USA > Nebraska > Douglas County > Omaha > History of the city of Omaha, Nebraska > Part 74
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F. 11. Miller began the manufacture of saslı, doors, blinds, etc., at the corner of Twenty-ninth Street and Belt Line Railway, in August, 1887. The following February he took as a partner G. M. Gunderson, and the firm of Miller & Gunderson was formed. The factory is two stories high and eighty- six by one hundred feet in terrestrial di- mensions. This business employed ten men at the outset and now employs from twenty to fifty.
M. A. Disbrow & Co., corner of Twelfth and Izard Streets, are wholesale manufac- turers of sash, doors, blinds, etc. M. A. Dis- brow, of Lyons, Iowa, is president, and M. B. Copeland, of Omaha, is secretary and treasurer. The business was begun here in 1886. Fifteen men are employed. The main office and factory are at Lyons, Iowa.
A. Rosenberry, whose extensive planing mill is located at the corner of Fifteenth and Marcy, began business in 1879, in a
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small way. Ile now employs fifty men and has one of the best equipped establishments in the West.
John F. Coots, one of the most extensive contractors in the West, has a large planing mill at Sixth and Jones Streets.
Richard Stevens & Sons' planing mill occupies Nos. 214 to 220 North Twenty- eighth Avenuc, and gives employment to twenty shop men and twenty to forty men on building contracts, paying out $6,000 a month for wages.
BOX FACTORIES.
Frank R. Heft manufactures cigar boxes at 1501 Jackson street. In 1884 he started on Capitol Avenue in a 12x14 room, and made boxes by hand. In 1889 he took pos- session of his present quarters, where he turns out 90,000 cigar boxes annually, with the aid of five people. Mr. Heft has the best of modern machinery and finds a mar- ket for his products throughout the central west.
J. J. Wilkinson is proprietor of the City Box Factory, at 1110 Douglas Street. F. C. Feckenscher began the business, and after running three or four years was succeeded by Mr. Wilkinson, who assumed control of the business in May, 1891. About fifteen persons are employed, most of whom are girls.
The Consolidated Box Manufacturing Company was, at the beginning of the en- terprise, Vogel Brothers. In August, 1889, L. D. and .I. W. Vogel leased an acre of ground on Twenty-Sixth and Walnut Streets and erected a planing mill of one story, sixty by eighty feet in size. In September, 1890, · they added a large box factory and a lumber shed. In May, 1891 this firm became stock- holders in the Consolidated Box Manufactur- ing Company, with factories at St. Louis, Denver, Muscatine and other places, putting the factory into the combination and taking stock to the amount of the property con- tributed. Thirty-five men are employed
here, and packing boxes of all kinds are manufactured, consuming in the business over two million feet of lumber annually.
II. B. Mulford & Co. are the proprietors of the Omaha Box Factory, at the corner of Twenty-first Street and Avenue II, East Omaha. The factory is one hundred feet wide and 190 feet long and two stories high, contains four sets of saws and has a capacity of five thousand boxes per day. The product is mostly packing boxes, of which 300,000 were made in 1891, and the output for 1892 was nearly 800.000. The dovetailing ma- chinery is a duplicate of that of the well known Paepcke & Co., of Chicago, and is the only duplicate of their machinery ever made or sold by that firm. The factory be- gan operations January 1, 1891, and employs sixty-five men. Most of the manufactured product is sold in this city, but some of it is sent to points in Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.
In connection with the above, F. S. Knapp conducts the Omaha Kindling Factory. Act- ing upon the universally applicable principle, " Let nothing be wasted," Mr. Knapp has the refuse of the factory collected and prepared for sale. The kindling is sold in bundles or wagon loads; the sawdust is sifted and sold by the barrel for packing purposes and for spreading upon floors. The business amounts to about $400 per month.
The Omaha Paper Box Factory -- John L. Wilkie, proprietor-has been established ten years. This industry was begun by the pro- prietor, aided by one assistant. At the end of a year he employed five hands, and now employs twenty. The business occupies two rooms twenty by eighty feet in size, with basement, at 1822 and 1824 St. Mary's Ave- nue. All kinds of paper boxes are made. Seven carloads of strawboard were used last year. From twelve to fifteen hundred boxes are made daily, mostly for the candy, cracker and shoe trade.
The Omaha Basket Manufacturing Com- pany, of which Oscar J. Pickard is president, G. E. Ferry, vice president; C. J. Roberts,
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superintendent, and G. D. Keller secretary and treasurer, bas a capital of $20,000, and furnishes work for twenty-five employes. The business was established in November, 1888, the factory being located at Westlawn and the office at 1318 Jones Street.
