USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 69
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IMUPSELL
465
COMMERCE.
Albert Cahn, exclusive gentleman's fur- nisher, 1322 Farnam Street, has been in busi- ness since 1884.
D. Altman deals in fine clothing and gen- tlemen's furnishing goods, at 617 North Six- teenth Street. Ilis business dates from 1877.
Blotcky Brothers' Company, importer and jobber of notions and furnishing goods, is a corporation recently formed by uniting the firms of Blotcky & Cohen, of Omaha, Blotcky Bros., late of Des Moines, Iowa, and C. E. Williams and John Davis, of the same place. They will operate on a capital of $120,000, fully paid in, and occupy the four-story building at 1114 Harney Street. The mem- bers of the company are: Jos. Blotcky, pres- ident; M. I. Blotcky, vice president; Sol. Blotcky, secretary; C. E. Williams, treas- urer; and John Davis.
Levinston Brothers are wholesale dealers in dry goods, notions, furnishings and jew- elry, at 313 South Thirteenth Street.
The Boston Store, at the northwest cor- ner of Sixteenth and Douglas Streets, is one of the late handsome additions to the mer- cantile structures in this city. It is occupied by J. L. Brandeis & Sons, who carry a very heavy stock of dry goods, millinery, etc. Mr. Brandeis began business in Omaha in 1883, with a small jobbing trade, which he carried on for a while, and then embarked in the present line. This firm now employs one hundred persons, and sell goods of the value of $400,000 annually.
Gilmore & Ruhl are wholesale clothiers, at 1109 Harney Street. This house was estab- lished here in 1887, employs eighteen per- sons, and does a business amounting to $400,- 000 per year.
II. R. Baldwin sells dry goods and notions and carries a side line of crockery, tinware, etc., at 1307-9 North Twenty-fourth (for- merly Saunders) Street. In 1887 the busi- ness was begun, occupying the front half of 1309 only. Attention to business has been rewarded, and for two years the space in two numbers has been well filled with goods. 30
Mr. Baldwin carries a stock of $13,000, em- ploys five clerks, and sells a large amount of merchandise.
The firm of Stephens & Smith. dealers in men's furnishings, 109 North Sixteenth Street, is composed of Lucien Stephens and Fred. L. Smith. They began business in April, 1891, and have a trade that steadily increases.
IIATS AND CAPS.
C. H. Frederick & Co., hatters, are en- gaged in business at 120 South Fifteenth Street, in the Creighton Block. Mr. Freder- ick entered into business in Omaha January 1, 1871, to which he has continuously de- voted his attention since, and being a prac- tical hatter he has built up a flourishing and constantly increasing trade.
Pease Brothers are hatters and men's fur- nishers, at 122 South Fifteenth Street. They have been in business since 1885.
L. O. Jones (" Jones of Omaha "), deals in hats and men's furnishings, at 115 South Sixteenth Street. He began business in 1885.
The Gate City Hat Company consists of Alexander Gunther, president and treasurer; Ilerman Drishaus, vice president and secre- tary; Edward .J. Roe, manager. This house carries hats, caps and straw goods, at 1023 Harney Street, where a large business is done, occupying a four-story building. The anthorized capital stock is fifty thousand dollars, of which thirty thousand dollars is paid in. In May, 1890, the present firm succeeded Parrotte, Scripps & Co., who had been in the business about ten years. Nine traveling men represent the firm abroad.
W. A. L. Gibbon, wholesale dealer in hats, caps and straw goods, succeeded Darrow & Logan October 1, 1891. Mr. Gibbon em- ploys six commercial men and his trade covers the usual tributary territory.
MILLINERY AND NOTIONS.
I. Oberfelder & Co. are importers and jobbers of millinery and notions. The busi-
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
ness was established here in 1881. This firm occupies the five-story building, 208 to 212 South Eleventh Street, and extends its trade to Utah and Oregon.
Mrs. J. Benson deals in fancy dry goods, notions, etc., at 210-212 South Fifteenth Street. She began business in 1887.
RUBBER GOODS.
The Omaha Rubber Company deals in rubber goods. Their present place of busi- ness is 1520 Farnam Street. O. H. Curtis is president and J. Ilurd Thompson secretary and treasurer. Their store-room is unusually large and well filled. Eighteen or twenty persons are employed in various capacities about the place, a part of them being en- gaged in manufacturing and repairing.
TOYS, TENTS.
Il. Hardy & Co. are jobbers of toys, dolls, albums, fancy goods, house-furnishing goods, etc., of which they carry a crowded stock, at 1319 Farnam. This firm began business in 1877, and, with some changes, has con- tinued till now. Four traveling men solicit trade abroad.
