History of Marathon County, Wisconsin and representative citizens, Part 37

Author: Marchetti, Louis. cn
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1042

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388

HISTORY.OF MARATHON COUNTY

Jacob Kolter being the first person to make the attempt, but it took several years before the excellent quality of ground quartzide became an article of commerce on a large scale.

That was a new venture in the industrial life of Marathon county which up to that time had been almost wholly confined to lumbering and the manu- facture of the products of the forest.

But the venture was successful and the field for the use of the quartzide of Rib Hill is increasing every month and will in no distant day become one of the most important industries carried on in this city.

The Wausau Sandpaper Company gets its raw material from its own quarries and grinds it for making sandpaper, making on an average 9.000 sheets each day. In making sandpaper is had to meet the competition of the old established factories, but by perseverance and by the very excellent quality of its product, it secured a steadily growing demand and an enlarged market.

The factory employs fifteen men ; the value of its output is $80,000 annu- ally; its product is shipped to every state in the Union and to eight foreign countries. It is incorporated for $100,000, and its officers are : C. S. Curtis, president ; William Kuckuck, vice-president; W. W. Albers, treasurer ; P. W. Sawyer, general manager.

H. E. MCEACHRON COMPANY

stands at the site where the first flour mill was built in Wausau by Messrs. Thayer & Corey. Water furnishes the motive power to this large flour and grist mill. It employs on an average about 45 men at Wausau and the same number at branches located throughout the Chicago & Northwestern and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railways. The value of their manufactured products during each year approximates $1,400,000. A considerable part of its product is shipped to the East. It is equipped with separate mills for wheat, rye, corn, and oats and produces about 800 barrels of flour and about 40 tons of feed stuffs per day, running night and day practically every day in the year excepting Sunday and holidays. It deals in grain, hay, potatoes, peas, beans, and seeds and has warehouses and elevators located on the Chicago & Northwestern, Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, Wisconsin Central, Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railways. Its capital and surplus is $225,- 000. Its officers are: H. E. McEachron, president; George Pfeiffer, vice- president ; Charles Dodge, treasurer ; W. E. Dodge, secretary.

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THE NORTHERN MILLING COMPANY

purchased the flour and grist mill of F. W. Kickbusch located on Scott street, in the year 1906. It is engaged in the manufacture of flour and feed, and the jobbing of flour, feed, grain, and hay. It employs on an average 10 men during the year, its business amounting annually to about $250,000. Its capi- tal stock is $100,000. It uses electrical current for motive power. Its officers are: C. G. Krueger, president; Paul Gebert, vice-president; C. H. Hooker, secretary and treasurer.

WAUSAU CANNING COMPANY.

This was the first company in the central and northern part of the state to make a business of canning peas. It was organized in the year 1903 and has since been in operation every year and did a profitable business from its beginning.

The product of this firm has become a standard article of the trade and is much in demand, more so than the company was able to supply in later years.

The peas raised in this county and canned are held the equal to the best French imported peas, and are sold in every state of the Union. Thousands of acres are under cultivation to raise the delicious little pea, and hundreds of hands are busy during the season to can it for shipment. Besides peas, the company cans also other agricultural products.

The capital stock is $40,000, with the following officers : President, P. O. Means ; vice-president and treasurer, H. G. Flieth; secretary, P. F. Stone.

PETH CANDY COMPANY

is a corporation organized to carry on the business indicated by its name. Its confectionery supplies the retail trade of a large territory and is always in good demand. Capital stock is $15,000. The officers are: President, Charles Peth; vice-president, G. D. Jones; secretary and treasurer, H. G. Flieth.

CENTRAL LEATHER COMPANY,

which is a foreign corporation, owns the tannery formerly conducted by Brodie Company. It was not operated during the last two years, but the thousands of cords of bark piled up at the tannery, together with the fact that a railroad side track was laid late last fall to the plant, is evidence that it will be idle no longer. All preparations are made for a large output in this year. When the tannery is in operation it employs from fifty to sixty men.

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HISTORY OF MARATHON COUNTY

GEORGE RUDER BREWING COMPANY.

