USA > Indiana > Cass County > History of Cass County, Indiana, from its earliest settlement to the present time; with Biographical Sketches and Reference to Biographies, Volume I > Part 45
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This company was organized in 1900 with a capital stock of $40,000. The incorporators were F. B. Wilkinson, J. F. Digan, M. F. Gartland and J. H. Shaumleffel. Foundry buildings were soon after erected and the company began operations. In 1903 a small frame building was erected and leased to E. A. Rutenber Manufacturing Company of Chicago, and in 1904 these two concerns were consolidated under the corporate name of the "Western Motor Company."
To accommodate the increased business a large brick building was at once erected covering 72,000 square feet of floor space at a cost of about $15,000 and engaged extensively in the manufacture of the "Rutenber" engine or motor for automobiles. In its prosperous stages the company employed 425 men and transacted an annual business of $1,000,000. In 1912 a reorganization was affected, a part of the busi- ness having removed to Marion, Indiana, and the present "Rutenber Motor Company" passed into the control of G. W. Bowen of Auburn, New York. The present capitalization is $300,000 and G. W. Bowen is president, J. W. Stephenson, secretary and A. C. Barley, treasurer. The company now employs two hundred men.
DORNER TRUCK AND FOUNDRY COMPANY
About 1899 Henry A. Dorner of Buffalo, New York, came to Logans- port and organized a company known as the "Dorner Truck & Foundry Company," to manufacture trucks of which he was the patentee. To aid this enterprise a site was secured between Twenty-first and Twenty- second streets on the north of the Wabash railroad and a tract of land adjoining on the north was laid out into building lots known as the "Dorner Addition" and sold to the citizens. A building was erected and the factory started up on a small scale, but did not prosper and in 1909 the
LOGANSPORT RADIATOR EQUIPMENT COMPANY
took charge of the buildings and grounds. This company is incorporated with a capital stock of $150,000, divided among nine stockholders. The officers are J. F. Digan, president; John F. Burke, manager; and Harley Wilkin, salesman. The company has enlarged the buildings to accom- modate their increased trade and turns out a superior grade of radiators, which find a ready market in all surrounding cities. The company now employ 150 men.
OBENCHAIN & BOYER CHEMICAL FIRE ENGINE WORKS
These works occupy a substantial brick building located on Erie avenue at the south end of Seventh street, which was erected and opened for business in 1897. The firm consisted of John T. Obenchain and Stephen B. Boyer. This firm was running a steam flouring mill at this point, but it was completely destroyed by fire and they at once erected a new building on the same grounds and embarked in the
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manufacture of chemical fire extinguishers, of which Mr. Obenchain was the patentee.
J. T. Obenchain was born in Ohio in 1838, came with his father, Matthew Obenchain, to Cass county in 1852, and continuously re- sided in the county until his death, which occurred August 29, 1909. He possessed an inquiring mind, was a millwright and inventor of the "Little Giant Water Wheel" and various milling machinery and the "Chemical Fire Engine" so successfully. manufactured by this firm. Since Mr. Obenchain's death, Mr. Boyer, the surviving partner, is still carrying on the business, the product of the factory finding a ready sale as it is demonstrated to be superior to other chemical fire extinguish- ers of similar design. The firm ship. engines to all parts of the United States and Canada and to China, Australia, South America and the West Indies.
ROUTH PACKING COMPANY
W. C. Routh has been in the butcher and meat business for many years, but in 1905 the business of which he was the chief owner was incorporated under the above title with a capitalization of $200,000, all the stock being held by local men. A commodious brick slaughter and packing house was erected on the south bank of the Wabash river a mile or more west of town on the Vandalia railroad, thus affording easy transportation facilities. The building is fitted up with all modern conveniences for slaughtering animals, curing the meat and caring for the by-products and offal similar to the packing houses of Chicago. The company supplies the local trade and ships the surplus to outside markets. They purchase fat stock, not only from this county, but ship in from surrounding towns and have an annual output of over $1,000,000. They give employment to one hundred people.
