History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895, Part 53

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. cn
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago and New York, American Biographical Publishing Co
Number of Pages: 840


USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 53


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less than the shipments of wheat from Milwaukee since 1841, and but eight million one hundred and five thousand three hundred and eighteen bushels greater than the shipments since 1858.


The first load of wheat brought to the Mil- waukee market was in 1839, and came from Cald- well's Prairie, in Racine county. It brought fifty cents a bushel, so one report says, and the farmer, after "comparing his return with the cost," thought, like a great many others of his class in the early days of the trade, that the wisest and most profitable thing he could do, was to move himself out of the country. Thomas Whitney, in his admirable address on the early history of trade and commerce, delivered on the 3d of February, 1863, says that this load of wheat was bought by the Ludingtons, and " elevated to the upper loft of their warehouse upon the shoulders of Harry Ludington, who thus acquired to himself the fame of being the first wheat elevator ever established in Milwaukee." This grain was sold to the firm for fifty cents a bushel, and was re-sold by them for feed, there being no other use to which the article could be put at that time. Mr. Whitney says that in 1841 and 1842 the receipts of grain were merely nominal-not over ten thousand to fifteen thousand bushels yearly; and that in those days " wheat was looked upon not only with a good deal of suspicion, but as a good deal of a nuisance, there being only now and then a man found with sufficient courage to even look at the stuff, much less to purchase it."


In dealing with the history of the trade and commerce of Milwaukee great care has been taken to secure accuracy in figures, but it must be borne in mind that no strict accounts were kept in those early times as to imports and exports, or even re- specting the volume of local trade, therefore the figures given are largely estimates, but in many cases they approximate very closely to correctness.


In 1840 the imports by water were estimated at one million one hundred and fifty thousand dol- lars, and in 1851 they had reached twenty-one million seven hundred and eighty-two thousand four hundred and thirty-four dollars. The ex- ports were reckoned at fifty-three thousand dol- lars in 1840, and the growth of the town is illustrated in the statement that in 1848 the exports had reached three million three hundred and twenty-eight thousand dollars, and in 1861, nearly twenty-one million dollars. It is stated


282


HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.


by Buck# that the shipments from this port in 1842 were, lead, two million five hundred thousand pounds ; wheat, twenty thousand bushels ; flour, two thousand seven hundred and fifteen barrels for the first half of the year; whitefish, two thou- sand barrels; and the imports were three thousand tons of merchandise and four million feet of lum- ber. For 1843, the imports were said to consist of ten thousand tons of merchandise ; two thou- sand five hundred barrels of flour ; two thousand bushels of apples ; nine hundred barrels of pork ; ten thousand bushels of oats ; five thousand bush- els of corn and three million feet of lumber. The chief exports for the same year were placed as follows : Wheat, twenty-five thousand bushels ; lead, two million five hundred thousand pounds ; hides, seven thousand pounds ; furs, one hundred bales; shot, two hundred and fifty thousand pounds; flour, one thousand five hundred barrels; and pork, two thousand five hundred barrels.


Dr. I. A. Lapham, who had paid considerable attention to the study of the early history of the city, gathered the following figures, showing the total imports and exports from 1835 to 1841 :


Year.


Imports.


Exports.


1835-6.


$ 588,950


$ 26,145


1837.


641,235.


47,745


1838


783.458


47,960


1839.


866,740


43,568


1840.


1,147,803


53,828


1841


1,805,277


286,777


Milwaukee was a large importer of flour until 1845, when the trade in that article began to flow outward instead of inward. The growth of the exports of wheat and flour from 1845 to 1849, both inclusive, can be seen at a glance in the fol- lowing table:


Year.


Wheat, bus.


Flour, bbls.


1845


95,510.


7,560


1846.


213,446.


15,756


1847.


595,011.


34,840


1848.


612,474.


92,732


1849.


1,146,807.


201,942


The exports from the port of Milwaukee for 1846, are given in MacCabe's city directory for 1846-47, as follows: Wheat, two hundred and thirteen thousand four hundred and forty-eight bushels; flour, fifteen thousand seven hundred and fifty-six barrels; barley, five thousand three hun- dred and eighty-four bushels; corn, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five bushels; lead, one million seven hundred and seventy thousand six


hundred and fifty pounds ; broom corn, one hun- dred and seven thousand five hundred and forty- five pounds; wool, ten thousand five hundred and- sixty-two pounds; hides, five thousand five hundred and thirteen pounds; general merchandise, three hundred and fourteen thousand one hundred and forty-three pounds.


