USA > Wisconsin > Eau Claire County > History of Eau Claire county, Wisconsin, past and present; including an account of the cities, towns and villages of the county > Part 46
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Only the best leathers obtainable in the world's tannery market are used. The French kip used in Cutter drivers is tanned at the Simon Ulho tannery at Lyons, France, and is imported especially for the Cutter company. It is considered the best leather that can be procured for this class of shoes, as French kip will stand the water as no other leather will. The French kip is used in the vamp of the Cutter shoe. A French kip tanned hide weighs from 5 to 51% pounds and only the heart of it is used.
The Phoenix Manufacturing Company, one of the largest as well as one of the oldest industries of Eau Claire, now in the fifty-third year of its existence, stands out as a landmark mark- ing progress in the manufacturing industries of the .city. In 1861 the business was organized for the purpose of building and repairing sawmill machinery, general millwright and machinist work.
The location selected at that time was on the bank of the Eau Claire river at a point now occupied by the Eau Claire Bedding Company. The present location was selected and the business moved to it in 1874.
In looking over the history of the Chippewa Valley for the past fifty years, it will be found that the Phoenix Manufacturing Company played an important part in the drama of commercial life.
In every sawmill could be found Phoenix machinery strictly up to the times. The band mill now used in all up-to-date mills was brought out by this firm as early as 1887, when the Empire Lumber Company was equipped with what was then known as the Esplin mill. A number of these were made and distributed. In 1890 a new style of band mill known as the Emerson type was constructed and a great number distributed through the States as well as Canada. Again in 1895 further improvements
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were made and another mill placed on the market, still further improvements were made and the famous Phoenix light band mill was prodneed, which is known from ocean to ocean and from gulf to northland as the mill making the largest ent of perfeet sawed lumber for the least outlay.
Not only band mills but other sawmill machinery was devel- oped and brought up to date as fast as the requirements and conditions demanded, until in every lumber state as well as many foreign lands machinery and tools made by the Phoenix Manufacturing Company are to be found in use.
This company has made it possible for the lumberman to log by steam. The log-hauling engine, being a necessity, ean now be seen at work in all the northern lumbering states and Canada, while in far-off Alaska one of these engines and a string of sleighs are to do duty. This engine has now been further developed so as to work on dirt roads as well as on snow and will be used in the west hauling wagon trains of ore from the mines.
A gasoline tractor of the centipede type is being perfected and put on the market, which is another advance movement along the line of hauling either on dirt roads or ice and snow roads.
The logging sleighs, snow plows and machinery for making logging roads; the ear stake pockets that we see on all trains of logs on our railroads, are products of these works, having been developed by men who are in actual touch with this elass of work and understand its needs.
A new machine for elearing land is now being built, capable: of elearing from six to eight acres a day, pulling the stumps and piling them, leaving the land ready for the farmer or settler. The big waterworks pumps that supply water to the cities of Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls night and day are the product of this company.
This company began business in 1861 under the firm name of Graham & Tolles. In 1865 more capital was needed and two partners were taken in, the firm name being changed to Graham, White & Company. In 1875 the company was incor- porated under the laws of Wisconsin with a capital stoek of $50,000. In 1893 this was inereased to $150,000, and in 1909 again increased to $200,000.
Thus the Phoenix Manufacturing Company, which fifty-three years ago undertook to supply a need with a capital of less than $5,000, has grown to a eoneern doing hundreds of thousands
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of dollars worth of business each year, at the same time keeping up to date in all the lines of manufacture, as can be seen by its correspondence, which extends to every state and territory. Germany, Italy, Russia, Finland, Siberia, Cuba, Japan, British Islands, Africa, Philippines, Mexico, Australia, as well as Alaska and Canada, are interested in machinery, tools and equipment made by the Phoenix Manufacturing Company.
The Chippewa Valley Casualty Company, of Eau Claire, was incorporated in 1902, with the following officers: J. T. Joyce, president ; Charles W. Fiske, treasurer, and E. W. Heiss, secre- tary. This company is operated on the industrial plan, and has done a successful business since its organization, due largely to the assistance rendered by the local corporations who are inter- ested in having their employes carry insurance of this kind for the mutual benefit of themselves and their families.
