the draperies, carpets, etc., will be handsome and in keeping with the general character of the theatre.
Over 1,100 people can be seated in the theatre. The main audi- torium measures 64 feet wide and 66 feet long. The height is about 45 feet. The four proscenium boxes, two on either side, seat six per- sons each and the two loges, one on either side, four persons each. The boxes are in the lonic style, with huge pillars as the dividing line.
The balcony seats 325 people.
The gallery is of the regulation city kind, with benches.
The orchestra pit is 512 feet wide with under stage entrance.
The proscenium opening is 38 feet wide and 28 feet high. The arch itself is an elipse, 20 feet deep and 50 feet long, extending from the outer edge of the boxes. It will be done in relief plaster, with magnifi-
234
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
cent decorations and prove the attractive feature of the theatre. Built of steel and brick, the arch will, when the asbestos curtain is lowered and fire-proof doors closed, completely separate the stage from the auditorium, doing away with much of the danger of fire, as fires in theatres nearly always start on the stage.
The architect has been careful to comply with the state law in de- tail. \ general heating plant in the basement will furnish the heat for the whole block. Steam will be used. All the plumbing is of the latest kind. In all there are seven exits, the lower floor, balcony and gallery all having openings into the alley on the south of the building. The law provides for 20 inches of exit space for every 100 people. Col. Wood's plans provide 40 inches, just double the amount required by law. All apparatus for fighting fire will be placed in the theatre.
.A wide stairway south of the double room will lead to the upper floors of the entire block, wide corridors being arranged. The offices will be finished in metropolitan style, steam heated, electric lighted and with toilet rooms. The woodwork will be in oak, with red beech floors. There are several suites. On the third floor, over the double room, will be a lodge room, with kitchen, buffet, billiard room, card room, recep- tion parlor, etc.
Suspended from the building by means of heavy iron chains a wrought iron. highly ornamental, and prism glass canopy or porte cochere, will extend out over the full width of the sidewalk, affording shelter in front of the whole entrance to the playhouse.
The Sanders. Hay and Neidig Company, through whose enterprise this fine building has been erected in Goshen, was incorporated Feb- ruary 6. 1905. with the following well known business and financial men as its officers : George W. Hay, president : Daniel .\. Sanders, vice-presi- dent ; Harry M. Sanders, secretary ; and David W. Neidig, treasurer.
The Kelly Foundry and Machine Company was established in Goshen in 1887. Frank. Charles, Edward and Clark Kelly being the leading factors of the institution. The foundry was built on the pres- ent site on the east side in 1891. and in January, 1896, the business was incorporated under the above name. This is one of the most stable and prosperous manufacturing concerns of Goshen, over a hun- dred men finding employment in its various departments.
The Goshen Buggy Top Company has a history of unsual growth and prosperity, having from time to time enlarged its plant, originally
235
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
located in the old woolen mill building, and very recently has added thirty thousand feet of floor space. Buggy tops and other component parts of buggies and carriages are manufactured.
The Goshen Veneer Company, whose plant is located north of the Lake Shore road and in the northwest quarter of the city, is a com- plete plant for the making of all kinds of veneering, from the rough logs to the finished product. M. C. Dow is the president of the com- pany.
Ladders, lawn and similar wood articles are made for a large trade by the Goshen Manufacturing Company, whose capital stock is $125,000. . \ special line of doors is the product of the Goshen Sash and Door Company. Other concerns worthy of mention are the Banta Furniture Company, Goshen Cigar Company, Goshen Eyelet Company, Goshen Shirt Factory, Goslien Brick Company and the Goshen Motor Works.
ELKHART. LAKE SHORE AND MICHIGAN SOUTHERN RAILROAD.
A city within a city would be an apt description of the aggregate institutions built up by the Lake Shore System in their relation to the city of Elkhart. Doubtless the majority of the people of the county do not realize the significance and true proportions of these institutions as a part of the county's business interests. A recent writer estimated the gross earning power of the wage-working population of Elkhart at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars a month, and of this great sum the Lake Shore Company paid ninety thousand to its employes living and centering in the city. This railroad paid to the city last year nearly five thousand dollars in taxes upon its assessed valuation of property within the city limits. There are hundreds of miles of side and switch tracks, hundreds of acres covered by the shops and yards, there is a vast area of roof covering the different mechanical and operating departments, and on such a scale have the railroad of- ficials seen fit to build up this division point that a visitor could hardly gain an adequate idea of it all in several days of observation and in- quiry.
Recently there have been constructed, about a mile and a quarter west of the depot, what are known as the "hump " yards, at a cost of over a million dollars. Here are miles and miles of track and all
236
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
the most modern facilities for handling freight trains. At this point the thousands of cars of freight which come in from the east consigned to points west of Chicago, instead of being sent into the yards at Chi- cago, where delay, confusion and loss are always imminent, are here made up into the solid trains which go straight through to their destina- tion. Among other improvements at Elkhart is the immense new en- gine roundhouse, which, with its surroundings, cost over six hundred thousand dollars. Also a coal dock was installed at a cost of fifty-six thousand. Of the mechanical departments there are the great locomo- tive shops, the rail shop, the Gravit carpenter shops, the roundhouses, the foundry, the store departinent, besides the various administrative and operating departments located here.
