USA > Kentucky > Jefferson County > Louisville > The city of Louisville and a glimpse of Kentucky > Part 13
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Dr. Peter says of clays in the "Bluffs " bordering on the Missis- sippi river : " It is evident that these Tertiary bluffs, from which these clays were collected, offer some valu- From Harper's Magazine. Copyright, 1887, by Harper & Broun rs. able materials to the industrial arts. Some of these are quite refractory IN THE CUMBERLAND MOUNTAINS. in the fire, especially Nos. 2136, 2138, 2140, aud 2141, and would probably make good fire-bricks, etc. ; others of them could be employed for terra-cotta work and other forms of pot- tery, while some of these abundant deposits might, uo doubt, be used with advantage in mixture with the more cal- careous soft material found in some of these heds in the manufacture of hydraulic cement of the character of the celebrated Portland cement." Elsewhere Dr. Peter shows that some of these clays are very like, in chemical compo- sition, the celebrated Strobridge clays of England.
The Western Coal Field has excellent transportation facilities. Green river traverses the entire field from south to north, affording reliable slack-water navigation from Bowling Green to the Ohio river. One railway traverses the field from east to west and two from north to south, and two important roads are now being constructed, and others pro- jected.
There is an abundant supply of cheap iron ores convenient to the coals of Western Kentucky. Associated with the coals of the lower measures, in the counties of Grayson, Edmonson, Butler, and Muhlenburg, are stratified carbonates and limonites, rauging from two to five feet and more in thickness, and persistent over wide areas in the above-men- tioned counties.
69
The following are some of the analyses from thick deposits, one from each of the counties of Grayson, Edmon- son, Butler, and Muhlenberg :
PER CENT.
Metallic Iron
40.48
42.31
45.10
48 SS
Silica
14.36
22.40
14.20
12.73
Alumina
4.83
6 98
3.91
Phosphorus
0.41
0.28
0.39
Pure limestone is convenient. This region, and the region on the lower Cumberland and Tennessee, certainly offers a miost inviting field to the iron manufacturer.
CHEMICAL WORK.
The chemical department has always been a prominent feature in the Geological Survey of this State since its first organization, under the distinguished chemist, Dr. Robert Peter, whose frequent contributions have been most valuable additions to chemical and agricultural science. Since the organization of the present Survey he has been ably assisted by his son, A. M. Peter. Dr. Peter has, in the eleven chemical reports made by him since the inauguration of the Sur- vey, built for himself an enduring mounment, bearing testimony, for all time, to his high attainments as a chemist, his unfaltering zeal and nntiring industry, through long years, to his professional duties, and to his patriotic devotion to the best interests of Kentucky.
This department has made twenty-eight linndred and sixty-two analyses of substances, coals, ores, clays, etc., with few exceptions from samples carefully collected and averaged by officers of the Survey. The last chemical report. now ready for publication, will, in some respects, be the most important of the entire series, representing, as it does, a larger number of coals from hitherto unexplored sections, destined to play a most important part in the early development of the State. These chemical reports afford a fair index of the work of the Survey. I give below a table of some of the principal materials analyzed since the reorganization of the Survey :
Year in which Chemical Report was made.
1875-
1877.
1878.
1881.
1+1883.
1884.
1886.
Coals from developed mines
#58
86
5
5
29
-
II
Coals nudeveloped
34
62
86
39
162
Cokes
9
39
Iron Ores
82
29
4
6
15
3
Clays . .
20
4
4
25
2
10
31
Limestones
17
17
13
19
IO
1
Pig Iron
19
22
5
S
26
6
I
Soils
S6
83
74
90
16
25
.
4
Mineral Waters
13
12
*
.
The large number of coals analyzed from developed mines may mislead as to the number of coal mines. Fre- quently several samples were taken from the same mine, and from the various entries and "rooms" of a single mine.
+ There was also made, in 1883, a valuable report on the comparative composition of the limestones, clays, marls etc., of the several geological formations of Kentucky.
7C
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PROMINENT
COMMERCIAL - AND - MANUFACTURING ยท INTERESTS
IN LOUISVILLE.
The Ohio Valley Telephone Company.
J. B. SPEED,
ure, which, in addition to commodi- ous offices for the company, contains two fine stores, several suites of offices, and one of the finest lecture and concert halls in the city. In the rear of this was put up a fire-proof building, the first floor of which contains the ware-rooms, shops, etc., of the company, and the second floor, the large operating room in which is located all the apparatus of the cen- tral office.