The McDonough Manufacturing Company. In 1863, there came to Eau Claire a man by the name of Frank MeDonough, who, when still a young man, learned the trade of blacksmith and carpenter. For some time after his arrival in Eau Claire he followed the occupation of millwright, and finally became superintendent of the Eau Claire Lumber Company. In those days lumbering was the chief industry of Eau Claire and north- western Wisconsin, and in order to manufacture lumber suc- cessfully it was necessary to have the right kind of machinery, being located in the heart of the lumber fields, with no insti- tution for the manufacture of mill supplies. With the knowledge of the lumber business which he gained while associated with the Eau Claire Lumber Company, he conceived the idea of estab- lishing a plant for the manufacture of sawmill machinery. Asso- ciating himself with Emmett IIoran and Peter John Holm, he organized the now famous MeDonough Manufacturing Company in 1888, with Frank MeDonough, Sr., president and treasurer ; P. J. Holm, vice-president, and Emmett Horan, secretary. The company commenced business with a capital of $100,000, was incorporated in 1889, and employed thirty-five men. The com- pany manufactured then, as it does now, sawmill machinery, engines and transmission machinery. The first year the output of the factory amounted to $85,000 in finished product, which found a ready sale in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Mr. McDonough was the active manager and under his direction the institution grew to large proportions, and in 1892 sixty men were employed and the building had been enlarged. The main
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building, 75 by 200 feet, the foundry 90 by 100 feet and the woodworking department 75 by 150 feet.
This institution has continued to grow, the plant has been considerably enlarged, the capacity increased, and now (1914) the shops are equipped with the most modern, up-to-date tools in every respect. The capital has been increased to $150,000 and the company furnishes employment for one hundred and twenty people. Mr. J. W. Hubbard is now the general manager, secretary and treasurer, and under his guidance the annual man- ufactured product amounts to $250,000, and is sold in all sections of the United States, Canada, Mexico, England, Russia, Aus- tralia, Ilolland, New Zealand, Bahama Islands and other foreign countries.
The Eau Claire Trunk Company, which is one of the impor- tant manufacturing concerns of the city of Eau Claire, was first established in 1890, and for eleven years did a successful business, but at the end of that time, in 1901, so great had become the demand for their goods, it was found necessary to increase the capacity of their factory and enlarge their capital. Accordingly, in that year incorporation papers were taken out and the working capital increased to $75,000, with the following gentlemen as officers: W. E. Wahl, president; F. Hoeppner, vice-president; G. C. Hoeppner, treasurer ; William II. Hoeppner, secretary and general manager. At this time (1914) thirty-eight people are employed in the manufacture of trunks, suitcases, bags, telescopes and all kinds of leather goods and general sample work. The annual output of this plant is at present, in dollars and cents, $80,000, while the capacity of the plant is $120,000. These leather goods are all up to date, manufactured from the best of materials by skilled workmen. A ready sale is found for their products in the markets of the United States and Canada. In addition to the factory, the company maintains a retail store on Barstow street, where a full line of leather goods is on display.
The Linderman Box & Veneer Company, one of the solid manufacturing institutions of Eau Claire, was organized in 1895 by A. T. Linderman, George S. Long, J. T. Barber and D. R. Moon, under the name of the Linderman Box & Veneer Company, with an authorized capital of $80,000. It started business with $40,000 of capital actually invested, which was increased in 1898 to $60,000 and was under the management of A. T. Linderman. It employed seventy-five men, and manufactured boxes, box
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shooks and crating lumber. Its output the first year was 5,000,- 000 feet of material, valued at $75,000, and the products were sold in the markets of Chicago and the middle west.
In a sale dated January 1, 1902, the old company disposed of its entire capital stock to a new company, consisting of T. J. Wilcox, R. P. Wilcox, George H. Chapman, S. G. Moon and D. R. Moon. The capital stock was reduced to $40,000 by the new company, which resumed business at the same location. Since that time the working capital has been increased to $70,000. The business has assumed such large proportions that from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty people are constantly employed. T. J. Wilcox, who has been with the com- pany since it began operations in 1896, has the active manage- ment of the institution, whose annual output is now about 12,000,000 feet of box lumber valued at $265,000. A ready mar- ket is found in Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee and all the principle markets as far west as the Missouri River. The present officers of the company are: D. R. Moon, president ; T. J. Wilcox, vice-president and manager; George H. Chapman, secretary and treasurer.
