USA > Missouri > Buchanan County > St Joseph > The Daily news' history of Buchanan County and St. Joseph, Mo. From the time of the Platte purchase to the end of the year 1898. Preceded by a short history of Missouri. Supplemented by biographical sketches of noted citizens, living and dead > Part 27
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Agency Township had a mill as early as 1838. It was located two miles above Agency Ford, on Platte River, and was known as Dixon's mill, its builders being Benjamin and James Dixon and James Gilmore. It ceased to exist many years ago. In 1864 Smith Brothers built a mill at Agency, which afterwards passed into the hands of Boone & Yates, and is still in operation. V. C. Cooley built a mill on Platte River, three miles southeast of Agency, which stood in 1880, but has since disappeared.
Washington Township had a mill on Contrary Creek in 1840, owned by Waymire & Gilmore, of which nothing remains. Isaac Waymire owned a mill on One Hundred and Two River in the early days, where Corby's mill now stands. The old Campbell mill on Platte River was purchased by Charles Czech in 1877 and re- . modeled. The proprietor failed several years ago and the mill was afterwards destroyed by fire. Corby's mill, at the crossing of One Hundred and Two River, east of the city, is the only one of the old water mills that remains as it was built. It was erected in 1852 by the late John Corby at a heavy expense. It had been an early ambition with Mr. Corby to be the owner of a good mill, such as he had seen in Ireland when a lad, where the prosperous miller was a man of high reputation in the community. When Mr. Corby had accumulated a large fortune in other lines he set about to realize the dream of his youth. The mill was the best of its kind in the West, but it never paid, owing to its location and distance from the city. It is now owned by Daniel Ozenberger, who operates it occasionally. Dr. Keedy built a mill south of the city in the earliest days, mention of which is made in a previous chapter.
Joseph Robidoux built a water mill on Blacksnake in 1841, the timbers of which are yet to be seen near the mouth of Blacksnake sewer. Creal & Wildbahn owned the mill afterwards. James Cargill built a steam flouring mill near the site of the Central Medi-
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cal College, north of the custom house, late in the forties, which was burned after the war. Dillon's saw mill, built in 1855, was lo- cated on Blacksnake Creek near the present site of the City Work- house. John Fairclough built the Star mills at Second and Francis streets in 1864; the plant was burned in 1872. The Excelsior mills, at Second and Franklin streets, were built in 1865 by Hauck Bros., and are still operated by members of that family. Northcutt & An- thony built the City Mills, near Third and Louis streets, in 1860. Wm. Ridenbaugh and I. Van Riley operated them in 1868. In 1869 R. T. Davis purchased Mr. Ridenbaugh's interest and afterwards be- came sole proprietor. In 1882-83 Mr. Davis and Robert H. Faucett built what is now the R. T. Davis mill, at Second and Edmond streets. At the completion of this plant the City Mills were aban- doned. The Faucett mill, at Seventh and Olive streets, now operated by the R. H. Faucett Mill Company, was built on a small scale by Captain F. B. Kercheval in 1867-68. In 1881 It was known as the Eagle Mill. In 1888 it was remodeled and amplified to its present capacity. The mill at Tenth and Jackson streets was built in 1883 and was first called the Model Mill. It was afterwards operated by the St. Joseph Milling Company and is now in the hands of the Harroun Bros.' Grain Company. In 1890-94 Stephen J. Burns and others operated an oatmeal and hominy mill in what was formerly the Buell woolen mill, on Third street, north of Michel.
The Buell woolen mills, above referred to, were started in 1860 by Norman Buell and George Buell, who operated a woolen factory on North Third street. Buell & Dixon operated a flouring mill and woolen factory on Second street, between Isadore and Antoine. The same firm operated a general store at the corner of Second and Antoine streets. Norman Buell was the father of George Buell, the present head of the woolen mills. The mills on Third street were enlarged and operated until 1882, when they were abandoned for the present large establishment at the foot of Eleventh street. which was occupied in 1883.
Pork packing was a prominent industry in St. Joseph as early as 1846, when John Corby was engaged in the business. Fother- ingham's city directory for 1861 shows the following pork packers : Carter Hughes & Co., Third street; James Hamilton, Jr., Edmond
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street, between Third and Fourth streets; Pinger & Hauck, Grand avenue. The latter firm also manufactured soap and candles. The firm was composed of David Pinger and Jacob Hauck. Captain Posegate's directory of 1875 shows the following : Hax & Bro. (Fred and John P.), Fourth and Mary streets ; Krug & Hax, Fourth and Monterey ; D. Pinger & Co., Jule and Levee streets, and the Valley Packing Company. In 1878 the E. O. Smith Packing Company was in operation in the building afterwards used for the glucose works. Connett Brothers built a house east of the Smith plant in 1881, and operated it for about ten years. Hax Brothers retired from busi- ness in 1890, and their buildings are now used as warehouses and for manufacturing purposes.