Mr. T. J. Dawson is the assistant superintendent at Elkhart, with office in the passenger station. C. W. Cross, the master mechanic. popular alike with his subordinates and with the citizens, has been here five years. Joseph Chidley is assistant master mechanic, and Oscar Antz is general foreman of the shops. Other officials are D. Brennan, master blacksmith, William Gravit, master carpenter, Samuel Bates, yardmaster, W. J. Diehl, of the stores department, F. E. Kilpatrick. supervisor of signals, and J. S. Rice, road painter.
The importance of the Lake Shore Railroad's share in the industrial interests of Elkhart may be understood when it is stated that at least a fourth of the city's population depend directly or indirectly for em- ployment and means of livelihood upon the various departments of the railroad. The number of employes and the monthly payroll in some of the departments are given as follows :
Locomotive shops, 550 employes, monthly payroll $30,000
Foundry. 65 employes, monthly payroll. 3,000
Roundhouses, 200 employes, monthly payroll 10,000 Rail shops, 63 employes, monthly payroll. 3,575
Gravit shops ( June 30) 320 employes, monthly payroll 12,000
There are four hundred engineers and an equal number of fire- men of the Michigan Southern division under the jurisdiction of the roundhouses at Elkhart. and sixty-five per cent of these live or make their headquarters at Elkhart. Each day one hundred and sixty en- gines are cared for at these roundhouses. An estimate of the total number of railroad employes at Elkhart is conservative at fifteen hun- dred men. And, as one of the officials enthusiastically states, they are
237
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
all high-grade American citizens, many of them owners of their homes, and permanent law-abiding citizens of Elkhart.
Another interesting fact is that there has never been a strike. The employes are all organized, there being the unions of machinists, boil- ermakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, painters, molders, engineers, firemen, etc.
The Elkhart Carriage and Harness Manufacturing Company, Elk- hart. In 1873 F. B. Pratt and Wm. B. Pratt, his son, began the manu- facturing of vehicles under the firm name of F. B. Pratt & Son, and inaugurated the plan of selling direct from the manufacturer to the consumer without the use of the middle man or jobber. In 1882, Mr. F. B. Pratt's second son, Geo. B. Pratt, came into the business and the concern was known as the Elkhart Buggy Company. In 1888 a stock company was formed to be known as the Elkhart Carriage & Harness Mfg. Co., the stock being taken by Frederick B. Pratt, Wm. B. Pratt, Geo. B. Pratt and Otis D. Thompson. In 1891 F. B. Pratt sold his stock to Geo. B. Pratt and Wm. B. Pratt. In 1894 Mr. Thompson sold his stock to Geo. B. Pratt and Wm. B. Pratt and the entire stock is held by Geo. B. and Wm. B. Pratt at this time, 1905. The plan of selling a manufactured article is the same to-day as it was when the business started in 1873-by advertising in papers and magazines and sending out catalogues illustrating and describing everything that the company makes, which includes a large line of both vehicles and harness. This business is all carried on through correspondence. The company employs from 300 to 500 people, shipping annually from 5,000 to 9,000 finished vehicles. The officers of the company are Wm. B. Pratt. president and secretary, and George B. Pratt, vice-president and treasurer.
The Buescher Band Instrument Co., at Elkhart, manufacture the well known " True Tone" band instruments.
The Buescher Mfg. Co. was organized about ten years ago with a capital stock of $15,000. In 1903, November, the capital stock was increased to $60,000. Between the years 1898 and 1903 there were employed by that company an average of about 150 men with an out- put of $150,000 each year. In April, 1904. the company was re- organized under the name of the Buescher Band Instrument Co., with F. A. Buescher as president and J. H.I. Collins, secretary and treasurer.
The factory and general offices of the Chicago Telephone Supply Co. are located at Elkhart. This business was established in 1896
238
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
by A. J. Briggs, and has developed into one of the largest manufactur- ing concerns of the county. Its capital stock is $500.000, its annual outputt amounts to $600,000 in value, and 400 persons are furnished employment. The present officers are: President, G. A. Briggs; sec- retary and treasurer. H. C. Randall: general manager, A. J. Briggs.
Another representative manufacturing industry at Elkhart is the Elkhart Bristol Board and Paper Co., which was established in 1904. The capital stock is $60.000 and the officers are H. A. Metzger, presi- dent : C. E. Frye, treasurer, and A. E. Metzger, secretary. The out- put consists of bristols, covers, tough checks, document and folding box board, the amount being about fifteen tons per day and with an approximate value of fifty dollars per ton. There are thirty employes, and the plant is valued at one hundred thousand dollars.