The next account we have of the imports and ex- ports, is for 1849, the imports being valued at three million eight hundred and twenty-eight thousand six hundred and fifty dollars; largely consisting of salt, furniture, coal, lime, fruit and so on. The exports were chiefly wheat, flour, pork, hides, beef, lead, and were valued at two million ninety-eight thousand four hundred and sixty-nine dollars.


The growth of the city is impressively illus- trated in figures which show the rapid expansion of imports and exports from 1854 to 1856. The total imports for 1854 were eleven million one hundred and twenty-four thousand eight hundred and three dollars ; for 1855, eighteen million six hundred and forty-nine thousand eight hundred and thirty-two dollars; and for 1856, twenty-seven million nine hundred and seventy-four thousand seven hundred and forty-eight dollars. The imports of lumber alone had increased from forty- five million two hundred and thirty thousand feet in 1854, to one hundred and twenty-three million nine hundred and eighty-two thousand feet in 1856. The total exports in dollars and cents for the same period, were as follows: 1854, seven million seven hundred and nine thousand five hundred and seventy-one dollars; 1855, seventeen million three hundred and twenty-nine thousand five hundred and thirty-one dollars; 1856, twenty million two hundred and seventy-four thousand three hundred dollars.


It would require the surrendering of too much space and a bewildering array of tabulated figures, to show, year by year, the progress made by trade and commerce from the time the city established its reputation as a grain market and manufactur- ing center, to 1894. The purpose of this work can be better accomplished, and the interests of the readers better subserved, by briefly noting under three or four heads, the advancement of trade in such articles as wheat, flour, pork and coal.


It has already been stated that the first ship- ment of wheat from the port of Milwaukee was in 1841, when four thousand bushels were put on board the schooner " Illinois," by Holton & Good-


Pioneer History of Milwaukee.


283


THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE AND COMMERCE.


all, and sent eastward. In 1845, there were ninety-five thousand five hundred and ten bushels exported. In 1849, the shipments reached one million one hundred and thirty-six thousand five hundred and seventy bushels ; and by 1860 the exports amounted to seven million five hundred and sixty-eight thousand six hundred and eight bushels, and the receipts to nine million one hun- dred and eight thousand four hundred and fifty- eight bushels. One year later the receipts rose to fifteen million seven hundred and thirty thousand seven hundred and six, and the shipments to thirteen million three hundred thousand bushels. In 1870, the receipts were eighteen million eight hundred and eighty-three thousand bushels,and the shipments sixteen million one hundred and twenty- seven thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight bushels. The wheat trade of Milwaukee reached its climax in 1873, when the receipts were swelled to the enormous amount of twenty-eight million four hundred and fifty-seven thousand nine hun- dred and thirty-seven bushels, and the shipments to twenty-four million nine hundred and ninety-


four thousand two hundred and sixty-six bushels. After that date there was a gradual decline in the trade, the lowest ebb being found in 1889, when the amount received was only seven million four hundred and sixty-nine thousand two hun- dred and eighty-nine bushels, and the shipments fell to one million eight hundred and eighty-two thousand and twenty bushels. It was through the persistent effort of the Chamber of Commerce that the grain trade saw a revival, and in 1892 the receipts of wheat reached fifteen million two hundred and four thousand six hundred and thirty-nine bushels-the largest amount received in any one year since 1879-and for 1893 the receipts were twelve million eight hundred and six thousand three hundred and nineteen bushels. The grain trade has been such an important factor in the growth of Milwaukee that it will be inter- esting to many of the readers of this history to study the following table, giving the receipts of wheat, corn, oats, barley and rye in this city annually since the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce in 1858 to 1893 :


RECEIPTS OF GRAIN AT. MILWAUKEE, ANNUALLY, SINCE 1858.


YEAR.


Wheat, bus.


Corn, bus.


Oats, bus.


Barley, bus.


Rye, bus.


Total, bus.


1858


4,876,177


106,891


662,470


159,673


21,796


5,827,007


1859


5,580,681


156,341


391,162


124,016


47,733


6,299,933


1860


9,108,458


126,404


178,963


109,795


52,382


9,576,002


1861.


15,730,706


114,931


151,346


66,991


73,448


16.137,422


1862.


15,613,995


258,456


282,765


141,997


154,576


16,451,789


1863.


13,485,419


358,450


948,429


233,447


158,882


15,184,627


1864


9,147,274


460,575


1,055,844


198 325


88,541


10,950.559


1865


12,043,659


657,492


270,754


149,443


134,360


13,255,708


1866.


12,777,557


1,817,230


789,080


152,696


383,030


15,919,593


1867.