The Omaha Casket Company began busi- ness in the fall of 1887, in a large factory at the intersection of North Twenty-ninth Street and the Belt Line. The business is now owned by Messrs. McClatchen & An- drews, who have recently made extensive additions to the plant.
FURNITURE FACTORIES.
Murphy, Wasey & Co. are manufacturers of chairs, wire mattresses, spring beds and cots. The business, which was established by this company in Detroit in 1872, was be- gun here in 1889. Land was purchased on Spaulding Street at the corner of the Belt Line Railway, and a factory sixty by one hundred and fifty-three feet on the ground, and three stories high, a ware room one hundred and twenty feet square and five stories high, and an engine room, were erected. 25,000 spring beds are manfac- tured annually. 270,000 chairs manufac- tured at Detroit are sold here to supply the trade naturally tributary to Omaha. From ninety to one hundred and ten persons, many of them boys and girls, are usually employed. The business here is run on a paid up capital of $150,000. The officers of the company are: M. J. Murphy, president; Geo. E. Wasey, secretary and treasurer, Detroit; James F. Murphy, vice-president, and Henry Whitney, assistant treasurer, Omaha.
The Beebe & Runyan Furniture Co. was incorporated in February, 1891; capital stock $100,000, of which $50,000 is paid in; officers, C. A. Beebe, president; E. Beebe, secretary; W. Runyan, treasurer; and W. Beebe, manager. The factory and warehouse, a large three story building, is located on Thirteenth and Grace Streets and is isolated,
in fact, away out on the bottom, as it might be expressed, where, however, there will be many more busy factories in the near fu- ture, as the mechanical industries of Omalia are fast spreading in that direction. Twenty- five persons are employed. The company manufactures mattresses and does a jobbing business in furniture in the states contiguous to Nebraska, and in the territories.
The E. M. IIulse Company was incor- porated in January, 1889, and is the suc- cessor of the E. M. Ilulse Mattress Company. E. M. Ilulse is president; W. C. Ilayner, secretary; H. A. Shipman, treasurer. The factory is of two stories, sixty-six by one hundred and thirty-two feet. at 1307 to 1311 Nicholas Street, and gives employ- ment to sixty men in the manufacture of lounges.
The firm of Billow & Doup is composed of N. K. Billow and L. G. Doup. They manu- facture mattresses and pillows at Fourteenth and Davenport Streets, where the business has been carried on since January 1, 1891. They employ fifteen people and mannfacture five thousand dollars worth of goods monthly, which are sent to all parts of the West.
The Omaha Upholstering Company manu- facture parlor furniture at 1302-1306 Nichi- olas Street, and has been in operation two years. From twenty to twenty-five hands are employed. The officers of the company are: A: Lehman, president; H. L. Axtater, secretary; HI. A. Shipman, treasurer.
The Omaha Mattress Company manufac- tures mattresses and comforters, occupying a portion of the above mentioned building. It began business in March, 1890, succeeding to this line of manufacturing, which the E. M. Hulse Company then discontinued. Ten persons are employed. II. Jenter is presi- dent, and O. B. Anderson is secretary and treasurer of this company.
Frederick Krause owns and operates the Nebraska Broom Factory, at 1317 Chicago Street. In the fall of 1880 he began busi- ness at 1101 South Third Street, succeeding
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August Pandow. The factory, with the entire plant, stock and manufactured goods, was destroyed by fire in October, 1883, in- volving a loss of six thousand dollars, upon which there was not a cent of insurance. Financially crippled, but not discouraged, he rebuilt at his present location, at a cost of four thousand dollars, putting in the latest improved machinery. The factory now employs eleven persons, uses electric power and turns out eight or nine thousand dozen brooms annually, which amount would be doubled if " home industries " were properly patronized.
LINSEED OIL WORKS.
In the spring of 1872 the oil mills now operated by the Woodman Linseed Oil Com- pany were established by M. H. Harris, Rob- ert K. Taft and Clark Woodman, under the firm name of Harris, Taft & Woodman, with a capital of $40,000 invested in grounds, buildings and machinery, and an additional fund of about $75,000 for operating ex- penses. The company loaned out to the farmers of Nebraska that spring 2,000 bushels of flax seed in order to encourage the growth of that staple, resulting in the marketing, the following fall, of about 20,000 bushels of seed, which was converted by the com- pany into oil and oil cake, and thus was laid the foundation for a business which has since grown into enormous proportions. The death of Mr. Harris left the style of the firm Taft & Woodman, and so it continued until December, 1880, when Mr. Taft withdrew from the firm, removing to San Jose, Cali- fornia, soon afterwards, where he is now suc- cessfully engaged in fruit culture. The early years of the business were marked with difficulties and discouragements, but these were overcome, the buildings added to from year to year, and improved machinery in- troduced. The company now employ sixty men, paying out for wages over $3,000 monthly, and the sales for 1892 footed up $1,500,000. Since the death of Mr. Wood-
man the business has been managed by Frank E. Ritchie.