At the present time there are six meat packing houses in opera- tion -- two in St. Joseph and five at the stockyards south of the city. Those operated in the city are by the Krug Packing Company and Hoefer Packing Company, the latter being the old Pinger plant, near the mouth of the Blacksnake. At the stockyards there are five plants, two of which, those of Swift and Company and Nelson Morris, compare with the most extensive in the country. Two others are operated by the Hammond Packing Company, and the fifth by Viles 4 & Robbins.
The development of St. Joseph as a live stock market and meat packing center is due mainly to the efforts of John Donovan, Jr. Prior to 1887 the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad Company had maintained stockyards on Walnut street, between Sixth and Eleventh streets. In that year the St. Joseph Stockyards Company was or- ganized by C. B. France, Samuel M. Nave, Henry Krug, Jr., E. Lindsay, John Donovan, Jr., J. D. McNeely, M. A. Lowe and C. M. Carter. There were 440 acres in the original tract and seventy-two acres were subsequently acquired. Of this about eighty acres have . been given as bonuses to packers who have erected plants. In 1888 the company erected a pork packing plant, which was leased to Al- lerton & Co., of Chicago. This is the house now occupied by Viles & Robbins. In 1890 the company erected the beef packing plant and leased it to the Anchor Packing Company. About three years after the yards had been established the company was reorganized as the St. Joseph Stockyards and Terminal Company and the capital stock was increased to $1,000,000. In 1892 the company built a third house, which was leased to the Moran Packing Company.
The Moran Company failed in 1895, and the packing plant be- came a subject of litigation for over two years, when possession was
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regained by the stockyards company: In the meantime the corpora- tion had encountered obstacles that could not be surmounted, and the yards went into the hands of receivers. John Donovan, Jr., and R. R. Conklin were appointed receivers, and as soon as the affairs of the company could be straightened out to some extent the prop- erty was sold at receiver's sale and purchased by the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage and Trust Company for the bondholders.
The company was reorganized with a capital of $500,000, and again assumed the old name of the St. Joseph Stockyards Company. Mr. Donovan induced Swift and Company, of Chicago, to operate the Moran plant. This deal also resulted in Swift and Company pur- chasing a majority of the stock in the St. Joseph Stockyards Com- pany on January 18, 1897.
In June, 1897, Nelson Morris & Co. purchased a large block of the stock in the St. Joseph Stockyards Company, and thus became interested with Swift and Company and the other packers in im- proving the capacity of the yards and the local market. Two months later both Swift and Company and Nelson Morris & Co. began the erection of the two largest plants at the stockyards, both of which were completed and opened for business the early part of April, 1898. The Hammond Packing Company leased the Moran house when Swift and Company vacated it, and subsequently leased the Anchor house.
The people of St. Joseph celebrated the expansion of the live stock and packing industries in a Jubilee, which continued for three days, May II, 12 and 13, 1898, and which attracted thousands of people.
Since then the stockyards have been placed upon a strictly modern, high grade basis, a bank has been organized, and a populous suburb has grown up. A live-stock exchange, to cost $100,000, is now completed, and the future of St. Joseph as a live stock market and meat packing center looks bright indeed.
Joseph Kuechle, long dead, was the pioneer brewer of St. Jo- seph. He had learned his art in Germany, and after working at Louisville, Ky., came to St. Joseph, arriving here per steamboat in the summer of 1849. He purchased the ground from Capt. F. W. Smith and built his brewery on the site of the ruins of what was last known as the St. Joseph brewery, on Charles street, between Seventh and Eighth streets. Water for beer and also for drainage are essen-
VIEW OF THE STOCK YARDS AND PACKING PLANTS.