12,523,464


1,156,319


693.684


192,007


237,303


14,802,777


1868


12,761,648


994,748


620,794


244,932


210,923


14,833,045


1869


17,745,238


722,949


487,564


247,499


203,804


19,407,054


1870


18,883,837


638,098


436,318


585,971


190,593


20,734,817


1871.


15,686,611


1,151,382


1,121,950


874,070


466,341


19,300,354


1872


13,617,959


2,140,178


1,597,726


1,532,078


409,573


19,297 514


1873.


28,457,937


921,391


1,602,129


1,209,474


376,634


32,567,565


1874.


25,628.143


1,313.642


1,403,898


1,083,472


284,522


29,713,677


1875.


27,878.727


949.605


1,643,132


1,675,716


230,834


32,378,014


1876


17,140,773


797,428


1,572,031


1,564,845


350,139


21,425,216


1877.


19,243,477


928,149


1,226,924


1,988,357


323,215


23,709,122


1878.


19,347,216


933,556


1,770,687


2,882,884


779,528


25,703,871


1879.


17,813,671


1,340,511


1,479,262


3,837,058


792,549


24,373,021


1880.


10,840,621


2,113,837


1,781.078


2,561,578


795,561


18,091,675


1881.


8,753,803


821.625


2,544,821


3,359,749


567,018


15,047.016


1882


7,739 662


985,310


1,692,498


3,622,048


402,816


14,442,234


1883


8,404,322


2,171,322


1,624,529


5,277,156


460,117


17 946 446


1884.


10,167,521


789,680


1,547,386


4,702,666


300,568


17,507,821


1885


9,846,984


637,(65


1,666,948


5,392,106


279,267


17,822,280


1886.


8,527,080


719,230


2,073,002


6,019,424


221.716


17,560,452


1887.


9.346,756


918,588


2,568,936


5.778,663


945 509


18,852.452


1888


8,129,315


1,168,100


2,975,000


6,465.471


832,401


19,570,287


1889.


7.469,289


1,024.175


2,664,000


6,765,537


786,720


18,79,721


1890.


8,046 462


844,200


3.901,855


10,825,391


1,312,471


24,933.378


1891.


10,846,495


1,149,270


4.799,684


10,001,293


2,021,477


28,818,219


1892.


15,204.639


1,396,790


7,616,398


11,778,298


1,587,724


36,683,849


1893.


12,806,319


1,455,975


8,097,474


12,000,176


1,224,490


35,584,394


284


HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.


According to the generally accepted statement, the first output of flour in Milwaukee was in the fall of 1844, and was manufactured by Anderson & Wolcott. The mill was built at the foot of Canal street, and had two runs of stone. There were two mills built in Milwaukee that year, and two in 1846, all using water power. It is stated, on the authority of Mr. Buck, that the first steam flour mill was erected in 1847, by Goodrich & Easton, and had four runs of stone. The advancement of the milling business in the city was one of wonder- ful rapidity, and up to 1860 there were fourteen mills within a circuit of five miles, turning out over two hundred thousand barrels of flour annually.


For many years the three great milling centers of the United States have been Minneapolis, Mil- waukee and St. Louis. In showing the compara- tive increase in the output of flour in these cities, the following figures are of special interest : In 1889, Minneapolis made six million eighty-eight thousand eight hundred and sixty-five barrels; Milwaukee, one million two hundred and sixty-six thousand two hundred and twenty-six, and St. Louis two million sixty-six thousand four hundred and forty-two; in 1891, Minneapolis increased to seven million eight hundred and seventy-seven thousand nine hundred and forty-seven barrels, Milwaukee to one million eight hundred and twen- ty-six thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight, and St. Louis fell to one million seven hundred and forty-eight thousand one hundred and ninety-one ; and in 1892, Minneapolis rose to nine million seven hundred and fifty thousand four hundred and seventy barrels-Milwaukee reached the highest production in its history-two million one hundred and seventeen thousand and nine, and St. Louis de- clined to one million six hundred and twenty-three thousand three hundred and seventy-one barrels. The figures in the following table are eloquent in showing the expansion of the milling industry of the city during the past thirty-five years :


ANNUAL OUTPUT OF MILWAUKEE MILLS SINCE 1856, STATED IN BARRELS.


Year.


Output.


Year.


Output.


Year.


Output.


1893


1,850,823 1581.


859,388 1869


481,511


1892


2,117,009 1880.


637,157 1868 ..


624,930


1891.


1.826,758 1879. .


752,133 1867


546.000


1890.


1,397,039 1878.


555,049 1866.


328,730


1889


1,266,226 1877


561,201 1865


212,829


1888


1,435,258 1876


647,581 1864


187,339


1887.