On December 31, 1886, the com- pany was reorganized under a special charter as THE OHIO VALLEY TELE- PHONE COMPANY. The officers are the same as those who managed the old company. The capital stock is 5450,000. The central office is now JAMES CLARK. constant experiments and changes, all of which have been costly to the owners of telephone companies ; but in Louisville the company has hesi- tated at no expense to perfect its service and has adopted every improve- ment, as soon as it has been demonstrated to be of real value.
Recognizing the difficulty of providing for the ernormous bulk of wires which are accumulating in the central portion of the city, the com- pany has already begun placing its heaviest routes of wires under ground, for as great a distance as they can be made to work satisfactorily. It has already laid about six miles of underground pipes in which the heavy routes will gradually be placed. There are already working in these pipes nearly 1,225,000 feet or 232 miles of wire.
When the present management took charge of the business it was found that it was actually losing money, and it became necessary to advance rates. This was done in December, 1880. This necessity was explained to the subscribers who, with a few exceptions, cordially acquiesced in the advance. Since that time there has been no increase in rates, and a year ago the management found that it was possible to make some slight con- cessions to residences. The present rates are as low as those in any city of equal population in the United States, and are considerably lower than the rates in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, and New Orleans.
The Exchange now has about 1,800 subscribers and the service is one of the most rapid and reliable in the country.
"HE Telephone Exchange was opened in Louisville, February, 1879, by the American District Telegraph Company. In the fall of 1879 J. B. Speed became President ; James Clark, Vice-President and Treasurer ; H. N. Gifford, General Manager, and W. H. Mundy, Secretary.
At that time there were about two hundred subscribers, several were connected on the same line and the wires all ran upon house-tops. The new management at once hegan erecting a system of pole lines, and the wires were removed from house-tops and placed thereon. In the spring of ISSo, the old central office was abandoned and a complete new equipment of switch boards was placed in the Board of Trade building.
In 1883, the company was reorganized as the OHIO VALLEY TELE- PHONE COMPANY. As the utility of the telephone became recognized, the list of subscribers grew until it reached about 1,400. The central office system, although at the time of its purchase the best system known, became inadequate for the needs of the increasing business and the de- mand for a prompt and reliable service. Recognizing this fact, the com- pany bought a lot on Jefferson, between Fourth and Fifth streets, running back to Green street, and in 1884-5 erected thereon two buildings. The one in front is a handsome three-story pressed brick and stone struct- equipped with one of the latest sys- tems of multiple switch boards, and is capable of expanding sufficiently to meet the growth of business for many years to come.
In addition to its Exchange plant in this city, embracing its cen- tral office and nearly twelve hundred miles of lines carried on the best red cedar poles, the company owns and operates nearly five hundred miles of lines running to different parts of the country, connecting with all prominent towns in Ken- tucky and Southern Indiana.
Telephone communication, which in the last decade has developed from nothing to a great business ne- cessity, has of course been subject to
H. N. GIFFORD.
72
The German Insurance Bank.
HE GERMAN INSUR. GANCE BANK, NO. 327 West Market street, had its origin in the German In- surance Company, which was incorporated in 1854, with a capital of $55.000. The in- corporators were Robert Er- nest, Landelin Eisenman, Philip Tomppert, G. Philip Dorn, Louis Rehm, Gusta- vus Stein, Jacob Paval, John Durkee, Conrad Schroder, Elias Hall, John J. Felker, Samuel W. Stone, Herman Justi, N. C. Morse, Frederick Schmidt, and Orville Tru- man. Most of these gentle- men were German retail merchants, and they gave the F. REIDHAR. company a distinctive charac- J. J. FISCHER. ter which the bank still re- tains. In 1860 the charter was so amended as to enable the company to do a banking business. The capital stock had been gradually increased by stock dividends, and this process was continued until 1872, when the law was passed requiring a separate capital for each branch of the business hy bauking and insurance companies. In IS72, therefore, the GERMAN INSURANCE BANK was organized, with a paid-up capital of $250,000, From this time until the present, the bank has been one of the most successful in Louisville. Its capital remains at the figures ahove stated. The largest patronage of the institution is from the German merchants of Louisville, whose interests it has always served with great fidelity. For several years a dividend of eight per cent. has been paid on its stock. Its surplus is $100,000, and its depos- its average a million and a half of dollars. It does a strictly legitimate banking business, and takes no speculative risks. It does an unusually large foreign exchange, especially with Leipsic, and issues letters of credit good all over the world.