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tial to breweries, and there being neither waterworks nor sewerage, the early brewers located along the streams. Smith's branch was a lively creek in those days, flowing from the northeastern hills swiftly to the river. Kuechle's brewery was located on this stream and the pioneer brewer was fortunate in finding an inexhaustible spring of pure water on his premises. This spring still exists and is walled up in the ruins of the dismantled brewery. After Mr. Kuechle's death the plant was operated by his heirs until the forma- tion of the St. Joseph Brewing Company, which leased the plant for some years and abandoned it in 1894. The older buildings were condemned two years afterwards and torn down. The malting house and some of the others still remain, and there are several cel- lars in good preservation.
Henry Nunning was the second brewer. He came from La Porte, Ind., in 1854, and established himself at Eleventh and Faraon streets, also near Smith's branch. After a time his business out- grew the old establishment and he built a modern brewery on Faraon street, near Fifteenth. This plant is now operated under lease by the St. Joseph Brewing Company.
In 1858 X. Aniser, Joseph Aniser and Wm. Ost built a brewery on Frederick avenue, near Thirteenth street. During the early part of the rebellion it was operated by D. W. Fritzlein, who was killed by a soldier near Wathena. Fitzlein's widow continued the business for some time. Later the plant was leased by Jacob Wingerter, but it has not been used as a brewery for many years, a carriage factory being located in the building now.
In 1859 Max & Goetz started the City brewery at Sixth and Al- bemarle streets. This is now one of the largest breweries in the West, having been developed by Michael K. Goetz and his sons, who operate it.
Frederick W. Islaub had a brewery on Michel street, be- tween Main and Water streets, in 1858-60, and Peter Walter had a brewery and garden at the southwest corner of Fourth and Edmond streets during the same period. Louis Koerner, who had been Wal- ter's brewer, started in business for himself on Main street, near Faraon, late in the sixties as a malster. Afterwards he made beer and sold it by the measure at the brewery. Duemcke & Hund sub- sequently used his buildings as bottling works and the site is now occupied by the Chicago Great Western freight depot.
In 1865 Andreas Ohnesorg and Francis Eger forined a partner- ship and built the New Ulm brewery. Mr. Ohnesorg had been op-
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erating a weiss-beer brewery and garden on the north side of Felix street, near Eighth, adjoining the ground now occupied by the Hughes building. These parties also owned the grounds that were afterwards known as New Ulm Park, though the park was developed by Louis Streckebein, who conducted it for sixteen years. The brew- ery was located on the hill east of the park and stood until 1890, when it was destroyed by fire. The cellars are still intact. It was a modern brewery in its day, representing an expenditure of $80,000 and was operated by Ohnesorg & Eger until 1876, when it was leased to Rosemund & Schaefer, who continued it until about 1881, when it was abandoned. The property now belongs to Mrs. Margaret Burn- side.
Contemporaneous with the early history of the New Ulm brew- ery was an effort on the part of the firm of Koehler & Diederich, two young Germans, who had come from Palmyra, Mo., to oper- ate an ale brewery here. They built a cellar and a plant east of Third near Louis street, costing nearly $20,000. The project failed, and all that is left of the investment is the cellar, the entrance to which, built of stone, is plainly visible from Third street.
John Jester built the Pateetown brewery at Thirteenth and Sac- ramento streets, in 1881, and still operates it.
One of the earliest enterprises in the way of manufactures in St. Joseph was the foundry, established on St. Joseph avenue, 1855, by T. W. Keys. This, with the exception of a small foundry at Lexing- ton, was the first plant of the kind west of St. Louis. The power of Keys' foundry was furnished by oxen. The first pig iron melted in St. Joseph was run in 1856. This foundry was operated till 1858, when Mr. Keys erected on the corner of Eighth and Messanie streets. the building now (1898) occupied by the foundry of Crow- ther & Rogers. Mr. Keys leased this in April, 1863, to John Burn- side. The firm afterwards became Burnside, Crowther & Co. Mr. John Burnside subsequently retired from the partnership. The foun- dry of J. W. Ambrose & Co., on the corner of Eighth and Monterey streets, was established in 1871.
The Louis Hax furniture factory was one of the successful and famous institutions of the city for many years. It was located at Seventh and Angelique streets, from 1866 until December 13, 1890,
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on which date the western portion of the plant was destroyed by fire. Mr. Hax did not rebuild, but converted the eastern portion into tenements. The factory is now located at St. George.