In 1860 George Ruder established a brewery which was enlarged from time to time to suit the growing demand for the light liquid refreshment with which he supplied his customers. This brewery was destroyed by fire on June 12, 1892, but such was the confidence of the business men of Wausau in the business capacity and integrity of George Ruder that when he made known his plan of organizing a corporation and rebuilding the brewery on a larger scale, stock to the amount of $100,000 was signed in a very short time. The business was incorporated on the 29th day of July, 1892, and com- menced active operations on the 17th day of August following. The fine large brewery and malt house was completed the next spring and Columbia Hall built, a large, spacious hall for concerts and public meetings, which burned down on March 29, 1908, and was rebuilt and converted into a bot- tling establishment. There is ample cellar room for aging 50,000 barrels of beer, but the brewing and malting capacity is much higher. The refrigerator has a cooling capacity equal of melting thirty tons of ice in twenty-four hours, which keeps the cellars at an even cool and dry temperature.

The founder of this brewery, George Ruder, emigrated from Germany (Bavaria) in 1854, coming to Stevens Point in the same year, where he remained until 1860 when he came to Wausau and built the brewery and continually resided here until his death which occurred December 29, 1894.

He always took much interest in music, and through his efforts the first brass band was organized in 1867, and he took good care that it should never be without a good leader. Columbia Park, a part of the brewery ground, was cleared by him, and there was always a hall there for the amusement of the people, and the park was the picnic ground for all German societies and the German population generally, and his death was much regretted.

The company has an incorporated capital of $100,000, with the following officers: Jacob Gensman, president; Julius Quade, vice-president ; Henry Ruder, secretary and treasurer. Regular number of men employed annually, twenty-two.

THE MATHIE BREWING COMPANY.

The founder of this concern, Frank Mathie, was born in Ellwangen, Wuerttemberg, Germany, and came to Wausau in 1858 from Waupaca. He came here with I. E. Thayer, who needed a good blacksmith and mechanic to help erect the first flour mill in Wausau. Having completed his work he found sufficient employment in shoeing horses and cattle, and doing general

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blacksmith work, and he opened a shop or bought the existing shop at the foot of Washington street, now the southwest corner of McIndoe Park. He carried on this business successfully until 1868, when he sold his shop and lot to Aug. Lemke, the wagonmaker, and he himself put up his brewery. He first opened a brickyard in 1868, now the William Garske yard, in the town of Main to make the brick for the brewery, got his cellars ready in 1869 and made his first brew in that year. His beginning was on a small scale with a brew kettle holding seven barrels. From this modest start his business increased until in 1892 he determined to organize it into a corpora- tion, withdraw from active participation in it, and spend the remaining years of his life in quiet enjoyment and rest. Accordingly he organized the cor- poration in October, 1892, with a capital stock of $100,000, which was rap- idly taken by Wausau people, then turned his interest therein over to his four sons, Edward, Frank, Otto, and John who (with the exception of Edward who soon thereafter started in business for himself in California) have since carried on the business with much success until the present time. Frank Mathie died June 30, 1900, having the satisfaction to see the business entrusted to his sons to grow to big dimensions which exceeded even his expectation. The capital has lately been increased to $150,000; the capacity of the brewery is 40,000 barrels annually; two refrigerator machines keep the cellars on an even low and dry temperature; there are two 200-horsepower boilers, but electric power is now used throughout the plant ; a deep drive well furnishes clear pure water of 200 barrels per day; glass tanks are used where formerly wooden vats were used, and every sanitary contrivance is taken advantage of to make the product tasty and wholesome.

When the corporation started it increased the brewery, erected a large malt house to malt the barley for its own use ; a bottling department was added to care for the growing demand of bottled beer for family use. The present officers are : Otto Mathie, president ; John Ringle, vice-president ; John Mathie, secretary ; E. C. Zimmerman, treasurer.

UNITED STATES FOREST GROUNDWORK LABORATORY

is in a building erected on Plumer's Island (now the street railway company) by the United States Government, a few years ago. The object was to find a substitute for spruce and poplar in the manufacture for pulp in the manu- facture for paper. The investigation was carried on by the chemical experts of the department of agriculture and is claimed to have been highly suc- cessful. The chemical experts have completed their work, and the laboratory

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HISTORY OF MARATHON COUNTY

will be closed in a short time, until needed for other experimental work. The motive power for machinery used was electricity, furnished by the Wausau Street Railway Company.