The company was organized by Mr. Linderman with the idea of using the refuse from the sawmills which went into the burners for the manufacture of boxes. He had invented machines for handling and working this material, and it was with the idea of utilizing these machines that the company was started. The machine for sorting this material to length and width, as it comes from the mills, is in use by several box factories, with various alterations adapted to the several plants.
The sorter in use at the above plant is practically as he designed it, with minor refinements which developed with time. Mr. Linderman left the company in 1900 to devote his energies to the manufacture of a machine for matching and gluing nar- row strips automatically, which is in almost universal use among furniture manufacturers of today.
The A. E. Burlingame Company, Inc., wholesale and retail dealers in tobacco and cigars, was incorporated April 24, 1907, with a capital of $24,000; A. E. Burlingame as president, treas- urer and general manager; C. W. Fiske as secretary. Besides their store in Eau Claire, they have branches in Chippewa Falls, Marinette and Stevens Point, Wis.
The Hoeppner-Bartlett Company, building contractors, was founded in 1898 under the name of Hoeppner & Bartlett and was incorporated in 1906 as the Hoeppner-Bartlett Company, cap-
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italized at $50,000. The present officers are: F. J. Hoeppner, president ; J. A. Davidson, vice-president; A. F. Johannes, sec- retary and treasurer. This company does a general contracting business, and are also manufacturers of sash, doors and blinds. Among the structures erected by them may he mentioned the Eau Claire public library, two additions to the Sacred Heart hos- pital, the International Harvester building, the Ninth and Fourth Ward schools, Phoenix shop and foundry, the Luther hospital, the John Walter brewing and bottling works, the Schlegelmilch building; remodeled the Armstrong hardware building, the Boberg building, the Julius Derge business building, the Fisk building, the Galloway and Commercial hotels, besides which they have built many prominent residences of the city, and are now erecting the new State Normal school in Eau Claire.
Lange Canning Company, packers of corn, peas and pumpkin. One of the largest and most important industries in Eau Claire is the Lange Canning Company, incorporated. They are packers of corn, peas and pumpkin, shipping their output to points all over the United States and turning out an average of three million cans per year. Two hundred employees are kept busy through- out the busy season. No house in the city furnishes work for more people or does a more extensive business than this. Mr. G. J. Lange is the president and manager of this house and its success has been largely due to his unceasing efforts and constant application to the interests of the company. He allows nothing but first-class goods to leave his hands and the result is a con- stant accession of patronage. He is one of the leading business men of the city, lending his assistance to all worthy movements. Mr. F. A. Lange is the secretary and has taken general charge of the mechanical end of the concern.
The Drummond Packing Company, of Ean Claire, was founded in 1873 by David Drummond under the firm name of Brooks & Drummond, and was carried on as such until 1876, when Mr. Brooks died. From that time until 1881 Mr. Drummond con- tinned the business alone and in the last named year his brothers, John and Duncan, purchased an interest in the business, which was conducted under the firm name of Drummond Brothers until it was incorporated in 1893 as the Drummond Packing Company, with a capital of $125,000. The officers for 1914 are: David Drummond, president; John Drummond, vice-president; F. W. Thomas, treasurer, and D. G. Calkins, secretary. The company does a business of $1,250,000 per year, and its packing house is an np-to-date institution. They butcher and pack 150,000 hogs
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per year, which product is shipped to all parts of the United States, Canada and Europe.
The Northwestern Steel & Iron Works was incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin in 1905 with a capital of $200,000. The officers are Kim Rosholt, president; T. W. Rosholt, vice-president, and E. R. Hamilton, secretary and treasurer. They manufacture concrete machinery, gas engines and can machinery, and employ upwards of two hundred hands, and their products are shipped all over the United States and Canada. The plant, which occu- pies floor space of 125,000 square feet, is equipped with modern machinery and electric power, and during the year 1913 they did a business of $300,000.
C. W. Cheney Company, millers and grain dealers, was founded as the Northern Grain Company, business being con- tinued under that name until 1908, when the C. W. Cheney Com- pany, with a capital of $20,000, which was increased in 1911 to $50,000, took over the business of the above concern. The present officers are C. W. Cheney, president and treasurer ; H. D. Davis, vice-president, and T. R. Kelly, secretary.