1,214,648 1875.


746,126 1863


185,813


1886


952,802 1874.


735,481 1862


221,729


1885.


961,152 1873


634,102 1861.


250,256


1884


1,070,860 1872


560,206 1860.


202,810


1883.


879,512 1871.


567,893 1859.


149,500


1882.


1,346,509 1870.


530,049


Mr. Whitney, in his chamber of commerce ad- dress, previously referred to, says that before 1851, the amount of pork put up in the Milwaukee market for Eastern shipment, did not exceed three thousand barrels ; that in 1841, Mr. Brown packed about one thousand barrels, and in 1848-9 Mr. Dousman packed about the same amount ; and that these two lots made the bulk of the packing business from the beginning of the city prior to 1851. New life seems to have been infused into the packing industry in 1851, for in that year the business had grown to two thousand five hundred barrels of beef and six thousand barrels of pork ; and the next record we' have as to barrels is for 1861, when the packing had grown to twenty thousand of beef, and ninety-five thousand barrels of pork. It is said that the first live-stock market in the city was opened in August, 1856, by Layton & Plankinton, and the first year's business amounted to sixty thousand dollars. The increase of railway facilities had the effect to bring to the city a large number of live hogs, the packing previous to that time being chiefly confined to dressed hogs brought in by the farmers on wagons or sleighs; so that in 1858-9 there were thirty- two thousand hogs packed in Milwaukee. From this time on the packing industry made wonder- ful strides, and we find that during the season of 1862-3 there were one hundred and eighty-two thousand three hundred hogs packed, and in 1870-1 the number was two hundred and forty thousand three hundred and forty-four. In 1878-9 the packers cut up five hundred and fifty thousand three hundred and seventy-four hogs. The busi- ness ran quite evenly for several years, when in 1890-1 the high point was reached, the total sum- mer and winter's business being seven hundred and one thousand eight hundred and nine hogs. The packing of 1892-3 was three hundred and eighty- four thousand five hundred and ninety-four hogs, of which the Cudahy Brothers packed three hundred and twenty-five thousand two hundred and seven- teen. The falling off was due to the great short- age of the hog crop. The Cudahy Brothers erected a new packing house in 1894, and a new company was formed to operate the extensive Plankinton plant which had been idle for about one year. These additions have given Milwaukee the facili- ties for packing a million and a half hogs annually.


Among the many surprises in the growth of trade in Milwaukee is especially that of coal.


285


THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRADE AND COMMERCE.


According to the report of the Chamber of Com- merce, there were no published receipts of coal at this market prior to 1862; the amount was very small, however, judging from the receipts given by the chamber for that year. The increase of the coal trade during the three decades following 1862, is strikingly presented in the following table :


Tons.


1862, total receipts of coal. 21,860


1872, total receipts of coal. 210,194


1882, total receipts of coal. 593,842


1892, total receipts of coal. 1,372,322


The growth of the lumber interests of Milwau- kee has been of such a magnitude as to excite the pride of the city. In 1853 the receipts of lumber were but fifteen million three hundred and eighty- six thousand feet. In 1865 the amount was forty- two million fifty-five thousand. The greatest stride in the business was made between 1886- when the receipts were two hundred and twenty- eight million feet-and 1892, when they had reached three hundred and ninety-nine million one hundred and seven thousand feet, not including forty-two million shingles and eleven million feet of laths.


It is interesting to observe the advance made in the barley market during the past twenty years. In the table of grain receipts at Milwaukee since 1858, printed in full elsewhere in this chapter, it will be seen that barley was the lowest on the list in 1874, excepting rye, the receipts that year be- ing one million eighty-three thousand bushels, while in 1893 there were only eight hundred and six thousand bushels less than wheat, the amount brought to this market reaching twelve million one hundred and thirty-six bushels. Nearly two- thirds of all the wheat received at Milwaukee dur- ing 1892 was consumed by the city mills, and in the same year a little over six million bushels of barley were used by our own brewers and maltsters.


It is difficult to obtain thoroughly trustworthy figures respecting the volume of the wholesale trade of Milwaukee prior to 1856. In that year the report of the Board of Trade showed that there were twenty grocery houses, eight dry goods establishments and sixteen.lumber yards, all doing a jobbing business, and it was estimated that the wholesale trade, including all branches, aggregated sixteen million nine hundred and forty- two thousand dollars. Of this amount it was re- ported that the grocery houses sold three million four hundred and one thousand dollars, and the


dry goods houses one million eight hundred and thirty thousand dollars. In 1880 it was estimated that the wholesale grocery business was nineteen million dollars, and the dry goods only four million five hundred thousand dollars, which is doubtless an over-estimate on groceries and an under-esti- mate on dry goods.