The Omaha Tent and Awning Company, A. Il. Rawitzer, manager, began business in 1886, and now employs twenty persons.
FURNITURE AND CARPETS.
Business was begun, at 1115-1117 Fainam Street, where the Dewey & Stone Furniture Company is now located, early in the sixties. Louis Ilax, a resident of St. Joseph, Mis- souri, then had a furniture store there, con- dueted by John Trimble. The building, a two- story frame, had been moved from Florence when that place began to deeline and Omaha took the lead in mercantile matters. In 1865, C. II. Dewey and Jolin Trimble formed a partnership and bought out Mr. Hax. In 1866, E. L. Stone purchased an interest in the business, and the firm became Dewey, Trimble & Co. In 1870, Mr. Trimble sold his interest in the business to his partners, and the firm became Dewey & Stone, which so remained until December, 1888, when a
stock company, with an authorized capital of half a million, was formed, known as the Dewey & Stone Furniture Company, William Gyger and William I. Kierstead, who had long been in the employ of the house, be- coming stockholders in the new corporation, whose officers were: C. II. Dewey, presi- dent; E. L. Stone, vice president; William Gyger, secretary; George E. Crosby, treas- urer; and William I. Kierstead, manager. In August, 1890, Mr. Dewey's death occur- red. At the beginning, and for some years afterward, the partners did most of the work incident to the business, which, however, after a time rapidly expanded, and now occupies a four-story brick building on Far- nam Street, built by the company in 1876, a five-story brick building on Ilarney Street, built in 1882, and a large warehouse on Leavenworth Street. This house has done the longest continuous and uninter- rupted business in the same location of any in the city. From a small local retail trade the business has come to extend across the continent to the Pacific Coast, and amounts to half a million per year, employs fifty-five persons, and in length of time in business and amonnt of trade, is not exceeded by any house of the kind west of Chicago. The building on Farnam Street was the first four- story business building, and that on Harney Street the first five-story building, ereeted in the State of Nebraska. The premiums paid by the present company and its predecessors for insurance against loss by fire would amount, at 7 per cent. compound interest, to more than $150,000.
In 1877, before Omaha had attained much size, and while the bulk of the business of the town was considerably nearer the river than now, S. A. Orchard and Samuel Bean, under the firm name of Orchard & Bean, opened a carpet store at 1113 Farnam Street, oceupying a single story, and carrying a stock of goods proportioned to the demands of the trade as it then existed. This store was next east of Dewey & Stone's. By 1882
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A Orchardo
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COMMERCE.
the commercial portion of the city had ex- tended westward so far that the corner of Fifteenth and Farnam Streets became a de- sirable location, and to that point the busi- ness was moved, occupying the corner where Kelley & Stiger now are, the building hav- ing been built purposely for S. A. Orchard, his partner, Mr. Bean, having died in 1881. In the summer of 1890, Mr. Orchard had built, for his especial occupancy, at 1414 to 1418 Douglas Street, the handsome and commo- dious five-story building he lately occupied, into which he moved in September, adding furniture to the line of carpets he had for- merly carried. This business, which, at the outset, gave employment to only three per- sons, required twenty-five in 1892, and amounted to $200,000. Among the buildings removed to make room for this was the old Marble Hall, a wooden structure, which, in its palmy days of '65 and '66, was a popular resort, where many business men spent their evenings, and where music and refreshments attracted large crowds of pleasure seekers, who wanted plenty of company and enter- tainment. On the night of December 27th, 1892, a fire brokeout in Mr. Orchard's store, which, together with the entire stock, was soon consumed. The loss on stock and fixtures amounted to about $120,000, the insurance to about $85,000.
The Omaha Carpet Company began busi- ness in 1884. The officers are: II. Duneker, president; J. II. Trorlicht, vice president; D. D. Miller, secretary and treasurer, and Fred Sunder, superintendent. The business includes both wholesale and retail branches, and extends over the territory naturally tributary to Omaha. It now employs ten persons and occupies three stories of the building 1511 Douglas Street.
Charles Shiverick & Co., the junior part- ner being Arthur Shiverick, are located at 1206 to 1210 Farnam Street. This busi- ness was established in 1871. They have a fine store, and occupy five floors with their trade in furniture, carpets, etc.
The Omaha Furniture Company does business at 1207 Farnam Street. In 1882 HI. J. Abrahams started the business, which, with some changes, has continued to the present time. Seven persons are employed and the business is confined to the retail trade.
