New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1903-09-16
FORMED FROM FLEECE
Brown County Wooden Mill Makes
- Staple Articles.
Factory Has Beautiful Location
South of New Ulm.
Wonderful Water Power Enables
Them to Operate Cheaply.

| 'OAAS1 LII w dtSI IOWeT ENABLES
Them to Operate Cheaply.
Hidden away in sequested valley
south of the city, in dell which might
be described as SYLVAN, is the Brown
County Wooden Mill, factory which
comparatively few New Ulm people
have ever visited and of which a still
smaller number have true concep-
ton. Precipitous bluffs, heavily
wooded and covered with dense thicket,
veil it from the outside world, and a
, stranger unacquainted with the region
might pass close to the mill itself with
out discovering the building or. sus-
pecting that prosperous manufacture
ing business was being conducted in
the solitude. AS matter of fact the
mill is located just outside the city
limits, but in reaching it a very cir
cuitous route must be followed, and
thus the distance is made to seem much
| greater.
Following the main travelled road, it
| is three miles to the site of the establish
ment. AT point opposite the Schnei-
! der farm the road forks and a modest
| driveway takes the visitor to his des-
tination. Leading into the valley the
descent is rapid, nature having made
the spot almost inaccessible, but once
the foot is reached the scene is pictur-
lesque in the extreme. The mill oc-
cupies short opening in the hills, an
opening that is little better than a
gulch and which is hemmed in by steep,
commanding bluffs. At the upper end
dam has been constructed and in the
widest portion stands the mill. Across
narrow strip of meadow land the
| Cottonwood river flows toward the
east, preventing direct approach from
New Ulm, whose spires may be seen in
the distance.
B. Marschner and Edgar Small are
the prOprietOrs of the Brown County
Wooden Mill, the former managing
its affairs and Mr.. Small superintend-
ing the work in the factory. Mr..
Marschner, the founder, is, perhaps,
the pioneer wooden manufacturer of
the Northwest In the, early '6O's he
resigned his position as foreman of a
large plant in Southern Germany and
immigrated to America. Labor con-
ditions in the manufacturing centers
OF the eastern states were not to his
liking and in 1868 he came to Mime
sofa, locating eight miles above Fort
Ridgely in Redwood county. At that
time he could boast of the proud dis
tinction of being the most western
wooden manufacturer in the United
States and for twelve years he con-
Quoted his first mill without inter-
ruption. ms
Then an ambitious Touring concern
encroached upon his preserves and
] compelled him to seek change of
base by depriving him of the water
1 power upon which he was dependent.
During the year 1880 he came to New
i Ulm in search of a location and while
conducting his Investigations discov-
! cred what is probably the most Won
derful thing about the little valley.
Issuing from the hillside is a spring
of pure water that discharges "a cubic
feet of the fluid every minute, flow
that has never varied in the years that
have elapsed. Twelve months later
he built his mill and it did duty until
last spring when more commodious
quarters became necessary and a new
: building was erected at a cost of Sc, 900.
: This structure has two stories and a
large basement, is 85x50 feet in size
and is not yet finished, although the
+ proprietors hope to have it completed
before winter, when every inch of space
will be utilized. While much of the
machinery is not in position, it is still
possible to gain avery comprehensive
idea Of its workings, pleasure which
was experienced by a Review reporter
r Thursday. The first thing of Interest
about the factory is the water supply
8 and it may be stated that a great dea.
: OF water is used. A 65-foot drop from
the spring to the mill wheels gives al
the power needed and the supply i:
kept uniform by means of the dam
; where a 6-foot head is maintained
!, Leading away from the embanhnen
;. is sluice-way $50 feet in length, which
j carries the water to the washing trough
land from thence to the large 16-foo