WAUSAU GAS COMPANY

operates under a franchise granted to John Hempfling & Co. in 1884. After the completion of the works during the same year or soon thereafter, it passed substantially in the sole possession and control of B. G. Plumer, and after his death of his brother, D. L. Plumer, and was by him sold to the present own- ers. The company is incorporated for $200,000. It employs at an average twenty men during the year. The business done in 1912 in round figures was as follows : Gas sold, $33,000; coke and tar, $13,000; merchandise, $8,000.

Considering the high cost of freight on coal, the price charged for gas is reasonable, the rate for heating or cooking gas being 50 cents per 1,000 feet. Officers : K. L. Ames, president and treasurer; George F. Goodnow, vice- president ; C. H. Whitelaw, secretary ; H. H. Wilson, manager.

BADGER TURPENTINE COMPANY

is a new business which makes use of material heretofore supposed to be worthless and expensive even to dispose of. It uses for its raw material Nor- way pine stumps, and it makes no difference how old the stumps are, and it extracts from them the turpentine, pine oil, creosote oil, pine tar, and other by-products.

To make use of Norway stumps certainly was something new, but it is profitable. The oils are extracted by subjecting the stumps to a high degree of heat in retorts made for that purpose. The whole process is patented and has proved feasible and does everything claimed for it. The capital stock, when first incorporated in 1911, was $50,000, which has lately been increased to $100,000. The company was organized by C. V. Doran, L. B. Cate, W. H. Mylrea. Its working was interrupted in 1912 by the floods of that year, in July, 1912, which did much damage to the plant., but prompt repairs put the plant in working condition again.

The present officers of the corporation are: President, Otto Mueller ; vice- president, L. B. Cate ; secretary, W. D. Siebecker; treasurer and general man- ager, John Mohelnitzky.

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THE WAUSAU ALKALI WORKS

is a new enterprise, which is in operation in its second year. It collects the ashes and extracts therefrom the potash, making use of the ashes which were thrown to the winds and wasted. While the business is small at this time, it has all the appearance of a healthy growth.

It is conducted and owned by William E. Jones, located at Myron and Empter streets.

GINSENG RAISING.

A New Farming Industry-About thirty-five years ago, some dealers in medicinal herbs discovered that ginseng was growing in the woods of Mara- thon county and offered a good price for the dried roots of the plant, which were exported to China. The gathering of ginseng roots was made a work for boys and girls, like the picking of berries, and as the price for it paid fairly well for the work, it was gathered up year after year, until it was all har- vested, and wild growing ginseng has almost entirely disappeared. It takes seven years to grow roots large enough for commercial use, and then when the main root is dug up it does not grow again. But as there is a steady demand for this product, Mr. J. H. Koehler made a study of the plant, planted it under the same condition as it grew in the woods, in shaded enclosures, making shade by boards and brush and succeeded in raising the plant and large roots, and he became an authority in ginseng planting and raising. He has edited and printed a book, "Ginseng and Golden Seal Growers' Handbook," which is recommended to every prospective ginseng grower, and from which we quote the following :

"The root of ginseng is used for medicinal purposes, to some extent in this country, but chiefly in China. It is therefore an article of export, bought up by dealers in this country for that purpose. While an official drug in this country, according to the United States Pharmacopoeia from 1840 to 1880, it is at present classed among the unofficial drug plants and quoted as such on page 51, Bulletin, No. 89, United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. From the results obtained by recent scientific investiga- tion, indications seem favorable that the real merits of ginseng may also soon be discovered in this country, and that it will prove to be a very valuable drug. The Chinese and Koreans place a high value on it, and, indeed, regard it as a remedy for nearly all diseases. From the humblest citizen through all the grades of society, including men of most profound eastern scholarship, high officials and emperors, the inhabitants of China for ages have had unlimited

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HISTORY OF MARATHON COUNTY

faith in the power of ginseng to prevent and cure many of the ills of the human body. It is also said to be used by the wealthy class for seasoning meat.

