History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc., Part 275

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052

USA > Wisconsin > History of northern Wisconsin, containing an account of its settlement, growth, development, and resources; an extensive sketch of its counties, cities, towns and villages, their improvements, industries, manufactories; biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers; views of county seats, etc. > Part 275

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MANUFACTURING.

For the year ending June 30, 1880, the value of the products of the city manufactories was $4,628,085 on an invested capital of $2,746,153. Over 2,000 hands were employed. These figures are taken from the last census returns, and would be increased for the year 1881 by fully

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HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

twenty-five per cent. The business of some of the leading manufacturers is recorded as follows :

Capital invested.

Value of products.

Lumber and shingles .. .$1,178,553

$1,046,859

Sash, doors and blinds ..

417,000

797,120

Carriages, sleighs, etc ...

43,975

279,100

Flour-mills

105,000

242,437

Castings and machinery, tin

and iron work, etc.

120,000

180,000

These figures represent a city of bustling activity, the center of the lumber manufacture of the State. During the season of 1880, 100,000,000 feet of lumber, 10,000,000 feet of lath, 145,000,000 shingles, 440,000 windows, doors, and 82,000 pair of blinds were turned out from the lumber mills, and sash, door and blind factories of Oshkosh. On January 1, 1881, 60,000,000 feet of lumber, 5,600,000 feet of lath, 30,000,000 shingles, and 21,253,027 feet of logs were on hand.

HOTELS.

In 1846, Webster Stanley opened the first hotel on Ferry Street. To meet the demands of the growing village, he erected a building on its site, which had more the appear- ance of the modern hotel. Next, M. Griffith appeared as a landlord-then Otis & Earl. From these small beginnings have grown the harvest of hotels, which make the accom- modations of Oshkosh, for travelers, first-class. The Fre- mont House, the new Revere House, just completed and opened to the public, the Fowler House, the Seymour House, and dozens of other smaller establishments, supply the de- mands of such a stirring population as is ever surging through the city.

LUMBER MARKET.

Oshkosh is, on account of its natural position and the circumstances of the development of the country to the north of it. the great lumber market of the State. In early days, and for many years, the valley of the Fox River and the region near the shores of Green Bay, were being cleared of timber by many lumbering settlements. The dense pine lands of the valley of the Wolf, on the contrary, were, and are. tributary to one point-Oshkosh. A prominent citi- zen of Oshkosh has thus briefly but forcibly described her natural advantages of position : "The City of Oshkosh, bearing the name of the town in which it is located, orig- inally called Winnebago, stands on the west bank of Lake Winnebago, eighteen miles from the head of the lake, and ten miles from the foot, and on both sides of the Fox River, at its month. This river, from its breadth and depth of water, forms an excellent harbor, and affords every desirable facility for commercial operations. Its navigable waters for 110 miles, form an outlet for the products of a large scope of productive country. The Wolf River, a much larger stream, mingles its waters with the Fox about twelve miles from its mouth, the two immediately widening into a beautiful lake, and then their united waters form a deep and broad channel to the lake at the mouth, where the city of Oshkosh now stands. The question is often asked, why the Fox should take the name of the Wolf. when the latter is several times its size ? The answer is, the Fox Indians, for many years far back, possessed all the country from the head- waters of the Fox River to its mouth at Green Bay, including both the Upper and Lower Fox, and would never relinquish the name; though it is to be regretted that the Lower Fox should not now have its original name-Neenah -by way of distinction, and the Wolf have retained its

name to its mouth. The Wolf River is navigable for boats of large size for seventy-five miles, and an equal distance further for those of lesser size, and drains, with its tributa- ries, the great pineries, bringing to our doors the rich prod- nets of that extensive region-a greater source of wealth, perhaps, than all others our city enjoy. Add to this the agricultural resources, standing as it does in the midst of a country whose fertility is surpassed by none in the State ; and to this, again, a salubrious and healthful climate, and we have a few of the leading attractions which belong to Oshkosh on account of its position. It is on the 44th par- allel of north latitude; 52 miles from Green Bay, and 170 feet above the waters of the bay ; 110 miles northeast from Portage City, and 14 feet lower ; and from the Mississippi River, at the mouth of the Wisconsin, it is 222 miles, and 140 feet higher It is 90 miles from Milwaukee and 192 from Chicago. In beauty and advantage of location, it is not excelled by any city in the Northwest.