Much of the success of this bank is due to the great popularity of its officers, who are,and have long been F. Reidhar, President ; J. J. Fischer, Cashier ; Joseph Haxthausen, Henry Wellenvoss, W. H. Edinger, Charles Winkler, and Nicho- las Finzer. Directors. Mr. Reidhar, the President, has a remarkable history. He is over eighty years of age ; has heen President of the Insurance Company and bank for twenty-five years, and is still a well-preserved man. He was horn in the Canton Zug, Switzerland, November 25, 1807. His parents died when he was a small child, and his boyhood was one of indigence and toil. He learned the trade of cabinet-maker and joiner, aud was a journeyman for a year when he enlisted in the French army. After serving in some of the wars of the time he returned to his trade, worked at it for several years, and came to this country in 1834. He landed in New Orleans, aud came up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers on a boat in which cholera raged among the emigrant passengers. Landing at Portland, the young man first found work in helping to right a wrecked steamboat, for which he received seventy-five cents a day. He was then employed in making repairs on the interior woodwork of the boat. After working at his trade iu fitting up a store, he was employed as a clerk in the store. He established a bakery and confectionery in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and was suc- cessful in this venture. The following year he embarked in the clothing business in Louisville, and afterward estab- lished branch houses in Portland and Henderson, Kentucky. He sold the Louisville store, and in 1856 and 1861 withdrew from the other stores. In 1863 he was elected President of the German Insurance Company, and, in 1872, President of the bank.
Mr. J. J. Fischer, the Cashier of the bank, is one of the most widely known and most popular bank officers in Lou- isville. To his great business capacity, his tact, and his uniform courtesy is due much of the success of the bank. Mr. Fischer was born in Bieberich, Nassau, Germany, December 5, 1842. In 1854 his parents brought their family to America. shortly afterward making Louisville their home. Mr. Fischer was a pupil of the public schools here, and was then ap- prenticed as a printer in the office of the Anzeiger, the leading German newspaper of this city. He left the printing-of- fice to return to school ; and then, after one or two brief business experiences, learned hook-keeping in a business col- lege. In 1862 he went into the office of the German Insurance Company as messenger and hook-keeper for the bank. His promotion was rapid, as in less than five years he was made Secretary of the Company. When the bank and the insurance company were made separate institutions, he was the first cashier of the bank. Mr. Fischer has for several years been the President of the Liederkranz, the leading German singing society of Louisville. To his care and energy the society owes its present standing as a musical organization. He is also a director of the Anzeiger Company.
The GERMAN INSURANCE COMPANY is officered by the same gentlemen who control the affairs of the bank. It is a prosperous corporation, doing a purely local business, and carrying risks to the amount of $3,000,000. Its paid-up capital is $200,000, and it has a surplus of $50,000. The Company pays an annual dividend of six per cent. on its stock. Since 1872 it has paid fire losses to the amount of $140,000. 73
The Kentucky Malting Company.
: .
E W. HERMAN.
7 HE KENTUCKY MALTING COM- PANY was organ- ized July 1, 1876, by the election of E. W. Her- man, President, and J. H. Pank, Secretary and Treasurer, both of which gentlemen have contin- ued to hold these offices respectively until the present time. At the time of the organization they occupied two malt- ing houses, the John En- geln house, Market street, between Sixth and Seventh streets, and the Stein & Doern house, Sixth street, between Main and the river, or the combination of the two malting houses of E. W.
J. H. PANK.
Herman & Co. and Stein & Doern. This combination proved so successful, and the business increased so rapidly that the erection of the present building, corner Thirteenth and Maple streets, an immense concern, a fair representation of which is given herewith, became necessary. This is now the largest and most complete establishment of the kind south of Chicago, and has railroad facilities connecting it with all of the lines entering Louisville. Au elevator is attached for storing the raw material and manufactured product in large quantities, also a malting capacity of nearly half a million bushels annually. They have run the house to its full capacity ever since its completion, November 1, 1880.
They make the finest quality of malt, which enables them to compete successfully with the largest houses in the North- west-at Chicago and Milwaukee. Their trade has been principally local, and they are proud of being able to retain the custom of the largest houses in Louisville and Kentucky against all opposition. They also ship to important points in the South, including New Orleans, Nashville, Bir- mingham, Knox- ville, and Atlanta, but thus far they have not sought for trade north of the Ohio river. In order to meet the demand in the South, they are E now increasing their facilities at ELEVATOR great expense.
being a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, enables them to make purchases for both houses with advantage in the largest barley markets in the United States. The Chicago house sells all of its product in Ohio, Pennsylva- nia, New York, and other Eastern States.