PRINTING.
On the 1st day of May, 1880, Samuel Rees purchased the plant of the printing office and bookbindery of the Omaha Book Com- pany. Mr. Rees had been superintendent of the job department of the Omaha Repub- lican office for four years, previous to this time. He conducted the business alone until 1884, when the Rees Printing Com- pany was organized, the principal stock- holder, beside Mr. Rees, being Mr. John F. Fairlie, who had been for years connected with the business, and who had conducted the bindery of the Omaha Book Company, and formerly the bindery of Fairlie & Mo- nell, of which he was the senior partner. Constant additions were made to the ma- chinery, type and working force until 1887, when the company purchased the litho- graphic and printing office of the Omaha Lithograph and Stationery Company. Mr. Edward Haymaker had been the practical manager and one of the leading stockholders of the latter company, and became one of the stockholders in the Rees Printing Com- pany and superintendent of the lithographie department. Though only a small office when Mr. Recs purchased it, the plant has become one of the largest in this line in the western country. Its present officers are: Samuel Rees, president; John F. Fairlie, vice president; Edward Haymaker, secre- tary.
The Festner Printing Co., 1307 Iloward Street, is composed of Julius T. Festner, August Droste and Geo. B. Tzschuck. This firm is the successor of F. C. Festner, who began the business in October, 1872, as a bookbinder, occupying a small room on the corner of Twelfth and Farnam Streets. In 1876, printing in a small way was added. In 1882 the Nebraska Daily Tribune (Ger- man) was started. In 1887 the present four story brick building, 33x100 feet, was built.
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Mr. F. C. Festner died in 1890, and the present company succeed to the business the following November.
The Western Newspaper Union, auxiliary publishers or printers, whose business is that of supplying country and other weekly newspapers with " ready prints" containing general news and miscellaneous reading, is the most extensive printing establishment of its kind in the United States. It is the outgrowth of the Iowa State Printing Com- pany, of Des Moines, Iowa, which was organ- ized in 1872. In the year 1879, through the efforts of George A. Joslyn, who had recently become connected with the enter- prise, the company was reorganized as the Western Newspaper Union, the intention be- ing to supply partly printed sheets to coun- try newspapers inthe territory lying between the Ohio River and the Rocky Mountains. Since its reorganization the company has greatly increased its business and at the pres- ent time has plants in twelve cities, with sixty large fast cylinder presses, and over thirty newspaper folding machines. The number of newspapers printed by the com- pany is over 1,900. The Omaha house was started in the spring of 1880, and now em ploys thirty-eight persons. Seven cylinder presses, three newspaper folders and two complete stereotyping outfits are kept con- stantly at work supplying about 250 newspa- pers. In addition to supplying these, their office does the local presswork for nearly all of the papers printed in Omaha, outside of the large dailies. The work here is under the immediate supervision of Mr. Joslyn, the president of the company, who is as- sisted by Col. H. C. Akin, who has been con- nected with the office for several years.
Omaha Republican Printing Company has existed since 1884, and now employs about seventy-five persons. This company, besides the usual job printing, does a large amount of work for county officers, binds books, makes electrotypes and deals in stationery and supplies of various kinds. The officers
of the company are: A. II. Comstock, presi- dent; Ray Nye, vice president; C. E. Brown, secretary and treasurer. The capital stock is $100,000, of which $65,000 is paid in. The four story building at the corner of Tenth and Douglas Streets, occupied by this company, was burned on the night of January 5th, 1893, the loss to the company amounting to $50,000, insurance $45.000.
The American Press Association has one of its numerous branches at Omaha, which was established here in October, 1886, with M. G. Perkins manager, who still retains that position. The Omaha branch employs from twenty-five to thirty men and fur- nishes stereotype plates to newspapers in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.
Ackerman Bros. & Ileintze are railroad and book printers, binders and electrotypers at 1116 Howard Street, where they occupy a five story building, fully equipped with the machinery incident to their business, employing from fifty to seventy persons. This house started in a small way in Octo- ber, 1887. The firm nses, as one of the items in its business, twelve carloads of railroad manilla paper annually.