Chamberlain, Anderson & O'Connell are dealers in furniture and bedding at 208 to 212 North Sixteenth Street, where they have been in business since the spring of 1886. Since opening, however, the stock and trade have increased largely, and what was but a small business at first, has necessitated con- siderable enlargement of the space formerly occupied.
The People's Mammoth Installment Com- pany is the latest house established in the furniture, carpet and tinware line, having opened a business at 1315 and 1317 Farnam Street, the 1st of September, 1891. It is a corporate concern with B. Rosenthal, presi- dent and manager. The place is well fitted up and attractive.
I. Brown deals in furniture, carpets and stoves, at 1205 Douglas Street. The busi- ness was begun in 1879, and has steadily grown to occupy four floors. In 1889 Mr. Brown built the building he now occupies, at a cost of $15,000. He does a retail busi- ness only.
J. M. Young succeeded the firm of Hill & Young, dealers in furniture, stoves, carpets and house furnishing goods, at 1211-1213 Farnam Street, in July, 1892. Hill & Young commenced business in the autumn of 1884. Mr. Young occupies a building four stories in height and averages from twenty to twen- ty-five employes. The business runs to $100,000 annually.
BOOTS AND SHOES.
The Morse-Coe Shoe Company began its existence October 1, 1891, when the firms of W. V. Morse & Co. and Charles A. Coe & Co. united and incorporated. W. V. Morse & Co. were engaged in the wholesale and retail trade as far back as 1869, and built up a
468
HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
large business. In 1889 the company began the manufacture of boots and shoes, with a capacity of four hundred pairs per day. Charles A. Coe & Co. embarked in the whole- sale boot and shoe trade in the early part of 1890. Since the consolidation of the two firms the building occupied by Morse & Co. has been used for manufacturing purposes, and the business incident to the wholesale trade transacted at the Coe & Co. store. This company is now erecting, at the corner of Twelfth and Howard Streets, a brick fac- tory of five stories and basement, 66 by 88 feet on the ground, which will have a capacity of one thousand pairs of shoes daily, employing, at the start, from 150 to 200 persons. 'Twenty salesmen are em- ployed, who sell goods in western Jowa and through the entire western country to the Pacific Coast. The officers of the company are: W. V. Morse, president; Charles A. Coe, vice president; and E. E. Hastings, secretary and treasurer.
W. N. Whitney came to Omaha in 1865, and soon after went into partnership with O. P. Ingalls, the pioneer maker of and dealer in boots and shoes, who started in business here in the fall of 1854. Two years later a dissolution of the partnership occurred, and since that time Mr. Whitney has conducted a retail boot and shoe store, generally carrying a stock of about twenty thousand dollars value. IIe is now located at 103 South Fifteenth Street.
A. D. Morse does a large retail shoe busi- ness at the corner of Fourteenth and Farnam Streets. He succeeded W. V. Morse, who had carried on the shoe business, at this stand at the time the lots opposite were prai- rie and bare of buildings.
George W. Cook & Son now occupy one of the stores in the new Karbach block, where they carry a large stock of boots and shoes, the present stock being valued at about forty thousand dollars, the year's sales amounting to sixty-five thousand dollars. The senior member of the firm began busi-
ness in Omaha in 1883. The present part- nership was founded September 1, 1891.
The firm of Drexel & Rosenzweig is com- posed of John C. Drexel and R. Rosenzweig, who are successors of Henry Dohle, at 1419 Farnam Street. They have a busy trade.
Norris & Wilcox deal in boots and shoes, at 1517 Douglas Street, and have been in business since July, 1887. They carry a large stock and do a good business.
J. W. Schoelply deals in fine footwear, at 1415 Douglas Street.
The firm of Kirkendall, Jones & Co., for- merly Reed, Jones & Co., of Columbus, Ohio, located a branch house here in 1879. They are manufacturers of boots and shoes and cover thirteen states and territories with their business-a large trade being es- tablished in the Pacific states. The manu- facturing, which is done at Columbus, is managed by Mr. Jones, and the western trade, centering at Omaha, is managed by Mr. Kirkendall. The firm occupies a large four-story store at 1102 to 1106 Harney Street, and carries a very large and complete stock of goods-one not exceeded in size by any in the West. Thirty persons are em- ployed at the store, and sixteen commercial men represent the house abroad.
The American IIand Sewed Shoe Com- pany, manufacturer and jobber of boots and shoes, occupies 1204 and 1206 Harney Street, carrying a full line of leather and rubber goods, occupying seven floors. Fif- teen or twenty persons are employed, five of whom are traveling salesmen. The trade of this house extends as far west as Utah.
