The Grange advance., 1874-02-14

W
thought of the location of this city, on tn,
bank of the Mississippi, in the midst of tn.
greatest wheat producing region of tht
world-Goodhue county producing more
wheat and oats than any other county in
Minnesota.
We give to our readers the following
statement Of the manufacturing as it now
exists, hoping that before another year we
shall have half score Of other manufac.
lures in other branches to add to our list.
| coGEL BETCHER, MAxurAcTURERs OF LyM.
BER. SASH, DOORS, &C, &C.
Mr. Cogel, who has charge Of the manu-
tacturing interests of the above named firm,
Mr.. Betcher being engaged in large hard
! ware trade, commenced business at this
place in June, \. D. 1856. in partnership
with Mr.. Blakely, now Of the firm Of Wich-
man i Blakely, in the manufacture Of sash,
doors, blinds, SC. They bought their first
machinery Of James Tott & Co., Cincinnati,
which sunk with the old Itasca at Rock
Island Bridge. Within three weeks of the
report Of this disaster, the second lot Of
machinery was on it's way to the Indian
village Of Red Wing, on the upper Missis-
sippi, where Cogel h Blakely and a few
other hardy pioneers were attempting to
introduce civilization. Mr.. Charles Bet
cher bought ont Mr.. Blakely in 1859, and
from that time to the present the firm has
been Cogel s Betche-. They bought the
old Freeborn mill in 1861, and their pres
ent saw mill is upon the same OLD site
This was the first saw mil! btia& in RED
Wing ; it was built by Nessrs. Pestibon ne &
Knapp, and had passed through< several
hands before coming to its present proprie-
tors They have greatly. improved the
saw mill, and during last year they sawed
not only for themselves, but also sawed for
the large lumber yard Of Simmons & DAN
iels, and have sawed 1900. 600 feet Of lum-
ber, and have made 5000, 600 shingles.
Their planning mill is furnished with all
the modern improved machinery tor doing
every variety Of work in that line. They
furnish everything for a house except
framing, including glass and glazing.
They employ from seventy to eighty men
and six teams. They get their logs princi-
pally from the St.. Croix. They employ
| about twelve hands in the sash department.
They also own and operate grist and
Touring mill, ship about 5000 barrels per
year, and retail in the neighborhooa OF
three tons per week.
THE RED WING MILLS.
The saw mill, which is now part Of the
property Of the Red Wing Mills, was built
in 1857 by Grannis, Daniels s. Co. The
first building was burned lown on May
31st, 1865. The mill was rebuilt the same
year by Daniels, Howe & Co.., who had sue
ceeded to the original proprietors In
April, 1873, the present company was form.
ed. VIM. Howe, 7. B. Sheldon, E. T. Wild
er, J. NJ. Hodgman ana f. L. Baker. were
at the first meeting OF stockholders elected
as Board Of Directors. The Boar.l Of Di-
rectors held subsequent meeting and elect
ed T. B. Sheldon, President &. y. Herbert,
Secretary and \. Howe, Sr., Treasurer.
and said gentleman still remain in the same
Office as at that meeting elected.
The company consists of one hundrfd apd
four stock holders, residents of~'Rtl Wing
and Goodhue County. The capital stock
of the company is 100000, and the~fompa!
ny was formed with the view Of Erecting
and running the large Touring mill, de-
scription Of which will be found elsewhere
in this issue. Owing to the building, during
the present season, Of the Touring mill,
which is in immediate connection with the
saw mill and necessitated some changes
therein, the saw mill was not run to its
full capacity. They have sawed 3,514,352
feet Of lumber the past season, and made
1,725 900 shingles, and have also sold the
whole Of the same, and are now obliged to
commence shipping in lumber to supply the
demand The saw mill is under the man
agement Of VIM. Howe, one Of the original
proprietors.
D. c. HILL, CONTRACTOR AND BUILDER.
D. G. Hill, Contractor and Builder, came
to Red Wing in May Of 1855, when there
were neither saw mills or planning machines
in the County, and all the saving and
planning had to be done by the slow and
tiresome process Of hand labor. He contin-
ued in his business Of Contractor and
Builder alone, until 1862, when he pur-
chased machinery and commenced in the
fall of that wear. the planning mill business