THE 1891 BIOGRAPHIES OF

City Roller Mills

Julius C. Hoffmayr

City Roller Mills, of Council Bluffs, was erected in 1856 by Mr. Jackson, and was then known as the "City Mills." It was the largest mill in the West at that time, having a capacity of ninety barrels a day. It has changed hands a number of times, and is now in the possession of J. C. Hoffmayr & Co. The capacity has been increased to 150 barrels a day, the roller system with Hungarian process being introduced in November, 1882, under the direction of its present owner. The original mill was but three stories high: it is now four stories high, and there are added an iron-clad elevator, warerooms, etc., with a storage capacity of 1,500 barrels of flour and 10,000 bushels of wheat. The brands of flour manufactured here are Fancy Patent, White Loaf, Early Riser and Rough Diamond.

Julius C. Hoffmayr was born in the eastern part of Prussia, February 17, 1834, the son of Charles J. and Emma (Von Treskow) Hoffmayr. Both the parents are deceased. He was educated at home by private tutors until the age of ten years; then he attended schools in Frankfurt until his fourteenth year, when he entered the machine shop of Stoeckart & Co., at Landsberg, one year, and the locomotive works at Borsig, the largest works of the kind in that country, at Berlin. He was there six months. At the age of sixteen years he was employed by the Berlin & Stettin Railroad, learning the art of running locomotives; was also employed in the drafting office of the company six months. He then passed examination as locomotive engineer, and was employed on the eastern division of the Government railroad system, between Berlin and St. Petersburg; was also employed in the location and erection of the railroad bridges over the delta of the Vistula River at Dirschau and Marienburg, and surveying and locating the railroad to Koenigsberg. On the completion of the road to Koenigsberg he was given control of the first engine over the road; and at the age of seventeen years, a few days after that appointment, he was given the first train--the inauguration train--with the King of Prussia on board, who opened the road. This was a conspicuous honor extended to so young a man over all the old engineers in the country, he being the youngest engineer on the Government roads, having gained this honor by his punctuality.

After this he entered the Polytechnic School at Frankfurt; next the Royal Polytechnic Institute at Berlin; next, in his nineteenth year, he was sent by the Government to Manchester, England, and worked in the large locomotive works of Sharp Brothers, to gain a knowledge of the construction of the same by English makers. In a few months he was placed in the engineer corps of the Royal Navy and cruised along the Mediterranean coast, subduing pirates on the North African coast, and around Cape of Good Hope to the East Indies, when he returned home. His father then presented him a steam flouring and saw mill, which he operated some nine months, when, in June, 1855, he came to America, with the chief engineer of the eastern division of Prussian railroads, Charles Seeger, landing at St. Mary's, Mills County, Iowa. He assisted him, and erected mills in the timbered lands of the company, and attended to their management until Mr. Seeger's return. He claims the honor of blowing the first whistle on land in this part of the country.

In 1857 he returned to Prussia, spent a year there, was married, and in 1858 came again to this country, stopping at St. Mary's, Mills County, Iowa. The mills which he had built before his departure for Europe had been sold to Colonel Peter A. Sarpy, the old fur trader of the American Fur Company, and Mr. Hoffmayr managed the mills for him. Some of the men employed at that mill at that time are today our most wealthy farmers and prominent citizens in Mills and Pottawattamie Counties.

In 1859 he removed the mill to the left bank of the Missouri River, opposite Plattsmouth, Nebraska. After a time he returned to St. Mary's and erected a sawmill, transformed a wind-flouring-mill, belonging to Shakespeare & Boyes, into a steam mill, and attached circular saws for the lumber business, and here he continued until 1862, when the mill was sold. He then built flat-boats and floated the machinery of the mill on the Missouri River to Plattsmouth, Nebraska, where he erected the same and set it running for Peter A. Sarpy.

At that period (1855) the Indians, Pawnee and Omaha tribes, lived and were abundant in the vicinity. In 1867, while on the plains with the Pawnee scouts, he was made an honorary member of the Pawnee tribe, and named Co-ka-tits-ta-kah.

In 1862 he came to Council Bluffs, where he took charge of the City Mills for Officer & Pusey, for six months, and then, in 1863, he assumed full control, which he maintained until 1865, when he sold to Hon. J. T. Baldwin and visited Europe again, returning the same year to Council Bluffs.

From 1865 to 1870 he was engaged in contracting to furnish the ties and car timbers for the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, operating steam saw-mills, and from 150 to 200 men and as many teams, and thus consuming several thousand acres of the best timber in Pottawattamie County, near Honey Creek, for almost five years.

In 1870 he bought back the City Mills and ran it alone until 1882, when he took as partner Hon. J. T. Baldwin, with whom he was associated until the death of the latter. During the rush of the early days of emigration this mill supplied most of the flour from this point west,--in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana, where some train loads were sold at $1.00 per pound in gold. Its present owner, Mr. Hoffmayr, is the oldest miller in this part of the West,--that is, has been the longest in the service, and is feeding the hungry yet.

Politically he is independent, but acting mostly with the Democratic party. He is an old member of Bluff City Lodge, No. 71, A.F. & A.M., of Star Chapter, No. 48, and of Ivanhoe Commandery, No. 17, K. T., being P. E. Commander, and, as such, a life member of the Grand Commandery of the State of Iowa. He is also a member of the Council Bluffs Rifle and Council Bluffs Gun clubs. He won the State championship honors, and the best aggregate score in all matches at the State tournament of the State Association for the Protection of Fish and Game, of 1880, held at Des Moines. He was the first president of the Turn-Verein of Council Bluffs, in 1863. During the war, in 1864, Gov. W. M. Stone called out three regiments of State troops to protect the southern border of the State, and commissioned him First Lieutenant of Company A, First Regiment, and on April 1, 1865, he was promoted, and commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the same regiment, the late Colonel W. F. Sapp commanding the same.

While on a visit to his native country, on the 21st of April, 1858, he married Miss Antonia Wolfram, who died at Council Bluffs July 8, 1876, leaving three children: Ellen H., who died July 23, 1876, and Harry J. and Arthur T., both now residing in Council Bluffs. He was married again February 7, 1878, to Miss Clara Tzschuck, daughter of Hon. Bruno Tzschuck, ex-Secretary of the State of Nebraska. She was born in St. Mary's, Mills County, Iowa, and died February 8, 1883, leaving one child, Julia May.