" Up to the year 1848, Green Bay was the port of entry for all commercial operations, and a depot for all supplies for Northern Wisconsin, from time almost immemorial. From the first occupation of the country by the white man, Green Bay was the outfitting post for Northern and Western posts, and her foundries and machine shops supplied ma- chinery, her mills the flour, and her stores the provisions. In short, the people of this new town had been accustomed to look to Green Bay for almost everything they had to buy, until stores and provision houses could be started. The change of trade from that place may be attributed to several causes. Sheboygan began to offer a better market. with a means of transportation more favorable, as well as a market better supplied. The Lower Fox River presented serious obstacles in navigation, and caused great delays in getting goods from the East, while the new route from Sheboygan, with a plank road to Taycheedah, on the East shore of Lake Winnebago, and boats to this place, presented less difficulties and delays, and at cheaper rates. These were some of the canses, and perhaps the main ones, that caused so radical a change as took place; and until the completion of the railroad to this place, the trade and travel over the Sheboygan and Milwaukee routes was a large one."

In 1835, the first commercial logs were cut by employes of Daniel Whitney, of Green Bay, upon Rat River, in the extreme northwestern part of the county. From this region came most of the timber which went to build the mill and houses at the government agency at Winnebago Rapids. New camps were opened up in this region, and supplied and were rafted through the lake to the saw-mill at Stock- bridge or Winnebago Rapids. In the spring of 1843, Samuel Farnsworth, of Green Bay, with his foreman, Charles Wescott, started the first raft of logs down the Wolf River, with Oshkosh as the objective point. Morris Firman commenced the first saw-inill at this point, in 1847, near the present site of the old gang mill, but Forman & Bashford, of Algoma, completed a rival mill first and run through the first lumber. In 1849, a State land office was opened in Oshkosh ; declared a board of public works with authority to direct all river improvements. Frank Moore, of Fond du Lac County, had in the meantime become inter- ested in the splendid outlook of the Wolf River country as a lumbering region, and purchased an interest in the Shaw- ano mill. Another man who was to play a prominent part in the development of the lumber interests, not so much of the Wolf River Valley as of that region applied to Osh-

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HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY.

kosh, now appeared upon the scene as a leader. In Decem- ber, 1849, Philetus Sawyer, then thirty-two years of age, removed to Oshkosh from Rosendale, Fond du Lac Co., where he had settled upon a farm with his young New York wife. He first contracted to run a mill " by the thousand," but soon branched out for himself, dealing heavily in logs, contracting with other mills, and finally in 1855, building a mill himself. He purchased large tracts of pine lands all along the river, built other mills, established lumber yards, and built up that fortune whose history would be the his- tory, virtually, of the lumber regions of Northern Wiscon- sin. Largely through his efforts, the Wolf River has been improved by a series of booms along flat places and dams at rapids, until it is now considered the best driving stream in the Northwest. Its waters are generally well confined, so that with these improvements logs seldom fail to reach their destination. The sorting of the immense mass of logs which is driven down the river and its tributaries is done in Boom Bay, which is connected with the river by a canal nearly a mile in length. After being sorted according to ownership, they are towed through Lakes Poygan and Butte des Morts, principally to Oshkosh.

Wolf River Boom Company was incorporated in 1857, J. H. Weed, President, and re-organized in 1870. Its officers are : J. A. Paige, President and Treasurer ; Philetus Sawyer, D. L. Libbey, E. C. Kellogg and James Jenkins, Directors ; Wm. Wall, Secretary and Superintendent. The capital of the company is $50,000. Its name and previous remarks explain its object.