In the days when freight rates from the north were high and when the native forests were yet rich in trees, the manufacture of native lumber was an important industry. There were two exten- sive saw-mills in St. Joseph during the life of the industry, both located on South Fourth street, below Messanie, near the river. James P. Hamilton operated the lower mill and Venable & Kent the one near Messanie street. Logs were brought down the river in rafts. Another saw-mill of magnitude was erected at Lake Con- trary, near where the southern road strikes the lake. This was operated at one time by J. A. Piner, William Swope and John F. Tyler, who also had a lumber yard in the city. A large number of men were employed there and quite a settlement, called Lake City, sprang up near the mill. This, like the Hamilton and Venable mills, is a thing of the past.
In 1866 Edward R. Brandow, associated with other enterpris- ing citizens, established a sorghum manufactory on lower Ed- mond street. It was proposed to make sugar out of the product of the cane, and farmers were urged to the importance of raising large quantities. The enterprise, after the production of a small quantity of sugar, was absorbed by larger interests.
Before the war A. M. Mitchell built a distillery upon the site of what was afterwards a packing house and more recently the glucose works. The venture was not profitable. Several distilleries were in operation in and near St. Joseph after the war and until about 1875. The largest was that of Edward Sheehan, on upper Blacksnake, a short distance south of New Ulm Park, which was built in 1868 and ·operated until 1874. Abraham Furst and S. Adler, who were for many years leading wholesale liquor dealers in this city and St. Louis under the name of S. Adler & Co., built a re-distilling house in 1871 at Third and Louis streets, which was operted until 1876. The building is still in existence. After the enactment of the prohibitory law in Kansas, in 1880, a distillery plant was moved from Lawrence
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and located south of the city, below the railroad tracks on the road to the stockyards. This property was purchased in 1885 by Jacob Schloss. Subsequently it fell into the hands of the whisky trust and the plant was moved away.
The St. Joseph Steam Printing Company, which was organized by Captain F. M. Posegate and others in 1870, and which went out of existence in February of 1892, was in its earlier days the best equipped, most extensive and most prosperous printing establish- ment between St. Louis and San Francisco.
The starch works are yet within easy memory. They were built in the summer of 1872 by O'Neill Bailey, who came here from Madi- son, Ind., and were operated for about four years. . The works were located on a tract of ten acres, south of Messanie and east of Twenty- second street, and were both modern and pretentious, giving employ- ment to a large number of people. The starch was made of corn, and the residue was fed to cattle. The lack of water prevented the possibility of operating the works with profit. Many wells were sunk, but with no satisfactory result, and the enterprise finally suc- cumbed.
Among the other manufacturing enterprises that have gone out of existence Posegate's city directory for 1875 shows the following carriage and wagon makers : Gideon Miles, Edward Dutton, McBain & Fox, Ferdinand Schoen, W. E. Williams & Son, D. D. Streeter, Wm. Pape, Prawitz & Hagelin and Wiedmaier & Wildberger. Peter Habig operated a pottery at Main and Faraon streets in those days. There was also a glue factory, south of the city limits. Boellert & Schroers manufactured plows at southeast corner of Sixth and Charles streets. C. Eichler & Co., T. H. Hail & Co., succeeded by C. M. Kingsbury, the Steam Printing Company, Swick, Wells & Co. and Woolworth & Colt were job printers. The Great Western Soap Works, L. Huggins & Co., proprietors, also existed. Wm. Gernandt operated a tannery on Frederick avenue, between Nineteenth and Twentieth streets. There were two ax-handle factories, one operated by Wm. Duesler on Buchanan avenue, and another by Henry C. Middleton on Howard street. Aldrich & Scott manufactured whips at Second and Felix streets. There were also two rope factories, one
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operated by John Helme, on South Eleventh street, between Maple and Oak streets, and another by J. Main on Frederick avenue, near Twentieth street.
The St. Joseph Sugar Refining Company was formed in June, 1880, by A. M. Saxton, J. B. Hundley, W. W. McFarland and others for the purpose of producing glucose. John L. Motter was general manager and W. Y. Selleck chemist. The building formerly occupied by the E. O. Smith Packing Company, southeast of Cal- vary cemetery, was converted into a factory. It was in operation until 1889, the last manager being Van Whittaker. The building no longer exists.
In July of 1886 the St. Joseph Natatorium Association was formed by A. M. Saxton, John Demond, J. W. Hinkston, W. H. Gordon, L. C. Burnes, Joseph Andriano and E. Lindsay. The capi- tal stock was $12,000. A building was erected at the southwest corner of Fifth and Jule streets. A natatorium was operated for sev- eral seasons. Subsequently the building was converted into a thea- tre and called the "Bijou." This was partially destroyed by fire, and then, in the spring of 1893, remodeled throughout. It is now known as the Crawford theatre.