They also have a large concern in Chicago, under Mr. E. W. Her- man has been in the malting busi- ness since 1865, VIEW OF THE MALTING HOUSE AND ELEVATOR. beginning as a clerk and rising the firm name of J.H. Pank & Co. (J. H. Pank and E. W. Herman com- posing the firm) ; to his present position at the head of one of the largest manufacturing establishments in the South. He is still in the prime of life, being forty-seven years of age. In addition to his other enterprises, he has recently built a hrewery at Knoxville, Tennessee, known as the Knoxville Brewing Association, of which Mr. Herman is President.
Mr. Pank, who has charge of the Chicago house, is a Louisville man, only thirty-six years of age, whose success in business has been phenomenal. He is exceedingly popular, personally, and a fine business man, and has contributed largely to the success of both of the enterprises iu which he is interested. He has also risen from a clerkship, and en- joys an enviable position in the business world.
74
The Louisville Pair Company.
7 HE mercantile establishment known as THE FAIR was opened October 24, 1885. Its location on one of the princi- pal thoroughfares of the city secured for it all the advantages to be derived from a ceutral situation, and it was one of the few new things to meet with immediate acceptance at the hands of the public. A vast bazaar contain- ing everything one would wish to huy in a day's shopping-from a silver tea service to a potato chopper, from a bonnet in the height of the mode to a hox of pills-was a convenience instantly appreciated by all persons who " shop."
The gathering of all these articles of merchandise under one roof where the person who came for a single purchase might be tempted to a dozen others by the mere convenience of the arrangement, and the close margins upon which the goods were sold were productive of even more satisfactory results than was at first anticipated ; and, on October 24, 1886, just one year after the opening, the building was extended hack to Market street, giving a depth of 480 feet with a frontage of eighty feet on Jefferson street and twenty-two feet on Market street. The building is two stories in height ; the long, upper galleries afford excellent opportunities for the advantageous aud attractive display of goods.
The phenomeual success of the experiment led to the iucorporation of a company on April 1, 1887, with the follow- ing gentlemen as Directors : Aaron Kohn, James P. Whallen, E. Boulier, Meyer H. Hilp, Fred Hoertz, and Charles Godshaw. The officers are Aaron Kohn, President ; E. Boulier, Secretary ; James P. Whallen, Treasurer; and George C. Rossell, General Business Manager. The compauy carries at preseut stock worth $125,000, which includes everything
ARPELS OIL, CLOTHS, RUGS AND CURTAINS
A GLIMPSE AT THE INTERIOR OF THE FAIR.
in the way of merchandise except ready-made clothing. At the Jefferson-street eutrance, at the left of the building, is situated the millinery department, handsomely fitted up and stocked with the most desirable materials for hats and bonnets. This department is under the supervision of Mr. W. K. Israel, and has been one of the most successful features of the enterprise. On the same side is the dry goods department, in charge of Mr. H. C. Struss. This division shows an ex- teusive line of well-selected goods, including wraps of all kinds and gentlemen's furnishing goods. There is an up- holstery department, where carpets and curtains of all grades are to be found, and a house-furnishing department showing all the homely but useful articles necessary to a well-equipped kitchen. The drug store contains druggists' supplies, patent medicines, and all the toilet articles and fancy goods in plush and hrass usually found in such places. THE FAIR deals in musical instruments and sheet music, making a specialty of "ten cent" music.
The handsomest display in the house is that of silverware and jewelry. Two very large cases filled with silverware occupy a conspicuous place in the center of the building and add much to the attractive appearance of the interior. The large stock of glass and china shows great variety aud much taste in the selection of the goods. Que entire side of the building on the upper floor is given up to toys, and is the largest and most varied collection in this line in the city.
One of the most profitable features of THE FAIR is its picture gallery. This is situated in the front of the building on the upper floor. Here au oil painting that may be bought for sixty cents hangs side by side with one that costs as many dollars, hesides engravings, chromos, photographs of famous works of art, and imported pictures in great varieties.
75
Simon Shulhafer.
- T is now a well-established fact, settled by scientific investigation, that imperfect drainage and careless plumbing has been a fruitful source
of disease, and that certain laws must be carefully understood and observed in the construction and adjustment of sauitary appliances. It would be difficult to estimate the loss of life and the sickness that the human family has suffered as the result of bad plumbing, executed by ignoraut men, whose knowledge of their business is merely mechanical, and whose only ambition is to do the least possible amount of work for the largest possible sum of money. Happily, this class of workmen has had its day, and the scientific plumber is now regarded as of as much importance as the educated physician or the skilled engineer. The suc- cessful plumber must be a thorough mechanic and a careful student, well acquainted with sanitary laws, so that he may be able to correct faults in plauniug or construction and avoid the errors which may endanger life and health ; aud he must know his business so well, and be firm enough iu his position to insist upon the correction of such errors, in the face of opposition from ignorant builders and conscienceless property owners.