Foster & Jones .- This firm, consisting of Carlton Fos- ter and James V. Jones, was established in 1865, and operates a large sash, door and blind factory, with glazing department, and a lumber and shingle mill. The buildings and lumber-yard occupy a large area on Oregon street, near Sixth. The main building of the factory is 95x120 feet, two stories in height, with tin roof. During 1881, this firm manufactured 170,000 windows, 70,000 doors, 20,000 pair of blinds, and cut 7,000,000 feet of lumber and 6,500,000 shingles. They employ 130 men. This is one of the leading and most substantial lumber manufacturing firins in the city. Both of its members have been residents of Oshkosh for over a quarter of a century.

Conlee Brothers .- In 1864, the firm of Beach & Coulee (E. N.) commenced lumbering, and built a saw-mill in 1867. George W. Conlee was then admitted into partnership. In 1874, the firm (Beach, Conlee & Bro.) commenced the manufacture of sash. doors and blinds. In 1879, Orville Beach retired, and the firm became Conlee Brothers. They have a large glazing department attached to their factory, glazing about two hundred windows per day. When the firm first commenced, 3,500,000 feet of lumber were cut annually; now 7,000,000 feet are manufactured. The fac- tory turns out 250 doors, 100 pair of blinds and 300 win- dows daily. The Canan & Wolf improved drying-kilns are used. Conlee Brothers employ 140 men.

Williamson, Libbey & Co .- In 1856, Richard T. Mor- gan and his brother John R., with two others, purchased the small sash, door and blind factory owned by John G. Bailey. This was destroyed by fire; also a second one in 1859. This was rebuilt by R. T. Morgan and his partner, John D. Jones. The building, situated on the corner of Light and Marion, was sold in 1866 to Williamson & Co. This is the basis of their present extensive business, holding, as they do now, the position of the oldest sash, door and

blind manufacturers in the city. The factory which they now occupy was erected in August, 1875. In March, 1879, D. L. Libbey became a member of the firm. When operated by the Morgan Brothers the factory employed four hands and turned out twenty pair of blinds, and from thirty to forty doors per day. It now manufactures 375 doors, 600 windows, 250 pair of blinds, and employs 100 hands. The factory is situated on the corner of Marion and Jay streets.

R. McMillen & Co .- Robert McMillen came to Osh- kosh in the fall of 1854, and has resided here since, with the exception of a short time spent in Muskegon, Mich .. when he first removed to the West. Three years later, C. W. Davis, his present partner, located in the city. They purchased J. D. Jones' interest in the sash, door and blind factory of Morgan & Jones. In 1861, Messrs. McMillen & Davis engaged in the manufacture of shingles, which business they continued for six years. Their saw-mill was built in 1868, and their sash, door and blind factory in 1873. The mill commenced by cutting 25,000 feet of lumber daily ; now it manufactures twice that amount. The increase in all branches of their business was propor- tionate. Location, No. 177 Iligh street.

James P. Gould, Sash, Door and Blind Factory, Tenth street, near Chicago & North-Western Railroad Depot .- This manufactory was established by Gould, Hume & Co., in 1868. Thus the firm continned for seven years. At first fifty doors, thirty pair of blinds and 150 windows were manufactured daily by twenty hands; now 225 doors, 200 pair of blinds and 500 windows by ninety hands.

Badger & Gould's saw, shingle and lath mill, east end of Eighth street, was built in the winter of 1879-80. Twenty men are employed and 50,000 feet of lumber, 6,000 of lath and 30,000 shingles are manufactured.