The Williams-Ilay ward Shoe Co., incorpor- ated, is a manufacturer and jobber of boots, shoes and slippers, at 1212 Harney Street, occupying a large four story building. Its business is in Nebraska, Colorado, Utah and a portion of South Dakota and Iowa. The house has been established since 1887.
Z. T. Lindsey is a wholesale dealer in rub- ber boots and shoes and rubber and oiled clothing, at 1111 Harney Street. This busi-
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COMMERCE.
ness was started in 1886, and now requires from twenty to thirty people-six to ten salesmen traveling through the territory naturally tributary to Omaha. The annual business is not less than $200,000.
DEPARTMENT STORES.
The W. R. Bennett Co. is a "wholesale and retail dealer in everything useful, orna- mental and staple," occupying a four story building at 1502 to 1512, Capitol Avenue. The firm's origin dates back to 1878, when the two partners and a single assistant were enough to do the business. They now em- ploy one hundred people. The business is mostly retail. The members of the firm are W. R. Bennett. president; F. W. Brown, vice-president; S. F. Bennett, secretary and treasurer.
William and Edward Hayden, who con- stitute the firm of Ilayden Brothers, estab- lished themselves in business at 116 South Sixteenth Street, in May, 1888. One year later they moved into the handsome build- ing, 102 to 112 South Sixteenth, where they occupied a five story building, seventy-six feet deep with a front of 132 feet. In the summer of 1891, finding their accommoda- tions too small, Hayden Brothers built for themselves an addition on Dodge Street 66 by 132 feet in width and depth, and five stories high, so that now the amount of floor space used amounts to over two acres. This firm now has twenty-eight dif- ferent departments, each complete in itself, and can supply clothing, all things used about a house for food, household furniture and utensils, musical instruments, etc. In addition to the retail trade a fair wholesale trade is sustained. The cash system has been in use since the firm began business. The number of employes, at first about fifty, is now 275 or 300. A marked feature of this firms business, was its gift sale. Between September 1, 1891, and February 25, 1892, each purchaser of fifty dollars worth of goods, received a card entitling him to a gift. The aggregate amount of the value
of these gifts, distributed at the latter date, was $57,494.50, and included a great variety of articles ranging from a carriage whip to a $1,100 piano.
The Bell Department store opened April 2, 1892, with a complete stock in over twen- ty lines, amounting to $100,000, and oceu- pying four floors at Dodge and Fifteenth Streets. The proprietors are H. C. Moody, A. S. Ackerman and L. B. Williams. From fifty to seventy-five clerks and other per- sons are employed about the store.
JEWELERS.
The Max Meyer & Bro. Company is the oldest firm in their line in Omaha, the busi- ness having been begun in May, 1866, by Max Meyer, who conducted it alone in a small frame building on the south side of Farnam near Eleventh Street, carrying a stock suited to the demands of the limited trade of the times. In 1869 two brothers were associated in the business, and after occupying several places that soon proved too small to accom- modate the trade, they obtained a portion of the Paxton Block, taking fifty feet on Far- nam Street and running back 132 feet, making one of the finest corners obtainable. Here the growth of the trade has con- tinued, until no house in the West does a larger business. A stock of $250,000 is car- ried, from which they sell at wholesale and retail. Fine jewelry is manufactured, a de- signer and several manufacturing jewelers being employed the year round. Diamonds are imported, and once in two years a mem- ber of the firm goes to Europe to purchase diamonds and other goods-their imports amounting to from $20,000 to $50,000 annually. The. stock of sheet music, books and musical instruments is large and fine. In all, fifteen departments are operated, each complete in itself. Twelve commercial men travel west to the moun- tains and north to Dakota. Seventy- five persons are employed, and the an- nual business is 8750,000. The company,
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
incorporated in 1890 with a capital stoek of $250,000, is composed of Max Meyer, presi- dent; Adolph Meyer, vice president; Moritz Meyer, secretary and treasurer, and others who hold smaller amounts of stock.
John Baumer heard of the attractions of Omaha while in London, England, in 1867, and decided to make this city his future home. In July, 1867, he began business on Farnam Street, with a small stock of watches, eloeks and jewelry. The traffic the first year amounted to $2,000, and he did not re- quire any assistant in transacting it. The trade for each of the past two years has execeded $50,000, and the number of per- sons employed is eleven. Since 1879, Mr. Baumer bas been located at 1314 Farnam Street.
