Chairs are a common sight and we hardly notice them. Today we have a large selection of chairs: all-metal folding chairs, swivel office chairs, upholstered and leather chairs, Sheboygan Falls molded plastic chairs, ergonomic chairs, recliners, butterfly chairs, beanbag chairs, egg chairs or chairs- capsules, plywood and laminated wood chairs, massage chairs, etc.
The first recorded use of any type of chair dates back to the Egyptian era four thousand years ago. However, they are only suitable for wealthy people. The average person will sit on the ground or squat, and if they are lucky, they will have a bench, stool or tree stump to sit on. Chairs only became common in the 16th century.
In Wisconsin, Native Americans had little space and little use of furniture. But when the Europeans arrived and discovered the amount of wood available, the game began. Logging became the county's main industry. Wood is gold.
Sawmills were quickly built on the county's rivers, and Sheboygan Falls had the most reliable water supply; The Sheboygan and Mullet rivers had the largest drops, necessitating the need for power generation. Each was a carpenter in his own right, and as conditions improved and more people immigrated to the county, the need for chairs arose.
Jonathan Layton's family came to Sheboygan Falls in 1844. They used a small section of a tree trunk for sitting. Family history is reminiscent of the news that relatives from the East came to visit. Layton asked cabinetmaker Darius Leavens, who came to Sheboygan Falls in 1848, to make him some chairs. Despite this, hospitality is necessary. One of the kitchen chairs was given to the Sheboygan County Historical Museum by a descendant of the family. This simple chair is made from flat surfaces and has no two identical spindles.
Little is known about the first small independent chair makers in the area. They are a talented group. Sheboygan's first city directory (1868) lists six manufacturers, only one of which is listed as the chairman company - Minott, Crocker & Co. The rest - Christian Riedel, Christian Albrecht, Ernst Ahrens, Frederick Walter, Hermann Wolters and some later, Hermann Geisler - were listed as furniture manufacturers and dealers. One of them, Frederick Walter, was also a funeral director.
All these furniture makers were master craftsmen who learned their craft in Germany and underwent regular practice. The men, cabinetmakers or furniture makers, crafted their products by hand and made custom furniture to a variety of specifications.
Further research into the 1868 directory revealed that Christian Albrecht had a store on the west side of Eighth Street between Central and New York Avenues and lived on Eighth and Ninth Streets at Sheboygan's Central Avenue between the streets. All others indicated their place of residence and place of work at the same address.
Albrecht hired two cabinetmakers, Wilhelm Mallmann and Jacob Steinbeck, and Henry Zayhan was listed as an apprentice.
Albrecht was born in Brandenburg, Germany, August 27, 1823, and came to Sheboygan in 1851. His wife Wilhelmina Schwartz (born August 10, 1828) died February 19, 1892. The couple had six children, one of whom, Herman, became mayor of Sheboygan (1917–1921). Albrecht died on September 2, 1908. The family is buried in Wildwood Cemetery.
Herman Walters was born November 1, 1816 and married Joanna Bollhorn November 9, 1857 in Sheboygan. Walters was engaged in furniture making until his death on January 2, 1870. As was customary at the time, Joanna Ballhorn worked alongside her husband. Their residence and place of business was located opposite Fountain Park on Eighth Street, or Public Square as it was then called. Joanna (born July 21, 1832) died March 18, 1915. Both are buried in Wildwood Cemetery.
Christian Riedel's residence and store were located on the west side of Eighth Street between New York and Wisconsin avenues. Augustus Luke and William Stephen, both cabinetmakers, worked for him.
Ernst Ahrens' store and home were located on the west side of Eighth Street, near Wisconsin Avenue. Frederick Koch worked as a cabinet maker.
Frederick Walter had two cabinetmakers working for him: Frederick Degan and Gardiner Burdick. Burdick is also an interior decorator. William Milliard and Jacob Olson were students. His store and home were located on Eighth Street between Pennsylvania and Jefferson Avenues. By 1879 Walter was a dealer in old and new furniture and also a manufacturer of chairs and other items. He also continued his career.
The Sheboygan Times of January 11, 1879 stated: “Walter's manufacturing and second-hand goods company is the largest and best outside Milwaukee. He sells a wide variety of caskets made in Grand Rapids. All sizes and styles. With the rosewood coffin and coffin in place and the decorations of the grave goods not yet completed, his ability to conduct the funeral was beyond doubt.”
Later that month, on January 22, the Times noted: “Fred Walter's warehouse next door, on the north side of the block from Beekman House, is filled with furniture of all kinds, both new and used. Some of the new goods were manufactured by myself."
Gustav Geisler was born in Germany on September 19, 1826 and immigrated in 1848. Moved to Sheboygan in June 1849 and married Amalia Hildebrand on October 22, 1851. In early life in Sheboygan he was a prominent furniture dealer and later engaged in furniture manufacturing on the site of the former Gatton Toy Company. Geisler was a Civil War veteran and may have started making furniture after leaving the service. Amalia died in 1870, leaving a family of six children. Geisler died on October 19, 1895. Family burial is in Wildwood Cemetery.
From his memoirs we know that John E. Thomas was a furniture manufacturer in Sheboygan Falls in 1853. Thomas was born in New York State November 27, 1829, and came to Sheboygan Falls September 1, 1849. In 1853 he built a furniture factory and also invented and manufactured some of the machines himself. He later expanded the business and employed 25–30 workers, selling primarily to coastal cities, with Chicago being his largest market.
Thomas began studying law in Milwaukee in 1856 and was admitted to the bar in 1858. His connection with the furniture factory lasted until 1862. He married Clara Cole on March 30, 1853 in Sheboygan Falls. News publisher for Sheboygan County from 1879 until his death April 14, 1910.
With an ideal combination of logs, European immigrants and trained craftsmen, and Lake Michigan, the county was also an ideal port for shipping thousands of chairs.
"Joseph Duval" was a vessel of the local fleet of Gero Schooner. All of Gro's ships are known for flying the "Chair City" flag on the sofas and armchairs.
The 1858 export inventory from the Port of Sheboygan lists 2,704 bales of “chair material,” so we know that there were chair manufacturers in the area before the Civil War and that they produced enough material for export.
By 1880, 850,000 chairs were transported across the lakes, and another 2,048,510 chairs and furniture were transported by rail. Sheboygan quickly became the “City of Chairs.” The industry will grow to staggering proportions, employing thousands of people within decades.
If you want to know more, please browse Goodtone Furniture:/
Post time: Oct-27-2023