In 1892, when the Advancement Association issued "Milwaukee's Great Industries," the whole- sale grocery trade was placed at twelve million dollars annually, the dry goods at eight million dollars, and the drug business at two million five hundred thousand dollars, making a total of twenty-two million five hundred thousand dollars on only three lines of trade.


In March, 1861, twenty mercantile firms of Milwaukee joined hands in organizing the Mer- chants' Association, and the late John Nazro was the first president. The object of the association was to " promote just and equitable principles in trade; to discover and correct abuses; to unite the mercantile community for the purpose of ad- vancing and increasing the trade and business of the city of Milwaukee ; to support such means as may be deemed best to promote this end, and to use their influence as a body to protect their rights as citizens and merchants."


The association gradually increased in useful- ness and strength, and in 1880 the membership was composed of one hundred and one firms, and at this writing-the summer of 1894 -- there are about three hundred and fifty firms uniting their thought and energy in advancing the commercial interests of the city through the agency of the Merchants' Association. New and commodious rooms for the association have been secured in the University building on Broadway, and with a rapidly increasing membership and an infu- sion of new zeal, the organization is determined to expend its utmost energy in pushing onward such work as shall be the most practical and helpful for the city.


The history of the Chamber of Commerce of Milwaukee is so intimately associated with the history of the trade and commerce of the city that it will be fully in keeping with the purposes of this chapter to connect therewith a brief account of the growth of that organization.


The first Board of Trade of Milwaukee was or- ganized on the 1st of March, 1849, and consisted of thirty-seven members. This was the pioneer


286


HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.


commercial organization of the city, and E. D. Holton was its president, and Daniel Wells, Jr., was vice-president. The first report of the board was for the year 1849, and shows that the manu- factures for that year were valued at one million seven hundred and fourteen thousand two hundred dollars. After an existence of two years the board appears to have died a natural death, but was revived in December, 1852, with an increased membership and a new constitution. Its existence was somewhat precarious, however, and in 1855 it was again reorganized, taking the name of the " Board of Grain Dealers " and "Corn Exchange," and Horatio Hill was made president. In 1856 the Corn Exchange held a meeting, and L. J. Higby was elected president, and Andrew J. Aikins, now of the Evening Wisconsin, was secre- tary. During the life of the Corn Exchange, the Board of Trade maintained a nominal organiza- tion only, but was revived with considerable vigor in 1857, when the grain trade of Milwaukee had assumed an important magnitude. In 1858 the Corn Exchange became the Chamber of Com- merce, and L. J. Higby was chosen president, and L. L. Crouse, secretary. On the 21st of October of that year a resolution was adopted to adjourn to the 25th of the month, at 12 M., and daily thereafter at the same hour. That was thirty-seven years ago; but from that day to this the Chamber of Commerce has held uninterrupted daily sessions on every business day, except special holidays, for the sale of grain and other produce. From the day of its organization through all the succeeding years, the Chamber of Commerce has been an im- portant factor in the development and progress of Milwaukee, being the initial promoter of nearly every popular movement for the public welfare.


The first permanent quarters of the chamber were on the main floor of the building No. 1 Spring street, now Grand avenue, at present occu- pied by Henry Wehr. This room was dedicated on Tuesday evening, November 16, 1858, and Mr. E. D. Holton delivered an interesting and elaborate address on the early history of the business inter- ests of the city. The chamber remained at No. 1 Grand avenue for several years; but with the growth of the organization and the increase of business came a demand for more commodious accommodations, and accordingly rooms were leased of Ogden, Brown & Mitchell, in a new building then on the site of the present Chamber


of Commerce. This place was occupied until 1878, when the chamber moved into the Munk- witz building on Broadway, and there remained during the construction of the magnificent build- ing erected by the late Alexander Mitchell ex- pressly for the Chamber of Commerce. The new chamber was dedicated with brilliant ceremony and a royal banquet at the Newhall House on the evening of November 18, 1880.


To show the admirable spirit and purpose of the Chamber of Commerce, it is fitting to note the fact that during the late war the organization was active in encouraging the enlistments of volunteers by raising funds for the support of soldiers' families not otherwise provided for, and also in receiving and entertaining the remnants of each of the returning regiments after the sup- pression of the rebellion. It was largely through the efforts of the chamber that the "Soldiers' Home Fair" was organized and conducted by the ladies of Milwaukee, which resulted in the raising of a fund of over one hundred thousand dollars, and securing to the city the location of the National Soldiers' Home for disabled volunteers.




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