C. S. Raymond has been established in the jewelry business in Omaha since 1884. In the summer of 1891 the building he occupied, at the corner of Fifteenth and Douglas Streets, was torn down to make room for the fine structure known as Karbach Block, into which be moved, oceupying new quarters on the old lot, a few months later. Mr. Ray- mond's present. business place is, therefore, the newest in the city, and the large and complete stock of diamonds, watches, jew- elry and other valuables is displayed in a very attractive manner, the furniture and appointments all being of a beautiful and costly character. The basement is used for an art room. Mr. Raymond employed four persons when he began business in this city, and now has twenty.
S. Bank has been in the business of sell- ing jewelry and musical instruments sinee 1887, at the Golden Eagle Store, at 114 South Sixteenth Street.
Joseph P. Frenzer, jeweler, has an attrae- tive store in the Frenzer Block, Fifteenthi and Dodge Streets, where he located in July, 1390.
The Sol Bergman Jewelry Company be- gan business June 1, 1891, and now occupies number 313 South 16th Street.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.
The Mueller Musie Company deals in pianos, organs and other musical instru- ments, at 107 South Sixteenthi Street. This company was established at Council Bluffs in 1859, and the Omaha branch in 1886. Mueller & Schmoller are managers.
BOOK STORES.
The Megeath Stationery Co., wholesale and retail bookseller, stationer and printer, has been recently formed and combines and represents the business lately carried on by J. S. Caulfield, the Omaha Book and Sta- tionery Co. and the type writing and station- ery house of Joseph P. Megeath, and occupies the store at 1304 Farnam Street. The officers are Jos. P. Megeath, president ; John L. Gideon, vice-president ; Frank J. Coates, secretary and treasurer. S C. Abbott began the book, stationery and wall-paper business in 1866, and was succeeded in 1876 by John S. Caulfield who continued the book and stationery business till the month of December, 1892, when the Megeath Com- pany took charge.
The firm of Chase & Eddy, number 1516 Farnam Street, composed of Clement C'hase and Geo. B. Eddy, does a general retail book business and handles, in addition to books, a large number of accessories. This firm dates from 1875. They use the first floor of their building for a book store and the second floor for a job printing office, where they do fine printing and copperplate engraving, employing eigliteen persons.
In the fall of 1878 A. Shonfeld opened an establishment called the " Antiquarian Book Store " where a large stock of both new and . second hand books are displayed for sale- many of them quaint and rare tomes that seldom appear in publie. Attention to busi- ness and the increasing demands for books by a reading publie bave built up a good trade, and to supply it Mr. Shonfeld finds frequent and large importations of books from Europe, and a visit thither onee in three or four
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COMMERCE.
years absolute necessities. The last year's importation, selected in Europe by Mr. Shon- feld himself, was 10,000 volumes.
Barkalow Bros. are railway news agents. April 4, 1865, with Dr. Geo. L. Miller, who furnished the capital, a partnership was formed, and a book and stationery store was opened. When the Union Pacific Railroad reached Columbus this firm started in the railway news business and put boys on the trains of that road. As the road has ex- tended, this firm's traffic has grown, and now it controls the news business on the Union Pacific to San Francisco, California and Portland, Oregon, and has the privileges of the union depot at Denver. The firm also does the news business on the Chicago & Al- ton, from Chicago to St. Louis and Kansas City and has branch establishments at Chi- cago, Kansas City, Denver, Ft. Worth, Ogden and Portland, and employes about one hun- dred agents. The business at Omaha is managed by S. D. Barkalow and the Denver branch by D. V. Barkalow. Dr. Miller's connection with the firm ceased about the time that the news business was begun.
The Omaha News Company, a branch of the American News Company of New York, began business here in 1881, and is now lo- cated at 1417 Davenport Street, where it occupies a two-story brick building, twenty- two feet wide and over a hundred feet long. This company supplies books, periodicals and newspapers to newsdealers and station- ers, in Nebraska, Western lowa, South Da- kota, Wyoming, Idaho and Northern Kan- sas. The stock carried is valued at twenty thousand dollars, and the annual sales amount to 8150,000. Twelve persons are employed. William D. Bancker, Jr., has occupied the position of manager for three years past; William Schulze is foreman.
PAPER DEALERS.
The Carpenter Paper Company, corner of Howard and Twelfth Streets, has a corporate existence dating from February, 1888, with
a paid up capital of seventy-five thousand dollars, and a wholesale trade extending from the Mississippi to the Rockies.
The King Paper Company, 1406-1408 Howard Street, is one of the firms that liave lately begun business. The trade is mainly confined to Nebraska and Iowa.
WALL PAPER DEALERS AND DECORATORS.
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