It is interesting to compare the methods of slaughtering hogs and curing and packing the meat with the old methods of Israel Johnson, who used to pack pork in his old warehouse on the canal sixty or more years ago. Then the farmer did the slaughtering on the farm with the offal thrown away. Mr. Johnson would cut up the carcass, curing only the shoulders, hams and sides, there being no market for the feet, heads and often the spare ribs were given to poor people, who would carry them away. Many an old pioneer has related to the writer how he would go to Israel Johnson's warehouse and get pigs feet for the carry- ing them out of his way. Today all is changed. In the great slaughter houses the hog is lifted by machinery into the scalding vat and kept moving until the process is completed and along the way, everything is utilized, nothing goes to waste except the "squeal" of the hog. The hair is gathered, the blood preserved for making buttons or "haematin," the entrails and their contents make fertilizers, the hoofs and horns, gelatin, the bones, phosphates, etc. Here again is illustrated the economy of centralization and the operation of large plants requiring great aggregations of capital, thus driving out the small factory or business man.
Notice also the difference in price. Scanning an old advertisement in the Canal Telegraph of 1840, we notice that Israel Johnson announces that he will pay from $1.871/2 to $2.25 for dressed hogs, owing to the size and quality. Our farmers of today would wear a smile of derision if Mr. Routh would put out such notices in our daily paper.
UHLS FLOURING MILL
Dennis Uhl & Company operate one of the wealthiest manufacturing interests in the city, the elevator and flouring mill located near the mouth of Eel river on the Panhandle Railroad.
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This mill was erected in 1859 by Jos. Uhl, father of the present proprietor, who successfully operated the mill for many ears when his son took up the work and has been equally prosperous. This is a large mill, equipped with the latest improved milling machinery that is run by an abundant supply of water from Eel river, which greatly adds to the economy of operating the mill. Of the sixty, or more old water power mills at one time operated in Cass county, this is the only one that is running except a small mill on Pipe creek.
The latest pattern of turbine water wheels are in use, which develop a force equal to 220 horse power and the mill has daily a capacity of two hundred barrels of flour. This mill supplies largely the local demand for flour and mill feed and the surplus is shipped, chiefly to the West Indies. Mr. Uhl handles large quantities of grain, grinding the better grades, and shipping the inferior quality to eastern markets.
COLUMBIA BREWING COMPANY
About the year 1866 August Frost established a brewery on the north side of High street, west of Fifth and operated it for some years and sold out to John Hurbner and he was succeeded in the business by John Mutcheler and the Logansport Brewing Co., with Eugene Prager, president and manager in 1890 and later the Binz family. From the latter the Columbia Brewing Co. took over the plant under the direc- tion of the present manager, John G. Keip, in 1894; greatly enlarged the building, put in the latest machinery including an ice and cold storage plant. The plant as now constituted represents a capital of $250,000 and consumes annually 25,000 bushels of barley and 500,000 pounds of corn grits, out of which 25,000 barrels of beer is manufac- tured. The average number of employees the past year is 45.
MCALLISTER BOILER WORKS
A. U. McAllister in 1864 erected a frame building on the south side of the old canal opposite Seventh street and opened a factory for the manufacture of steam boilers of all kinds and sizes, in connection there- with he also ran a machine and repair shop., Mr. McAllister was an old soldier and estimable citizen and operated this factory until his death in 1897, since which time the establishment has been conducted by his son, Elmer McAllister.
HEPPE SOAP FACTORY
This enterprise had its origin in 1864, when Wm. Heppe started a small soap factory on the north side of Linden avenue, east of the old canal, near the old tannery that was operated there for many years, where he continued in business until 1870, when he purchased his present site on the south side of the Wabash river, a short distance west of Logansport. At first he manufactured soap in the old log house built on this ground by Alex Chamberlain in 1828-9, for a tavern, a cut of which is elsewhere shown as it appeared in 1874, when Mr. Heppe tore it down and erected a larger factory. In 1890 this build- ing was destroyed by fire and the present brick structure was erected. The business has gradually increased, demanding increased facilities and a large brick office, warehouse and salesroom was erected on the corner of Elm street and Erie avenue, from which the business is man- aged, shipping the product of their factory all over Indiana and sur- rounding states. The company is incorporated, but the stock is held
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in the family of "Wm. Heppe & Sons," by which name the corporation is known.