The company employs ten men and uses electric power in the manufacture, by the roller process, of wheat, rye and buck- wheat flower. Their plant has a capacity of 100 barrels per day.
The Wisconsin Refrigerator Company was established in Eau Claire in 1886 by Hochis & Smith and was operated by them until taken over by William J. Starr, of Eau Claire. A stock company was formed and incorporated as the Wisconsin Refrig- erator Company, with a capital of $50,000. The present officers are: William J. Starr, president ; C. T. Bundy, vice-president ; O. L. Brice, general manager and treasurer. They employ approximately 200 hands and their annual output is abont 40,000 refrigerators designed for use by hotels, florists, groceries, meat markets, the private home and restaurants. They also manu- facture refrigerators and cooling rooms under special designs for any purpose, and their trade extends from the states of Washington and Texas to Maine and all the large cities in Can- ada. During the year 1913 the company did a large business in Argentine, Columbia, Peru and Brazil, South America; New South Wales, Australia, Japan and several of the most important cities in China.
The Eau Claire Grocery Company was founded June 1, 1883, as the Honer-Rowe Company. The members of the firm at that time were John Honer, ex-state treasurer; William Rowe, Byron
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A. Buffington and John Gilman. On November 7, 1883, they incorporated as the Eau Claire Groeery Company, with a eapital of $40,000 and the following officers, who were all of the stock- holders at that time: B. A. Buffington, president; W. A. Rust, vice-president ; William Rowe, treasurer, and John Honer, sec- retary. In 1886 the capital was inereased to $100,000, which at this time (1914) remains the same. The present officers are : C. M. Merrill, president ; A. J. Marsh, viee-president ; T. F. Bran- ham, treasurer, and C. E. Shane, secretary. They do an exclusive wholesale grocery business and employ eight traveling salesmen in Wiseonsin and Minnesota, and twenty-four people in the house.
The Northwestern Lumber Company. A lumber business was founded by Porter and Moon in 1863. In 1870 this company was succeeded by Porter, Moon & Company, comprising Gilbert E. Porter, Delos R. Moon and Sumner T. MeKnight. Their sawmills were located at Porter's Mills and their lumber was rafted down the Chippewa and Mississippi rivers to Hannibal, Mo., where the same company condueted a wholesale,lumber yard under the firm name of S. T. MeKnight & Company. In 1873 both of these com- panies were incorporated as the Northwestern Lumber Company in Wisconsin, with headquarters at Eau Claire, and sawmills at Eau Claire, Porter's Mills, and Stanley, Wis. By reason of the exhaustion of the timber supply, the company is now operating mills at Stanley only. The corporation owns large tracts of land in Chippewa and Taylor counties which they are dis- posing of for farming purposes only. They own and operate a large general store at Stanley, where they do a business of over $300,000 per year. They own the Stanley, Merrill & Phillips railroad between Stanley and Jump River, a distance of thirty miles, which was originally constructed as a logging railway. It was incorporated in 1902 and in April, 1903 was put in oper- ation fully equipped for passenger serviee at a cost of $600,000. Its present offieers are: S. G. Moon, president ; C. D. Moon, vice-president; J. T. Barber, treasurer, and F. H. L. Cotton, secretary, with main offices at Stanley. The main office of the Northwestern Lumber Company is located at Eau Claire, with J. T. Barber, president ; S. G. Moon, vice-president and treasurer; George H. Chapman, second viee-president; C. D. Moon, seere- tary, and F. H. L. Cotten, assistant seeretary and treasurer.
The Eau Claire Cornice & Heating Company was founded in 1899 by John Panger, D. J. VanIlovenberg and E. Stoekine, under a partnership arrangement, and was eondneted until 1905.
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when they incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin with a capital stock of $25,000, with D. J. VanHovenberg, president ; E. Stockine, vice-president; C. Ehrhard, treasurer, and H. G. IIelstrom, secretary. The present officers are: Chris Ehrhard, president and treasurer, and II. G. Helstrom, secretary. They employ an average of twelve men and do a yearly business of $40,000.