S. Radford & Bro .- This is one of the most prosperous manufacturing firms of Oshkosh. A saw-mill and extensive sash, door and blind factory, are operated on Marion street. They have also an extensive lumber yard. The frontage of their ground, on the river, is 850 feet on the north side, and 2,000 on the south. During the past six months, the sales of their factory amounted to $200,000-the daily manufacture being 400 doors, 100 pair of blinds and 700 windows. The firm, consisting of S. & William Radford, was formed in 1870. C. W. Radford, son of the latter, is its general superintendent.

O. D. Peck & Co .- Mr. Peck is senior member of this firm, which operates a planing-mill, sash, door and blind factory. The capacity of the latter is 300 doors, 300 windows and 300 pair of blinds daily.

O. D. Peck-Lumber and shingle manufacturer, Marion, near Hancock. Since 1877, Mr. Peck carried on the bus- iness alone. In 1867, the saw-mill was started by the firm of Spaulding, Badger & Co. The firm afterward became Spaulding & Peck, and, in 1877, O. D. Peck. He manu- facturers 50,000 feet of lumber, 10,000 of lath and 50,000 shingles daily. When he first established his business, he turned out 30,000 feet of lumber, and when he started his shingle mill in 1872, he manufactured 30,000 shingles daily.

Morgan & Brother .- The two brothers composing the firm, Richard T. and John R. Morgan, came to Oshkosh in 1855, from New York. They operated the first molding machine in the city, and run the pioneer sash, door and blind factory, built by John G. Bailey. Their factory was

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HISTORY OF NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

burned in 1856, 1859 and 1874. Three saw-mills were burned on the present location, in 1870, 1873 and 1875. In 1864, they built the Northwestern Planing Mills near the depot, and sold it to Gould & Hume in 1867, having sold the Light street factory to Williamson & Co. in 1866. During this year, they purchased a one-half interest in the McCartney saw-mill, and the next year the entire property. The mill, which manufacturers lumber, lath and shingles, is located on Marion, east of Jay.

George W. Pratt,-Manufacturer and dealer in lumber, lath, shingles, etc., mill on Marion street. Mr. Pratt was interested in the lumber business two years prior to the building of the mill in 1871. In 1878, he became its sole owner. He employs fifty hands, and manufactured 8,000,- 000 feet of lumber and 5,000,000 shingles during the sea- son of 1881.

C. N. Paine & Co., Algoma, manufacturers and dealers in lumber, lath, shingles, etc. In 1855, E. L. Paine & Co. commenced the manufacture of lumber. Edward L., the father of C. N. and George M. Paine, retired from active business about ten years ago, and the present firm was formed. They are among the heaviest manufacturers and dealers in the city.

Hume, Paine & Co .- This firm was formerly composed of William Hume and John R. Washburn. The latter gentleman, however, disposed of his interest, in the fall of 1881, and the sash, door and blind factory on Iowa street is now conducted by Messrs. Hume & Paine. They employ seventy men, and manufacture 60,000 doors, 100,000 windows and 30,000 pairs of blinds per annum.

Buckstaff Bros. & Chase, lumber and shingle manu- facturers, mill on Fifth street. Employ sixty hands ; capacity of mill, 40,000 feet of lumber, and 35,000 shin- gles per day.

O. Beach & Bros., lumber, lath and shingle mill, south side of river near C., M. & St. P. R. R. Capacity, 6,000,- 000 feet of lumber, 500,000 feet of lath, and 6,000,000 shingles per annum. They employ fifty men. Orville Beach, senior member of the firm, is a most successful busi- ness man, having been a resident of Oshkosh since 1855. About six years ago, Mr. Beach formed a partnership with his brother, D. Beach, and his brother-in-law, W. P. War- wick, under the above firm name.

Scott & Libbey (J. R. Scott and D. L. Libbey), " old gang-mill," corner of Mill and River streets. This mill was was started in 1856. It was built by Burnham, Fos- ter & Knapp, and afterward passed into the hands of A. B. Knapp & Co., J. Jenkins & Co., and Swift & Scott. The present partnership was formed in the spring of 1880. They employ sixty men. The cut of the mill amounts to 6,000,000 feet of lumber, and 4,000,000 shingles per annum.

