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Nebraska
City Businesses
Nebraska City is now in the height of her prosperity. With a population of
between 5,000 and 6,000, with four
railroads and a fair prospect of a fifth and
sixth, with manufacturing industries fairly developed, with a location
unsurpassed, both as regards natural advantages and her distance from formidable
rivals, her future rests with
herself alone.
What she has been has been told;
what she will be will depend upon her citizens--they who have made her what
she
is.
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Nebraska City Gaslights Company
Early in 1870 the project of lighting the city by gas was actively agitated
and the City Council having passed the
requisite ordinance the Nebraska City
Gaslight Company was incorporated. The central figure of the company was
Col. J.
V. Barringer, the contractor.
In 1871 the works which now stand at the foot of Main street were completed,
and the mains laid through several
of the principal streets.
In the early part
of 1872 the gas was turned on for the first time. From that date until 1881 the
gasometer rose and
fell in regular pulsation to the ebb and flow of the living
current in our streets.
In April, 1881, the great rise in the Missouri River
caused the shutting off of the coal supply and the manufacture of
gas was
stopped. At about the same time the city discontinued the street lamp service
and the company has never
resumed work. It is probable that the bonds of the
company will shortly be called in and operations recommenced.
The officers of
the company are :
Thomas Morton, president
J. Metcalf, treasurer
F. C.
Morrison, secretary
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Reed
Plow Company
One of the largest manufacturing concerns of
the city had its beginning in a blacksmith shop run by Jacob Wesner.
In 1870, Mr.
Reed, a man of considerable property, went into partnership with Wesner under
the style of Reed & Wesner, and manufactured plows on a small scale.
In
August, 1873, the firm became Wesner & Co., and in 1874 it was changed to
the Reed Plow Company. This
company at once erected a large brick factory on
Fourteenth and Main streets, investing in machinery and buildings
about $27,000.
The company had a paid up capital of $50,000 and a working surplus, the property
of individual stockholders of about $30,000 more. Their business was a thriving
one, and when on March 6, 1876, the factory
was destroyed by fire, it was
turning out 250 plows per day, making a total production of about $200,000
yearly.
When the works were destroyed the company sold out to Thomas Latham all their
accounts and property, except
real estate, and went out of business.
In 1870 J. W. Patrick had established a small plow factory and worked on
without endeavoring to gain a large
business, although he had found it quite
profitable.
In August, 1881, Mr. Wesner, who had been a partner in the Reed Plow
Works, bought out Mr. Patrick and
formed what is now the Nebraska Manufacturing
Company. This company has a cash capital of $20,000 and turns
out about $50,000
worth of plows yearly.
Its officers are:
J. W. Parker, president
George
Kregel, secretary
Jacob Wesner. superintendent
Jacob
Wesner
H. H. Bartling
William Rector
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Wale
Iron Foundry
In 1866 Holmes, Gould & Powell, of Terre
Haute, Ind., moved an old foundry building from that place to
Nebraska City and
set it up on the south side of Seventh street, near Ferry. Here the company
under the
management of Mr. Holmes transacted business until 1870, when the
company dissolved, the business being
continued by Mr. Holmes until 1872.
In
1871 Mr. John Wale had settled in the city and been engaged in Mr. Holmes'
factory. When Mr. Holmes
decided upon relinquishing business Mr. Wale purchased
his interest, and ran the business in the old building until
1877. In that year
he removed to a building on Seventh, near Otoe street, where he is still
located. He is now turning
out about $3,000 worth of castings yearly.
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Carriage
Makers
In the winter of 1869, Mr. J. H. McLellan
started a small carriage factory in connection with a blacksmith shop.
From that
time he has gradually increased his facilities for business and for the past
seven years has been turning
out about thirty vehicles per year, including many
expensive carriages. Mr. McLellan will probably enlarge the
capacity of the
works during 1882, and manufacture from sixty to 100 wagons of all classes.
Mr. J. M. Jeffries also manufactures wagons, but has turned his attention
principally to refitting for the past few
years.