In 1886 Edward W. Mitchell came from Ohio and, with the assistance of local capital, built a stove foundry on the ground north of the K. C., St. J. & C. B. shops, now occupied by the gas works built by the St. Joseph Light and Fuel Company. The plant was in operation for about three years and then failed.
In 1887 the Sam Reid Tobacco Company was organized with a capital stock of $50,000, held by Sam Reid, who moved a plant here from Louisiana, Mo., and W. G. Fairleigh, John Townsend, J. D. Richardson, F. L. Sommer, M. A. Reed, G. J. Englehart, T. J. Bur- gess and Albert Roecker. It was a prosperous institution for three years, occupying the building owned by Daniel J. Lysaght, west of the City Hall. Chewing and smoking tobacco were manufactured. In 1890 it was purchased by the tobacco trust and moved to New York.
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The St. Joseph steel car plant was an institution that flourished for several months in 1889. H. D. Perkey, an eastern promoter, owned the patent of a steel car. It was cylindrical in shape and its construction was supposed to be such as to prevent it from being wrecked in collisions. Mr. Perkey had an elegant passenger coach as a sample. A stock company was formed in 1888 and the enterprise was backed by the Brookdale Land Company, which agreed to donate $50,000, the proceeds of the sale of lots. The Steel Car Company agreed to build shops and maintain them for five years. About $35,000 was paid and a building 80x900 feet was erected, equipped with machinery and set in operation during the early part of 1889. The New Era Exposition was coupled with this enterprise and a portion of the works constituted the main hall. On the night of September 15th, 1889, this building was destroyed by fire. The steel passenger coach and a number of cars under construction were burned and the enterprise was fatally crippled.
Of the other prominent manufacturing enterprises that have gone out of existence were the following: August Vegely's candy factory, established in 1862; Sanders & McDonald's tinware manufactory, established 1863; Schultz, Hosea & Co., tinware manufactory, estab- lished 1863; John L. Motter's cracker factory, the first in the city, located on Main street, north of Jule; Koenig & Co.'s cracker fac- tory, established 1874; Riley Bros.' cracker factory, located in the building now occupied by the Van Natta-Lynds Drug Co., at Third and Charles streets ; Smith, Frazer & Co.'s, and Moorby & Fink's shoe factories.
The first hotel of prominence in St. Joseph was the Edgar House, a three-story building erected at the northeast corner of Main and Francis streets in 1845. It was afterwards called the Planters' House. The building is still in a good state of preserva- tion and forms a part of the Tremont House. In the following year William Fowler built the City Hotel, at the northeast corner of Main and Jule streets. This has been for many years called the Occidental, and is yet known as such. Albrecht & Huber began business as ewelers in the City Hotel in 1851. This is the oldest firm in St. Joseph. The Mansion House, which occupied the site of the Francis street depot grounds, facing Main street, was also a leading hotel in those days.
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The Patee House, at Twelfth and Penn streets, was built in 1856- 58, and was one of the largest and best equipped hotels in the United States in its first days. It was first kept by G. W. Alden of Phila- delphia, who failed before completing his first year, and was suc- ceeded by Colonel Minor of Chicago, who remained about a year. Major Espey was the next landlord. After keeping the house for two years he was killed by falling from one of the windows. Elijah Patee and Dougherty & Worden succeeded in turn as proprietors. During the war the provost marshal's headquarters were located in the building and the general offices of the Missouri Valley Railroad Company were also located there in those days. At about this time Mr. Patee placed the house into a lottery. He drew it himself. In September of 1865 Rev. James H. Robinson of the M. E. church, South, instituted a female college in the building, which existed until January, 1869. James H. Bagwell then opened the hotel, the Pacific House, of which he was landlord, having burned. In 1877 a second female academy was instituted by Rev. E. S. Dulin, a Baptist minister. This continued for four years. In the summer of 1881 Dr. S. A. Richmond leased the building. He opened what he called the "World's Epileptic Sanitarium" in a part of the build- ing and leased the remainder to a New York firm, who for a short time conducted the "World's Hotel." The property at that time belonged to Robert W. Donnell, whose home was then in New York. After the failure of the "World's Hotel" Mr. Donnell offered the house to the city to be permanently used and maintained by the taxpayers as a female seminary ; but he received no encourage- ment. In 1885 he sold the property to R. L. McDonald & Co., who converted the building into a factory for the production of overalls, shirts, etc.
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