'The firm of Klopp, Bartlett & Co., printers, binders and blank book makers, 1114-1116 Farnam Street, is composed of C. H. Klopp, E. W. Bartlett and A. T. Klopp, who started in May, 1885, with a capital of $6,000, using foot power presses and employing a very small number of hands. The firm now em- ploys thirty persons, nsing four cylinder and two job presses run by a gas engine. The capital now employed is $28,000.
Fleming & Black are proprietors of the Western Stereotyping, Electrotyping and Plating Works, at 1112-16 Dodge Street, where they employ seven men. This bnsi- ness was established in 1890.
The Burkley Printing Company was in- corporated October 1, 1891, with F. J. Burk- ley, president; D. C. Shelley, vice president; HI. V. Burkley, secretary and treasurer, and
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MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.
V. Burkley. Previous to incorporation the company had existed a year and a half, the Burkleys being the members of the company. The amount of capital stock is twenty thous- and dollars, paid up, and the number of em- ployes sixteen. Eight presses are run.
E. P. Walker is the successor of Tagger & Walker, book-binders and blank-book mak- ers, 1121 Farnam. The business was begun in 1884. Six persons are employed.
CLOTHING AND BAG FACTORIES.
The Katz-Nevens Company, of which Charles F. Nevens is president and Samuel Katz secretary and treasurer, manufactures pants, shirts and overalls. This business was begun in 1884 by the Canfield Manu- facturing Co., which was bought out by the present company in 1889. The employes are mostly girls and number about 125. The annual product of this factory is about 13,500 dozen garments.
The increasing business of the last two years has compelled this factory to seek more commodious accommodations and Jan- uary 1, 1892, the plant was removed from the Bemis Omaha Bag Factory building to Eleventh and Douglas Streets.
The Robinson & Stokes Company suc- ceeded the J. T. Robinson Notion Com- pany, January, 1892. The former company began the jobbing business in 1885 and in 1889 bought out the DeGraff Manufactur- ing Company's plant and began manufactur- ing overalls, work shirts, jumpers and pan- taloons, employing 125 persons, six of whom were traveling salesmen. Receiving en- couragment to locate at East Omaha, this company erected a commodious brick factory there of fifty feet front, one hundred and fifty feet deep and four stories high, special- ly adapted to the needs of the business, with dynamo for electric light, elevator, etc., and accommodations for one thousand opera- tives. In the autumn of the same year this company failed, for want of sufficient capital to run the business, and, in January, 1893,
was succeeded by the Kilpatrick-Koch Dry Goods Co., who added the manufacture of clothing to their former business.
About April 1, 1892, F. S. King and J. P. Smead, formerly with Frank Howard & Co., of Atchison. Kansas, began the manufac- ture of pants, shirts and other clothing in .Omaha. The firm of King & Smead now employs seventy operatives and three trav- eling men and turns out forty-five dozen garments per day.
An account of the manufactory of M. E. Smith & Co., is given in chapter on Com- merce.
The Omaha National Knitting Factory is located at the corner of Fifteenth and How- ard Streets, Bilz Brothers, proprietors. It has been in operation since 1885, employs eight persons and turns out various kinds of knit goods.
The Bemis Omaha Bag Co., manufacturer of burlaps and cotton bags, and dealer in grain bags and twines, located here in the spring of 1887, with a capital of $750,000, and erected a large five story brick build- ing on Eleventh Street, at the north end of the viaduct. A business of more than $700,000 was transacted during 1890. Among other items one hundred car loads of flour sacks and fifty of burlap bags were made and sold. At the start about twenty- five hands were employed, and now (Decem- ber, 1892) one hundred persons are em- ployed, and 12,000 tons of material have been handled during the present year. The trade extends from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast, a large amount of goods being consigned to the latter region. The members of this company are: J. M. Bemis, president, Boston; S. A. Bemis, secretary, St. Louis, and M. C. Peters, local manager at Omaha.
B. Gotheimer, 1314 Farnam Street, shirt manufacturer, employs fifteen hands; has been in business ten years.
G. E. Cutts, successor to William H. Har- rison, 1114 Farnam Street, shirt manufac-
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HISTORY OF THE CITY OF OMAHA.
turer, who had been in business here for ten years, employs ten hands.
Lewis Baer, shirt manufacturer, 1505 Howard Street, has been in business two years, and employs fifteen hands.
MERCHANT TAILORS.