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Flour
Mills
In 1868, two brothers, named Pinney, in connection
with a Mr. Thorp bought out the "Stimson Mill," a small
structure erected some
time previous, but never ran it to any extent. After purchasing they commenced
rebuilding
and shortly had a building which contained scarcely any part of the
old one. The reconstructed mill which stood
on Main street, below the Seymour
House, had four run of buhrs and a capacity of about 5,000 barrels of flour
per
year. After rebuilding it was valued, with its machinery, at $15,000. It was
operated successfully until 1876,
when it burned to the ground. It has never
been rebuilt, the owners having invested largely in the Black Hills region,
and
removed there after the fire.
The next mill to be erected was that of Schminkes & Reiber, which was
first put in operation in the spring of 1875.
This mill, with its warehouse and
machinery, cost $21,000. It is located at the foot of Eighth street, in South
Nebraska City, and is on the railroad, a special track running directly to the
mill. This mill has a capacity of
seventy-five barrels of flour per day of
twelve hours and was run 290 days in 1881. The mill is under the
superintendency
of William Schminke the junior partner.
The third mill erected in this city is that of Rector & Son, located on
the lower part of Main street, a short distance
west of the position of the
Pinney & Reiber mill. It was opened in February, 1880. The property is
valued at
$15,000 and has a capacity of about 25,000 barrels of flour per year.
It has four run of buhrs and a pair of
reducing rolls for producing "new
process" flour. Up to the present year (1882) the wheat grown in the county
has
supplied all these mills, but this year they have been compelled to draw
slightly upon outside sources.
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Saw
Mill
The Steam Saw Mill
now located at the foot of Otoe street, on South
Table Creek, was first erected at the head
of the slough, in 1864, but the high
water of that season determined the owners, Messrs. Stooker & Woods, to
change to better grounds, hence the removal to the present locality. Messrs.
Gregg and McIlroy purchased the establishment in 1877, and the following spring
Daniel Gregg became sole proprietor; since that time it has remained
in his
possession. The mill has a capacity of 6,000 feet per day, and is a great
convenience to the people of
Nebraska City and vicinity. He uses elm, cotton,
linn and bass woods and procures his logs from the surrounding
bluffs and the
upper Missouri. The lumber of his manufacture meets ready sales at from $12 to
$18 per thousand feet.
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Cigar
Factories
Factory No. 25, located on Main street, between Sixth and
seventh, was established by Henry Phifer in September,
1867.
During years 1872,
'73 and '74 he gave steady employment to six men, and his annual sales reached
500,000; but latterly this has fallen off, and during the year 1882 manufactured
200,000 cigars and employed three workmen. Mr. Phifer makes all the leading
brands, from the cheapest to the best.
Factory No. 99 was started in November,
1880, located on Main street between Ninth and Tenth, and during the
year 1881
Mr. Kessler made and sold 50,000 cigars. He did all his own work.
Factory No.
208 was started in June last by Mr. F. Jahns. Three kinds of cigars are made;
two hands are constantly employed. From June 1,1881, to March 1, 1882, 60,000
cigars were made, and found ready sale at home.
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Nebraska
City Distillery
The distillation of wines and other
liquors has never been a fortunate business in Nebraska City. In 1873, Thomas
Adams erected the works at the foot of Main street and pursued the business for
about six months. The works
then lay idle until December, 1879, when Dr. Holmes
took a fresh start in business and pursued it four or five
months. Then followed
another period of disuse, terminating in November, 1880. At that time W. H.
Babbitt took possession and ran the business until the spring of 1881, when the
extraordinary high water of the Missouri cut
off the coal supply and
necessitated a stoppage, and the fires have not been lighted since that time.
Throughout its entire existence the distillery has had ill luck of various
kinds; costly machinery has broken at will,
at times when stoppage meant great
loss, and other hindrances so unusual as to be hardly foreseen have crippled it.