The Eau Claire Book & Stationery Company was incorpo- rated under the laws of Wisconsin in 1885 by Henry F. Balcom, Mrs. Jane Putnam and H. C. Putnam, and was conducted by them until 1887, when Mr. George C. Witherby purchased the Putnam interests. The business was opened for the patronage of the people at 310 South Barstow street, and was there carried on for fifteen years, when they removed to the Drummond build- ing at 135 South Barstow street, where they remained for nine years, and then purchased the Brooks building and other prop- erty and erected their present building, which has a frontage of 75 feet on South River street and 25 feet on South Barstow street. The building being of "L" shape has a depth of 175 feet on Main street and is of red brick, three stories and a basement and contains 17,000 square feet of floor space. The company employs fifty people, and besides doing a general book and stationery business, has one of the largest and best equipped printing plants in the city, where they manufacture all kinds of legal blanks and publish their six different catalogues. The company does an extensive wholesale business through their trav- eling representatives, as well as in the mail order department, and this establishment is one of the three largest book houses west of Chicago and is the official book store of Wisconsin. The walls are covered with the finest collection of np-to-date literature from the world's best markets.
The Eau Claire Bedding Company was incorporated in 1902 with a capital of $5,000. Its present officers are R. A. Loether, president; E. J. Loether, vice-president ; J. II. Muckerheide, sec- retary and treasurer. This company gives employment to fifteen hands and are manufacturers and jobbers of mattresses, pillows, cushions, iron beds, springs, cots, eribs, go-carts, etc. Their goods are of superior quality, and rank among the best manufactured in the world.
Bark River Bridge & Culvert Company. The business of this eoncern was started as a partnership between E. J. Bergman and Ole Harstad, at Bark River, Michigan, in 1906. After three years
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of successful business there, a branch house was established in Eau Claire, with Ole Harstad as proprietor and general manager. The company have plants in both cities each covering about an acre of ground with side track and railroad facilities.
Until the latter years of the 19th century, wood had been the commonest material for bridges and culverts. Its cheapness and general availability had recommended it to road superintendents with scanty appropriations and long miles of roadway. Frequent repairs and renewals had of course been necessary, but until the sharp rise in price and decline in quality of lumber, which were attendant upon the depletion of the forests, these expenditures had been little regarded. Now, however, it came to be recog- nized that a bridge or drain made from a material which would last only five or ten years, was a poor investment ; and road build- ers turned to other forms of construction, and the corrugated enlverts are now fast taking the place of all other material.
In 1906 there was placed on the market a product which chemical analysis showed to be of a purity never before attained. It was given the name of American Ingot Iron. This metal com- bines the best quality of steel and wrought iron, and avoids the imperfections of both. It is ductile and tough and will stand the most severe bending and manipulation without a flaw. It will weld readily, and has a high degree of electrical conductivity. It has a homogeneous and finely crystalline structure, and its deusity is slightly greater than that of either wrought iron or steel. Practical experience has shown it to be resistant to corrosion to a greater degree than any commercial metal of which iron is the base. Another consideration of scarcely less practical import- ance, is the fact that American Ingot Iron takes a heavy coat of galvanizing and retains it tenaciously. Pure iron dissolves in molten zine very much less than does steel. For this reason, the spelter coating applied to it contains a minimum of dissolved iron, and resists disintegration to a remarkable degree. It is doubtless if in the progress of time and invention, two discoveries were ever made which so exactly supported and completed one another as those of the corrugated culvert and American Ingot iron, of which the Bark River Bridge & Culvert Company have the ageney in northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan.
The Farmers' Co-operative Products Company was organized in 1910. The officers are S. S. Wethern, president ; C. O. Fischer, secretary and treasurer; Robert H. Manz, manager. This com- pany handle Seal of Minnesota and Mother Hubbard flour,
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cement, feed, salt and coal, and do a general enstom grinding at their large mill in Eau Claire. They have branch places of busi- ness at Caryville, Union and Brunswick townships.
Northwestern Flour & Grain Company was incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin in 1907 with a capital of $25,000.00. They occupy a building 122x30 feet located on Railroad street. They are sole agents in Eau Claire for Gold Medal and flour of the IIub- bard Milling Company, of Mankato, Minnesota, and do an ex- tensive business in their line. They erected their own building, and besides their Eau Claire business, have a branch warehouse at Allen, this state, 40x100 feet, and another at Cleghorn 40x100 feet, where in addition to flour and grain, they deal in coal and cement. The officers of the company are A. J. Branstad, presi- dent ; Frank Harrion, vice-president. and George Thorson, secre- tary and treasurer.
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