Frank J. Ramge started in business, in. Omaha, in the spring of 1864, and is now the senior draper and tailor in the city. For a short time he did all his work himself. Ile has never been in partnership, except a short time with .J. II. Stein. His experience with fire has been somewhat uniqne. Although a fire has never originated on his premises, and his goods have never been damaged by fire, yet, on five different occasions it bas con- sumed adjoining buildings and compelled him to remove his stock. In 1887 Mr. Ramge erected the handsome Ramge block, sixty by one hundred and thirty-two feet, five stories high, at the corner of Fifteenth and IIarney Streets, in which his extensive tailoring es- tablishment is located.
C. J. Canan and J. J. IIeller do business at 1302 Douglas Street as C. J. Canan & Co. Mr. Canan has been in the tailoring business for a long time, and his business is the next oldest in this line, in Omaha.
Helin & Thompson are located at 1612 Farnam Street. John F. Helin, the senior partner has been in business in Omaha since 1874, at which time he was associated with G. A. Lindquist. In 1887 the present part- nership with C. W. Thompson was formed. In connection with their trade this firm car- ries a stock of furnishing goods.
Ilelin, Thompson & Co. are importers and jobbers of woolens and tailors trimmings. George E. Warner is the junior partner. This firm has existed since 1889.
"Ed. Hart, the tailor," is located at 210- 212 South Sixteenth Street, where he began business in 1890. This is one of a number of establishments he has in the larger cities of the northern States. The business com- pares favorably with others in this line.
Nicoll the Tailor, whose establishments are located in ten large cities, including New York and Chicago, has also a house in this city at 207 South Fifteenth Street, in the fine and newly completed Karbach block. The stock carried is large, and the furnish- ings and appointments of the store are on a scale of elegance very pleasing to look upon.
Thomas Tallon came to Omaha in 1867, and for three years was a member of the firm of Jones, Price & Tallon, merchant tailors. From 1875 to 1890 Mr. Tallon was in the employ of M. Hellman & Co., since which time he has conducted business for himself.
Frank Vodicka, fashionable tailor, is lo- cated at 312 South Twelfth Street, in the United States National Bank building. He learned his trade years ago in Frank Ramge's establishment, and began business in 1883 in company with Joseph Papaz, the part- nership continuing two years. Since that time he has conducted the business alone. Besides the city trade, of which he has a good share, he fills orders from western points.
R. Kalish began the tailoring business in Omaha in December, 1882, with just one nickel in his pocket. Ile has recently moved into a handsome store in the Callahan block, where he has a handsome stock of goods. Attention to business and real estate specu- lations have been profitable.
C. E. Shukert, furrier, at 407 South Fif- teenth Street, initiated his business in this city in July. 1887, with himself and one as- sistant as a working force. His trade has greatly increased since, and he now employs on an average, fifteen people.
BUTTON FACTORIES.
The making of pearl buttons is an indus- try of recent growth in Omaha, brought about by the immigration to this country of Bohemian button makers, who had been thrown out of employment in their native land by the action of the American tariff law on this class of manufactures. Anton Masilka started the business here in August
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1890, and now employs nine men. The an- cessor to the McClurg Cracker Company, is nual output of buttons is from eight thous- and to ten thousand gross, all of which is taken by the Kilpatrick-Koch Dry Goods Company.
In November, 1891, the Western Button Manufacturing Company, Frank J. Kaspar, president, and John P. Ribyl, secretary, be- gan business, employing twenty one and now over thirty men, and turning out a large number of buttons, which are sold throughout the West. This company at first operated on the system in use in the "old country " but now uses improved machinery.
MANUFACTORIES OF FOOD SUPPLIES.
The Glencoe Mills were put in opera- tion in November, 1880, by William Marsh and W. A. Smith, first as a flour mill but later the product has been confined to feed mostly.
The Omaha Milling Company built their steam mills at 1313 North Sixteenth Street, in 1887, and opened for business in March of the following year, with a capacity of 350 barrels daily. The company is composed of J. N. Paul, president; Aaron Chadwick, secretary and treasurer, and C. T. Boudinot, vice president. The 'authorized capital is $100,000, and the company employs twelve men.
The American Cereal Company, successor to the Pearl Hominy Company, filed its ar- ticles of incorporation in June, 1891. The capital is $100.000, of which fifty thousand is paid in. The incorporators are Dudley Smith, president; Edgar Allen, vice presi- dent; Charles L. Saunders, secretary and treasurer; Daniel Farrell, Jr., and William J. Cartan. The mills are in operation at East Omaha and have a capacity of two hundred barrels daily, of pearl flake hominy and corn meal, which find ready sale in the North and West and in the southern States. Employment is given to fifteen persons.
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