LONGWELL & CUMMINGS
Chas. B. Longwell and W. G. Cummings opened a small printing establishment at the southwest corner of Fifth and Market streets in 1891. When the Masonic Temple was erected in 1894, they occupied the basement of that building for several years, but their rapidly in- creasing business required larger quarters and in 1904-5 they erected a commodious three-story and a basement building 41 by 90 feet in dimensions at 212-14 Fifth street and fitted it up with the latest presses and printing machinery necessary to do all kinds of job printing and book binding. They carry a heavy stock of all kinds of stationery supplies and do a large wholesale business in these lines. Their princi- pal work, however, is job printing, especially legal blanks, bank books, school and office supplies and their trade extends from ocean to ocean. The company is incorporated and capitalized at $50,000, the stock being held by local investors. The officers are: Chas. B. Longwell, presi- dent; W. G. Cummings, vice president and manager; D. A. Middleton, secretary, and treasurer.
FISHING TACKLE INDUSTRY
About fifteen years ago J. J. Hildebrandt, commonly called "Big John," being a lover of the piscatorial art, invented a fishhook and spinner which proved to be a great success and he secured a patent and began its manufacture on a small scale to accommodate his friends. The demand increased, he improved on the old spinners, sent out samples, which seemed to take with fishermen and the demand increased until he was compelled to enlarge his facilities for manufacture and now the Hildebrandt spinner and fishing tackle is known around the world and the shipments amount to thousands of dollars annually.
John J. Hildebrandt, the inventor, died December 14, 1912, but his son, Hiram, continues to manage the business at 408 Fourth street.
DOMESTIC KNITTING COMPANY
In 1906 the Logansport Underwear Co. was established and erected a commodious frame building on the point at the mouth of Eel river, but the company had a precarious existence until August, 1911, when it was reorganized under the above name and incorporated with a capitalization of $50,000, the stock being held by Dennis Uhl & Sons, O. H. Binns, J. H. Foley and W. E. Haney, with Walter Uhl as man- ager. They manufacture knit underwear and hosiery, the machines being run by water power from Eel river. Twenty-five or thirty machine operators are employed besides office force and salesmen.
LOGANSPORT HEATING COMPANY
In the spring of 1910, under the leadership of H. F. Wills . of Frankfort, Indiana, a company was organized, a franchise secured from the city and a heating plant constructed. The boiler, power house and offices are located on the south side of Erie avenue in a new and sub- stantial brick building and is furnished with the most improved and complete boilers, pumps and regulating apparatus for heating by steam and hot water. Steam pipes were laid in the down town district, while reverse hot water pipes were laid in the residence district as far
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east as Thirteenth street. The company's service has given excellent satisfaction and is a great convenience to the people, especially those living in flats, although the cost is usually greater than private heating, but many are connecting up with the company's heating pipes on account of the convenience and they now have nearly two hundred patrons. The company, is incorporated with a capital stock of $125,000, held by local men. J. H. Wills is president; Carl Wise, treasurer; F. M. Kistler, secretary and George H. Alexander, manager.
BASKET FACTORY
This industry was established in 1901 or 1902 and buildings erected for the purpose at the west end of Bates street. Two years later it was incorporated and in 1912 was reorganized and incorporated with a capital stock of $18,000, held by 18 local stockholders. Henry Garrit- son is president and manager; W. H. Porter, vice president; M. A. Clary, secretary and J. H. Barnfield, treasurer. All kinds of wooden baskets are manufactured by the newest machinery and best processes, requiring 75 employees to operate the factory, which produces an annual output to the value of $70,000.
D-HANDLE FACTORY
Hillock & Pitman opened this industry in 1893 in buildings erected for the purpose on the south side of Toledo street near Sixteenth and have successfully operated the factory; ever since. They make a cer- tain product called the D-handle out of hard wood, usually ash. In the past twenty years they have paid Cass county farmers over $500,000 for handle timber. But timber is becoming scarce and they are now making large shipments from outside sources. They ship annually over fifty thousand dozen handles to all parts of the United States and to foreign countries. Thirty men are employed.