"Among chemists who recently examined ginseng as to its medicinal quali- ties, was, according to the United States Dispensatory, Mr. S. S. Garrigus, who obtained from it an entirely new substance, the nature and value of which he seems to have been unable to determine. He names the element Panaquilon, and gave the formula C1,H25Og (United States Dispensatory 17th ed. 1896, p. 1712)."

GOLDEN SEAL.

"Golden Seal ( Hydrastis Canadensis) is another medicinal plant, which, on account of the rapid increase in prices paid for the root during late years, has attracted the attention of people who are inclined to embark in freak farming. While in 1895 the price paid was only 17 cents per pound, the prices have steadily increased since that time, so that in the fall of 1911 $4.50 per pound was paid for the article, and indications are favorable that still higher prices can be expected, as the wild supply of the forest decreases.

"Experiments as to the possibility of growing the plant have been made at the Government Experiment Station, as well as by individuals in different parts of the United States, and it was found that it could be successfully and profitably grown even in 1906, at a time when the price was only $1.25 per pound."

Golden seal as a medicinal herb is used in the United States for its med- ical qualities with a steady increasing demand, and can be grown in Marathon county in shorter time and with quicker returns than ginseng and may become an article of commerce in Marathon county as well as ginseng.

Under the management of J. H. Koehler, ginseng growing has become an industry to a limited extent, and the following firms have engaged in it on a large scale, to-wit :

Badger Ginseng Company, a corporation which has 51/2 acres in the city of Wausau in ginseng. Capital stock is $50,000. Its officers are: J. H. Koehler, president; A. F. Rapraeger, vice-president; A. A. Bock, secretary; W. H. Koehler, treasurer.

The Wausau Ginseng Gardens have 33/4 acres in ginseng. Capital stock, $35,000. The officers are: J. H. Koehler, president; H. Denfeld, vice-presi- dent; H. J. Seim, secretary ; W. H. Koehler, treasurer.

Wisconsin Ginseng Gardens, Incorporated. Officers: J. H. Koehler, presi- dent; Lydia Koehler, vice-president ; W. H. Koehler, secretary and treasurer,

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There are several other gardens of from one-half to one and one-half acres in extent throughout the county and the raising of this medicinal root promises to become a profitable staple article of export from Marathon county.

THE MARATHON GRANITE COMPANY.

Ever since the creation of the world a source of wealth was stored under the soil of Marathon county, which remained unknown for half a century after it was settled upon by civilized men. It is only of recent date that some of it has been made useful to mankind, and by its production and preparation for use has added an industry to the county which bids fair to become of the greatest importance, and which will flourish until the end of time. This source of wealth is the granite deposits underlying the soil of Marathon county, outcroppings of which can be seen everywhere, and unlike the timber saw mill supply, the raw material to be worked up in this industry is inexhaustible.

The first quarry was opened and granite first used as an article of com- merce by Adam Groth and Hugo Peters in 1884. Groth was the practical man, and Peters furnished some of the means to set the business in motion, relying on his partner for its successful operation.

They were the pioneers, and they shared the fate of most of them; they were new in the business, unacquainted with market conditions, and found it unprofitable, mainly because the firm limited itself to the making of paving stones for street pavements for the Chicago market, which was at that time already on the decline, granite block pavement giving way to other, smoother ones. This firm went out of business in 1886 and was succeeded at the same place (Heights) by L. S. Cohn and Alexander Robertson, who sought to make use of the stone for monumental purposes, which required artistic work- manship, and brought consequential higher returns.

One of the best works gotten out by this firm is the Soldiers' monument at the courthouse square in Wausau, but the work was still carried on on a very limited scale, the market being confined to Wausau and the neighboring coun- ties, furnishing building stone and cemetery monuments, with a small number of men engaged in the work.

In 1897 Fred J. De Voe, another quarryman and stonecutter, was attracted, saw its possibilities and bought the interest of Cohn & Robertson with a view of developing the property. He went into the business alone, working up a trade, before he appproached others with an intention to interest them in the venture. When his business was well established, knowing that good mate-

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HISTORY OF MARATHON COUNTY

rial and artistic workmanship would not of itself provide an extended market, but that it takes advertisements and introduction in other places before a profitable business on a large scale could be established, he busied himself to find the capital that was needed for that purpose.