Ripley & Mead (S. Ripley and J. L. Mead), lumber and shingle manufacturer ; mill at the foot of Blackhawk street. When the business was first commenced in 1850, one saw was used, from five to six men were employed, and 16,000 feet of lumber was sawed per day. Now the firm employs thirty-five men, while 40,000 feet of lumber, and 40,000 shingles are manufactured per day.

Campbell Bros. & Cameron (J. D., D. M. and R. C. Campbell and George II. Cameron), manufacturers of lum- ber, lath and shingles ; mill on the south side of the river near the C., M. &. St. P. R. R. bridge. The mill was erected in 1873, and manufactures 45,000 feet of lumber,

6,000 feet of lath and 40,000 shingles per day. The firm employ sixty-five inen.

J. H. Weed, lumber and shingle manufacturer, mill at the foot of Tenth street. The mill was built in 1862. Its capacity is 45,000 feet of lumber, 8,000 feet of lath and 30,000 shingles. He employs thirty-eight men.

A. Thompson, shingle manufacturer, mill corner of River and Bay streets. It was built by its proprietor in 1876. He employs thirty hands and manufactures 90,000 shingles per day.

J. C. Griffith & Co., shingle manufacturer, mill oppo- site court house. The firm employ thirty hands and manu- facture 130,000 shingles per day.

Henry Sherry, lumber and shingle manufacturer, mill east end of Seventh street, employs fifty men and turns out 40,000 feet of lumber and 30,000 shingles daily.

Jolin S. Fraker, shingle manufacturer, mill on Marion street, commenced business in 1869, and has increased from an out-put of 60,000 to 100,000 shingles per day. He employs thirty-two men.

James Mc Nair purchased the old Sawyer Mill in 1879; employs forty men and turns out 40,000 feet of lumber and 9,000 of lath per day.

Derby & Curran (Geerge M. Derby and Daniel Curran), shingle-mill on Pearl near Blackhawk street. When the business was established in 1864, from seven to eight hands were employed, and the cut was 30,000 shingles per day. The firmn now employs twenty-five hands, and manufactures 80,000 shingles daily.

Charles S. Webb, shingle manufacturer, mill on Marion street. The business was commenced in 1868 by Webb, Albert & Co , and the annual manufacture 7,000,000, now it is 18,000,000 shingles per annum, and thirty-six hands are employed.

J. L. Clark & Son, former proprietors of the Star Match Works, have just completed one of the largest car- riage and sleigh manufactories in the country. They will employ 300 men and turn out thirty carriages and buggies per day. In 1855, Mr. Clark removed to Oshkosh, being then a poor, but energetic young man. After engaging in various capacities in the lumber business, he commenced in 1863 to make match splints on one small machine, having two assistants and the sorting being done at his own house. In 1868, he commenced the manufacture of matches in the same modest way. From this beginning, through the foresight and untiring energy of James L. Clark, grew the largest factory devoted exclusively to the manufacture of matches on this continent, and which became the property of the Diamond Match Company in December, 1880. The firm, J. L. Clark & Son, have now established another industry, which will tend, more than ever, to make Oshkosh the grand manufacturing center of the Northwest.

Parsons & Goodfellow (J. G. Parsons and T. M. Good- fellow). This firm stands in the front rank of buggy manu- facturers in the United States. From 1874 to the latter part of 1878, they were engaged in the same line of busi- ness in Chicago. The citizens of Oshkosh, realizing the benefits to be derived from the location of such works, raised a bonus of $5,000, and the manufactory was per- manently located here January 1, 1879. In addition to their manufactory they have a fine repository for finished work. All kinds of open and top buggies are turned out. They employ 185 men and manufacture 4,000 vehicles per annum. Their yearly pay-roll amounts to $85,000 and

1131

HISTORY OF WINNEBAGO COUNTY.

their sales to $350,000. The works of the firm are on Main street, near the bridge.