GAS WORKS
Prior to 1862 Logansport was dependent on tallow candles to light its houses and halls and the streets at night were only lighted by the moon and stars. In that year J. W. Baine & Company erected neces- sary buildings on the south side of the old canal, now Erie avenue, at the south end of Sixth street on the ground now being built upon by Geo. Lynas for a storage room. On August 21, 1862, the city granted a franchise to the Logansport Gas, Light & Coke Company for a term of 25 years to erect and maintain a gas plant, the company agreeing to complete the plant by October 1, 1863, with at least one mile of street mains and on that day Logansport saw its first gas light. This gas company under different management, the last of whom was E. S. Rice, furnished private lighting and also the street lights until the electric light made its appearance in 1883, when the latter supplanted gas for street lights, but still continued to operate its plant, supplying those who desired it. In 1888, when natural gas was piped into the city, artificial gas again received a jolt it never fully recovered from, but the company continued operations with a greatly diminished out- put for some years, when it sold out to the Natural Gas Company about 1898, which company, when natural gas entirely failed, furnished arti- ficial gas through its natural gas pipes. In 1909 the gas company, which had changed its name and also some of its stockholders, erected large gas works at Peru, Indiana, laid pipes from those works to Logansport
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and is now supplying our city with gas from the Peru gas plant and the old gas works erected on Erie avenue in 1862, were abandoned and recently have been demolished. The company now supplying gas to our city is known as the Indiana Lighting Company, of which Mr. Murdock of Lafayette, is the principal stockholder. Their office is now located at 509 Broadway. They report that there are over 26 miles of street mains with 3,530 consumers. Our people became so accus- tomed to the luxury of natural gas that since its failure many families are using artificial gas for cooking purposes and also for heating water and small rooms and with improved gas burners the cost is not excessive at the present price of $1.00 per one thousand cubic feet.
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
As noticed elsewhere the borings for natural gas in Cass county were failures and a company known as the Logansport Natural Gas Company was incorporated in 1888 with a capital stock of $600,000 and opened offices at 315-17 Pearl street with S. P. Sheerin, president; A. P. Jenks, secretary ; Chas. J. Doherty, treasurer and J. D. S. Neely, superintendent. This company piped natural gas from its many wells in Howard county to Logansport, laid gas mains through our streets and supplied natural gas to nearly all who desired to use this ideal fuel at very low rates, to wit: $10.50 per year for an ordinary heating stove and $18.00 per year for a cook stove and 12 cents per thousand feet by, metre measurement, but the natural gas began to fail in ten years and in 1902 could not be relied upon and the following year it entirely failed and the pipes were removed.
LYNAS CHEMICAL COMPANY
Many years ago J. B. Lynas established a factory for the manu- facture of extracts, toilet articles and proprietary family remedies. He began on a small scale, but his trade increased and he purchased the three-story brick building at 210 Sixth street where he, with his son George, under the firm name of Dr. J. B. Lynas & Son, carried on the business. Dr. Lynas dying January 28, 1901, the son continued the business, which so developed that more commodious quarters were needed and the present building at 519 Market street and extending back to Erie avenue was purchased, affording ample room for his rapidly in- creasing trade, which extends to many distant states.
BRIDGE CITY CANDY COMPANY
In March, 1896, the Bridge City Candy Company was established by Jos. H. Reitemeier and T. M. Quigly, in a building at the corner of Sixth and North streets. Naturally their business was at first on a small scale. Soon after Mr. Quigly retired and C. H. Schaefer became associated with Mr. Reitemeier and in January, 1897, they incorporated the company with a capital of $10,000, with J. H. Reitemeier, president and C. H. Schaefer, secretary and treasurer. The business prospered and larger quarters were required and the company moved to the Opera House block on Third street in 1899. In two years these quarters were outgrown and they removed to their present location at 200-2 Fourth street, where they occupy three floors 44 by 75 feet. After the death of Mr. Schaefer, July 1, 1901, O. A. Shirmeyer and F. J. Bott became officers of the company. The company is prosperous, doing strictly a wholesale business and employ thirty people.
Vol. 1-28
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OVERALL FACTORY
In 1889 Wm. D. Craig and others started a small factory on Toledo street for the manufacture of men's overalls, which was fairly success- ful, but two years later Mr. Craig moved to 424-26 Broadway, occupy- ing the upper story of what was then the Justice block. By close atten- tion to business his trade increased and demanded larger quarters. In 1895 Wm. D. Craig and his father, Joseph Craig, purchased the lot at 208 Sixth street and erected a two-story brick building extending back 165 feet to the alley, where he has been carrying on a prosperous business. He employs 85 persons, the majority of whom are girls, who operate the sewing machines which are run by a large engine. His trade is confined to jobbers and amounts to $90,000 annually.