On May 1. 1902, the Davis Acetylene Company commenced the building of acetylene gas generators at Elkhart. They equip entire towns as well as individual stores, factories and houses with illumina- tion the equal of gas or electricity, and their apparatus is available in places where gas plants and electricity could not be supplied owing to the size of the village. The Davis Acetylene Company is successors to Davis and Price. Davis and Flint, and the Carbolite Construction Company, the business having been carried on in Chicago previous to its removal to Elkhart on the date mentioned. The present officers are : Augustine Davis, president ; John T. Earl, vice-president : A. C. Collins, secretary and treasurer, and J. H. Birch, superintendent of factory. The plant, consisting of two substantial brick and stone build- ings with office, together with the machinery, is valued at thirty thou- sand dollars, not including the value of patents and good will. The employes number forty-five, while the output during the past year was 1,173 generators with a value of $60.000.
The business of the Dr. Miles Medical Company, at Elkhart, ex- tends all over the United States, besides a considerable export trade. This medical manufacturing plant is one of the important concerns of the city, furnishing employment to about one hundred and fifty per- sons, whose aggregate salaries in 1904 totaled $99,144. In proof of the completeness of the establishment. it may be stated that an exten- sive printing plant is run in connection with the other departments. where all the printing for the company is done. The business was in- corporated in 1885. and is capitalized at twenty-five thousand dollars.
239
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
Dr. Franklin Miles is president, George E. Compton is vice-president. A. H. Beardsley secretary, and A. R. Beardsley treasurer.
The Grand Dispensary is another institution built up in Elkhart by Dr. Miles. It was established in 1880, and incorporated in the fall of 1904 with a capital stock of fifty thousand dollars, and the following officers: Dr. Franklin Miles, president ; Franklin Miles, Jr., treas- ttrer and secretary. The number of assistants, comprising physicians. druggists, correspondents, etc., runs from fifty to seventy-five at dif- ferent seasons of the year.
The object of the Grand Dispensary is generally to treat patients by mail, especially those who reside in districts at a distance from com- petent medical aid, or have tried local physicians without success. Their practice extends into every state and territory in the United States and many foreign countries.
The firm of Burrell and Morgan are proprietors of the Elkhart City Miils, which they purchased in 1900. In 1903 they took over the Har- vest Queen Mills, one of the well known old flouring mills of Elkhart. and in 1905 bought the grain elevator at Mishawaka, and at the pres- ent time operate all three institutions. Their product consists of fancy winter wheat flours. A. H. Burrell and D. B. Morgan comprise the firm.
In the field of manufacturing enterprise the C. G. Conn musical instrument factory stands not only in first place at Elkhart, but as the greatest establishment of the kind in the world. This business has grown steadily from 1876 to the present, when hundreds of skilled workmen are every day engaged in the large factory at Elkhart in turning out what are known to world-wide fame as the Conn Wonder band instru- ments. The life of the founder of this institution and his identification with the welfare of Elkhart are given on other pages of this volume.
The Edward Kelly Foundry Company was opened for business at Elkhart in November, 1899. the large plant being located in the Allendale addition to Elkhart. Edward Kelly is the head of the insti- tution. As iron founders, machinists and pattern makers, their prod- uct consists of boiler fronts and boiler castings, grate and furnace cast- ings. besides the building of various kinds of special machinery.
As a carriage manufacturing center Elkhart deserves rank well up among other northern Indiana cities. Besides the Elkhart Car- riage and Harness Company, mentioned elsewhere, there are the Noyes Carriage Company and the Indiana Buggy Company. The manufac-
240
HISTORY OF ELKHART COUNTY
ture of paper, one of the oldest industries of the city, is further repre- sented by the Consolidated Paper and Bag Company. Union Paper Company and the Elkhart Paper Company. Deserving of mention among the representative manufacturing concerns of the city are also the following: Barger Brothers, Sidway Manufacturing Company. Straus Mattress Factory, Kenyon Medical Company, Acme Cycle Com- pany. Garden City Stationery Company, Kuhlman Electrical Company, the Foster-Kimball Machine Company, and the National Manufacturing Company.
NAPPANEE.
The Coppes, Zook & Mutschler Company are proprietors of Nap- panee's largest industry, covering an area of some fourteen acres of ground. The company manufacture furniture and are merchant mill- ers and grain dealers. Factory A, is used for the manufacture of exten- sion and library tables : Factory B. for chamber suites, sideboards and chiffoniers: and Factory C, for kitchen furniture.
Employing a capital of over $400,000 it becomes a great factor in the prosperity of the town.
They have in all their various industries some 260 employes, with an annual pay-roll that reaches into the thousands of dollars.
In addition to the furniture business and sawmill business, the firm of Coppes, Zook & Mutschler Company are merchant millers and grain dealers. The steel elevator holds 50,000 bushels of wheat. The splendidly equipped mill has a capacity of 250 barrels every twenty- four hours. The product of this mill is the very best, and the firm not only enjoys a local trade through this part of the state, but for many years has had a large export trade in the Glasgow market. The value of the mill's product last year, in round numbers, was about $350.000.
The members of the company are Frank Coppes, president; John 1). Coppes, vice-president : Daniel Zook, secretary: Albert Mutschler. treasurer : the other two members being H. E. Zook and Chas. Mutschler.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.