There is no question of the fact that Mr. Simon Shulhafer is au hon- orable representative of the latter class of workmen. He learned his trade, when a boy, under the careful tuition of one of the best sauitary engineers in the whole country, and is, therefore, a practical mechanic, an educated engineer, and a thoroughly honest man, who enjoys the SIMON SHULHAFER. confidence of the community, and of the architects and builders of Louisville and the South. He is an active member of the American Public Health Association of the United States, and State Vice-President of the National Association Master Plumbers for Kentucky, also President of the Association of Plumb- ers of Louisville. He has established a good name in the leading cities throughout the country, especially in the South. He holds the ouly medal awarded hy the Southern Exposition for the best display of gas fixtures and sauitary plumbing. He refers with justifiable pride to his standing in his own city to many leading citizens for whom he has done important work, the names of a few of whom are given : Dr. Samuel Brandeis ; Dr. George W. Griffiths ; Dr. D. W. Yandell ; B. F. Avery & Sons ; Mr. Dexter Belknap ; Captain Silas F. Miller ; Mr. Thomas H. Sherley ; Mr. A. G. Muun ; Bamber- ger, Bloom & Co .; Hale & Bro .; S. S. Meddis ; John A. Stratton & Co .; S. Ullman ; John Macleod ; Julius Barkhouse ; Home of the Innocents ; Payson & Lyon ; City Hospital ; German National Bank ; Louisville Banking Co .; Falls City Bank ; Mason Maury ; Bridgeford & Co .; Klemhans & Simonson ; Dumesnil Bros., and others.
Referring to work doue for the city by Mr. Simon Shulhafer, in remodeling the city hospital plumbing, Messrs. McDonald Bros., architects, wrote Mayor Reed as follows : "This work has been done in a manner which is entirely satisfactory to us, and we believe the city has secured au ample and valuable returu for the money expended. We have found Mr. Shulhafer disposed to exceed his contract, rather than fall short of it in any particular, and we can compli- ment, in the highest terms, the fidelity aud skill with which his work has been carried out."
Mr. Shulhafer began business on his own account in 1872, and at once established a reputation for good work which he has carefully maintained and strengthened during fifteen years of remarkable industry, aud stands to-day at the head of his profession. He occupies two floors in Law Temple, each 40 x 100 feet, employing a large force of com- petent workmeu ; carries a fine assortment of fixtures, embracing the best of everything in his line, and does a business of $60,000 a year. His trade extends to the South and West, especially Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Arkansas. Mr. Shulhafer gives his personal attention to all work entrusted to him, and, as stated by the McDonald Bros. in the above letter, " is disposed to exceed his contract rather than fall short of it in any particular."
Many others will corroborate the testimony of McDonald Bros., among which are some of the leading business houses, finest churches, residences, and club-houses. Mr. Shulhafer points with pride to the elegant five-story carpet house of W. H. Mcknight & Co., C. J. Clarke, architect, which he furnished with plumbing and fixtures throughout ; the new Baptist Church, corner of Twenty-Second and Walnut, C. A. Curtin, architect, where one sunlight, center, reflecting chandelier of two hundred burners lights the auditorium as bright as day ; the new Standard Club House, Wehle & Dodd, architects, in which a room 60 x 90 feet is lighted by one sixty-six light, imitatiou candle fixture, all of the candles being of different colors ; the palatial home of Phil B. Bate, Third street, Henry Wolters, architect, which is certainly one of the handsomest homes in the city, and furnished in exquisite taste, and which has the most elegant line of gas fixtures ever put up in Louisville ; also a block of houses for Dummiesuil Bros., Sixth and Oak streets, and many others which have recently been completed and are now under way. Mr. Shulhafer is now putting in the fixtures for T. L. Jefferson's new block of nine houses, corner of Floyd and Gray streets, Maury & Haupt, archi- tects, where the plumbing and sanitary work is decidedly the best that has gone into any house or houses in the city that have been put up for rent. One of the handsomest homes in Louisville is that of J. F. Kellner, Broadway uear Floyd, C. D. Meyer, architect, in which the class of plumbing is unlike anything here, and which Mr. Shulhafer invites the citizens of Louisville to call and examine.
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