CREAMERY
The first creamery in Logansport was established on Front street and Wheatland avenue in the early nineties, but their industry was new
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to our farmers and it had a precarious existence and in 1895 W. I. Shearer purchased the property and converted it into an ice cream factory.
Ray & Arnold established a creamery at the corner of Colfax street and Burlington avenue in 1897. At first it was a small affair and work performed by hand, but as their trade extended, modern dairy machin- ery was installed; steam sterilizers, through which all the milk passes, to insure purity by destroying any pathologic germs; bottling machines, churns, refrigerating apparatus, etc., all propelled by steam. The supply of milk is obtained from the Cass county farmers, who find it more profitable and less work to sell their milk than to convert it into butter and cheese. Milk is also shipped to the creamery from surround- ing towns in times of scarcity. The creamery handles over one thou- sand gallons daily and supply the city milk trade and the surplus is converted into butter and shipped.
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ICE CREAM FACTORY
In 1895 W. I. Shearer moved from Wabash to Logansport and estab- lished an ice cream factory on Erie avenue, the first factory of the kind ever started in the city, of any consequence. Two years later he pur- chased the creamery property on Eel river, west side. His trade rap- idly increased and in 1908 he replaced the old frame building with the present commodious two-story structure, made of cement blocks, with a refrigerating plant and the most approved machinery, including a continuous ice cream freezer where the cream flows in through refriger- ating pipes to the freezer in a continuous stream and the frozen cream passes out at the other end of the freezer in a constant stream. The fac- tory being on the river, ice houses were constructed to hold sufficient ice to meet all demands of the factory, but it is only used for packing purposes.
There is no more commodious and well constructed ice cream plant in the state and the annual production is over 100,000 gallons, which is shipped to all surrounding towns. Mr. Shearer has recently incor- porated at $100,000, the stock all being held by local capitalists.
MONUMENT AND STONE WORKS
There are four marble shops in Logansport, towit: L. Emmett, on Sixth street at its crossing of Eel river; Thos. Peden, Sixteenth and High streets; C. A. Price, 315 Court street; C. D. Billman, Pleasant Hill street, and a fifth firm is just erecting a shop on the northeast corner of Sixth and High. All of these shops turn out monuments, vaults and ornamental stone work to supply the demands of Cass and surrounding counties.
LAUNDRY INDUSTRY
Nothing demonstrates the wonderful advancement and progress made by this generation more than the laundry business. Twenty-five years ago there was not a steam laundry in Logansport and all such work was performed by washer-women on the old corrugated wash board in the wooden tub. J. J. Campbell came to Logansport in 1888 and established the first steam laundry in the little frame building at 428 Market street. This was necessarily a small affair, but the writer well remembers his first view of a "steam roller smoothing iron," with other laundry machinery that was then the wonderment of the town and many washer-women were jealous and envious of Mr. Campbell. From this small beginning the industry has developed until today we have three large laundries, representing an investment of over $50,000.
Chas. H. Maiben has within the past two years erected a commodi- ous brick building on South Barron street, west side, and put in new machinery and has as large and complete a laundry as can be found anywhere in the state.
J. J. Campbell, the pioneer laundryman in Logansport, operates a large laundry at 429 Market street, opposite the old building where he began business twenty-five years ago, and Chas. Schaefer operates the "Star Laundry" at 210-12 Sixth street, so there is no necessity of our people wearing soiled linen, and that, too, without trying the patience of the housewife with the most menial duties of by-gone days.
LUMBER AND MILL INDUSTRIES
Parker & Johnston (E. T. Parker and J. Mac. Johnston), suc- cessors of Hagenbuck & Parker, operate a lumber yard, planing mill and
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factory for making and preparing all kinds of building material and equipments for stores, etc. They are located on Berkley street, between Spencer and Erie avenues. This factory was established by Hagenbuck & Parker in 1869 and is the oldest industry of its kind in the city. Mr. Hagenbuck retired and J. Mac. Johnston and son replaced him, while Mr. Parker has been connected with the firm since its inception forty- four years ago.
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