After working the business alone for some time, to show just what could be accomplished and produced under good management, he interested some of the men of means in Wausau in joining him in the development and ex- tension of the works, and with R. E. Parcher, D. J. Murrey, Walter Alex- ander and D. L. Plumer as principal stockholders, they incorporated under the firm name of "Marathon County Granite Company," with a capital of $100,000- leaving the management to F. J. DeVoe as heretofore.

The works were removed from Heights to Wausau late in the fall of 1901 and they have been ever since in operation, with an output increasing from year to year.

The works are located on the north end of Second street, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, which has a side-track to facilitate shipping. For some years after the incorporation there were no dividends for stock- holders, but this did not surprise them, for they knew the business was not established on the "get-rich-quick" plan. It was first to be put on a solid foundation like the rock which it works and puts on the market; all available money was used to improve the works and introduce the product in other states to make it known and conquer a market. It was the effort of the com- pany to make fine interior finishings, besides monumental work, and intro- duce and make a demand for them, and in that respect it succeeded beyond expectation.

Among the big contracts given this company may be mentioned: The inside finishings for the east wing of the capitol in Madison, to be furnished during the summer of 1913 for $14,000; inside finishing for the big Insur- ance and Bank Building in Salt Lake City ; a monument in memory of Haney, the builder of the Alaska Railroad, erected and set up in Seattle by his brother, consisting of an immense cross resting on bases, all polished, at a cost of $12,000. The monumental works of this institution are now sold and shipped to every state in the Union.

The Marathon county granite which furnishes the raw material for them is fine-grained, free from flaws or spots, which takes on a very high polish, which is practically as indestructible as the rock itself, which in every respect is equal to the best of Scotch.

The company has four quarries, the stone differing in color from light to dark red, green and gray, to suit the taste of the individual buyer. The im-

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mense growth of the business is due to the strenuous efforts and excellent management of F. J. DeVoe, whose business capacity and integrity, coupled with his art as a stonecutter and sculptor, enlisted men of capital to furnish the means for a business venture wholly unknown to them, only relying on his competency and probity, and subsequent events have fully justified the trust imposed in him.

In spite of the enlarged capacity of the plant, the granite industry is still only in its infancy in Marathon county, and its growth will be the more speedy since access is already had to the markets of the states in the Union.

Another granite work is doing a large business, the same being still situ- ated at Heights, which will be mentioned as being situated in the town of Texas.

The Marathon County Granite Work employ on an average 125 men throughout the year; its machinery was worked by steam, but of late electric power furnished by the Wausau Street Railroad is used.

The officers are: President, D. J. Murrey; vice-president, J. M. Lull; secretary and treasurer, P. F. Stone ; manager, Fred J. De Voe.

THE WAUSAU STREET RAILROAD COMPANY

was organized by the signing of the articles of incorporation on the 28th day of August, 1906, by Neal Brown, G. D. Jones, V. A. Alderson and M. C. Ewing. The original capital stock was $60,000 in 600 shares of $100 each. Actual work of construction was begun in the fall of 1906, and during the following year over two miles of track was laid in the city of Wausau. ex- tending from the cemetery north. The road began operations May 25, 1907. The original capital for the stock was raised by local subscriptions of small amounts, there having been about 100 stockholders. The first ex- tension to the road was made to the west side in 1907, and during the same year the line was extended to Wausau avenue north on Sixth street. In the spring of 1908 the line was extended to the Eau Claire river, in the village of Scholfield, and during the same year extended further south to what is known as Rothschield Park. The company erected a rustic pavilion in this park, which was afterwards destroyed by fire and replaced by a larger build- ing, built of stone, rocks and steel. In March, 1908, the company purchased the entire property of the Wausau Electric Company, consisting of their elec- trical distributing lines, real estate, water power, and power station. The company has been successful and has had good patronage from the beginning. At the present time the capitalization is $750,000. The company furnishes

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History of Marathon County, Wisconsin and representative citizens, Part 37

Author: Marchetti, Louis. cn Publication date: 1913 Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1042

Author: Marchetti, Louis. cn
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1042