Neville & Holden (Thomas Neville and Edward Holden). This firm commenced the manufacture of carriages and sleighs, and a general repairing business, July 10, 1880. The first year they turned out 150 vehicles. They are among the leading manufacturers of Oshkosh.

Thompson & Hayward, manufacturers of carriages and buggies. The above firm commenced business in Omro in 1874. They now employ 125 men and manufacture twelve vehicles per day.

Diamond Match Company, successors to J. L. Clark & Son. This corporation controls twenty-five match factories in different parts of the country, mostly in the East, and has a capital of $2,250,000. George W. Gates is the man- ager of the works at Oshkosh. The buildings, situated at the corner of Pearl and Osceola streets, cover an area of 80,000 square feet. From 200 to 250 hands are employed, and the annual product of the works, including stamps, is $500,000. The nucleus of this enormous establishment was formed in 1864, when James L. Clark erected a small building and removed his workshop, in which he manufact- ured splints, from his house to his new quarters. In 1868 he commenced the manufacture of matches in a small way. In 1877 J. L. Clark & Son erected a saw-mill. This also was sold, in December, 1880, with the other buildings at- tached to the factory, to the Diamond Match Company. It employs about thirty-nine men, and the daily output is 100,000 shingles. The mill has two machines-one double and one single. It also saws splint timber. During one day, September 14, 1881, when the entire force was em- ployed in the manufacture of shingles, the Challoner double machine turned out 211,500 in a run of eleven hours, which is a record hard to beat.

Union Iron Works, J. F. Morse, proprietor, Nos. 10 to 16 Ceape street. Mr. Morse commenced business for himself in 1853, and has since continued to reside in Oshkosh devoted to his calling. He established the Eagle Iron Works, of which C. C. Paige is proprietor, in 1859. These are the leading iron works of the city, and stand in the van of the foundry and machine shops of the State. Mr. Morse em- ploys fifty men, his works turning out castings and all kinds of machinery. The steam engines which he has manufactured stand in the market as A No. 1.

Eagle Iron Works, C. C. Paige, proprietor. Nos. 8 to 14 Marion street. These works were established in 1859, by J. F. Morse and W. C. Fredericks. In 1862, Mr. Paige purchased the latter's interest, and the firm of Morse & Paige continued to conduct the business until October, 1862, when the latter became sole proprietor of the works. He employs from twenty-five to thirty men. the annual sales amounting to $75,000. The principal work of the manu- factory is saw-mill, flour-mill and steamboat machinery.

Union Boiler Works, M. T. Battis, proprietor, corner of Market and Pearl streets. Mr. Battis commenced bus- iness in a small way, in 1856; he now employs fifteen hands, and manufactures from twenty-five to thirty boilers per annum, besides doing a large amount of repairing.

The boiler works of A. Burns, on Ceape street ; the machine shops of C. II. Avery, on Marion, and the repair- ing works of Daniel Mierswa, corner of Ceape and Moore, are further indices of the enterprise evinced in this line of manufacture. Mr. Avery came to Oshkosh in 1854, having had thirty-five years' experience in this country and En-

gland in his chosen occupation. Mr. Mierswa built his shop in 1869, and does a business of $8,000 per annum. Near C. H. Avery's machine-shop, on Marion, is the old established shop of James Gillingham & Son. The senior proprietor came to Oshkosh in 1852, and has since built up a large business in boat, mill, sleigh and carriage black- smithing.

Wakefield Flour Mills, Foote Brothers & Co. (A. D., W. A. and F. G. Foote and Warren Nutting), proprietors, corner of River and Broad streets. The firm commenced the manufacture of flour in 1876; they also do much cus- tom work. The mills turn out 200 barrels of flour per day, by the patent roller process.

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Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company Number of Pages: 1052

Author: Western historical co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Western historical company
Number of Pages: 1052