With ordinary
fortune the tall chimney would to-day be pouring out its blast of
smoke, and the whole place be
sounding with the pleasant hum of industry,
instead of lying an inert ruined mass, a tacit reproach to the town.
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Pioneer
Brewery
The first establishment for the manufacture of
malt liquors within the limits of Nebraska, was built by Mr. Frederick
Beyschlag, in the year 1858, in the south part of the city on Table Creek.
The
main building, including ice houses, is 48x70 feet, partly brick and the balance
frame. Adjoining, Mr. Beyschlag
owns some thirty town lots. The capacity of the
brewery is twenty-five barrels per day. He has some customers in
the interior of
the State, but the main portion of beer is consumed in Otoe County. The Pioneer
employs five men.
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Roos's
Brewery
The
brewery was built in 1863
by John C. Buse, who was not a practical brewer, and after two or three
unsuccessful attempts to make beer he sold the property to the present owner,
who soon enlarged the house to
its present dimensions--34x88 feet, and one and
one-half stories high. This brewery is of the same capacity as the
Pioneer--twenty-five barrels per day, and gives employment to five men. The
trade of both the city breweries has
been somewhat injured by the introduction
of Milwaukee beer, the proprietors complaining that the people have
"too little
pride in supporting home industry."
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Nebraska
and Iowa Packing Company
This company, the
incorporators of which are:
Portus B. Weare, of Chicago
P. H. Kelly, of St.
Paul
Byron L. Smith, of Chicago
William A. Paxton, of Omaha
C. A. Weare, of
Chicago
J. C. Lloyd, of Chicago
T. C. Power, of Fort Benton, Montana
Territory
Was
organized under the laws of Illinois with $50,000 capital stock, and
the election of the following officers
in June, 1881:
President, Portus B. Weare
Superintendent and Secretary, J. C. Lloyd
Treasurer, C. A. Weare
Board of Directors:
P. H. Kelly
C. A. Weare
J. C.
Lloyd
T. C. Power
Early in 1882 the company purchased ground in the
southwest part of Nebraska City, immediately commencing
the erection of a pork
house, 230 feet by 81, four stories in height, and to have an estimated capacity
of 1,500
hogs per day. During the year 1881, nearly 80,000 hogs were shipped to
Chicago from Nebraska City, and the
estimated number raised in the county alone
during that year is 75,000. With this showing there can be little doubt
as to
the success of the enterprise, and that its success will be a vast benefit to
the city and county.
It is expected that packing will be commenced November 1,
1882.
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Missouri
Valley Soap Works
Was located on Ferry street near South
Table Creek bridge, established in 1869 by Sargeant & Co. Two years
since D.
A. Sargeant became the sole proprietor. He manufactured for laundry works
in the
White Prussian and
the Missouri Valley, and a variety of toilet soaps.
The
products of these works sold principally in Nebraska and Iowa, the wholesale
house of Lorton & Potts
purchasing and selling large amounts annually.
Mr.
Sargeant gives employment during the busy season to five men.
His factory has a
capacity for manufacturing 200,000 pounds per annum. The product of the Missouri
Valley
Works bears an excellent reputation.
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Brick
The first brick made in Nebraska City were
from the yard of James H. Decker and Keil Cook in 1854.
Brick from this firm
were used in the erection of:
S. F. Nuckolls' residence, corner of Fifth and Main
streets
The second brick was built on lot 5, block 6, in South Nebraska City
The third erected by George W. Sroat, north corner of the park, Pawnee and
Twelfth, for J. Loosecamp
The fourth built by James H. Decker on the corner of
Fourteenth and Main streets
All
of hese houses are still standing.
During the year
1881:
C. B. Bickel & Sons made 700,000 brick
Charles Rosalius made 500,000
Driscoll, Prue & Co. made 500,000
They were all readily sold at prices
ranging from $7.50 to $12. The brick are manufactured from a superior quality
of
clay, and the substantial character of the edifices built of this material in
Nebraska city is very noticeable.
Source:
Andreas History of Nebraska
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