Property Record
2-26 S BROOKE ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | LaBelle Wagon Works, Gurney Refrigerator Company |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | PROST AT THE GARDEN FACTORY |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 53235 |
| Location (Address): | 2-26 S BROOKE ST |
|---|---|
| County: | Fond du Lac |
| City: | Fond du Lac |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1879 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1911 |
| Survey Date: | 201019882019 |
| Historic Use: | warehouse |
| Architectural Style: | Italianate |
| Structural System: | Wood Beam |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | N |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | Photo code #2: 74FD-30/27. 1988: This factory building is constructed in several sections. The oldest section is a two story building constructed of limestone. It features window openings with decorative tabbed brick surrounds and unusually-shaped jack arches. The windows are filled with modern multi-light industrial windows, as well as small rectangular openings. To the north is an addition that dates from the late nineteenth century. Constructed of red brick, this part of the building has a variety of openings, most filled with multi-light industrial windows. On the first story there are two openings with four-light sashes, probably the original windows of this part of the building. To the north of this addition is an addition that dates from the mid-twentieth century. It is also constructed of red brick and contains openings filled with multi-light industrial windows, probably the original windows to this addition. Some of the openings have been enclosed. There are other non-contributing additions to this complex. This factory building is not architecturally significant at this time. The south-construction portion of this building was built for the LaBelle Wagon Works. Founded in 1869 as the Farnsworth, Knapp and Co. In 1874, B.F. Moore and A. G. Ruggles purchased the company and expanded its buisiness. By 1880, there were 200 workers turning out 20 wagons per day in teh factory. (n the late nineteenth century the wagon company moved to northern Wisconsin. The factory was taken over by the Gurney Refrigerator Company, and the first addition was made. Gurney was a successful company, but did not survive the Great Depression. By the 1940s, the Wells Manufacturing Company had taken over this factory and built another addition for their production of automotive parts. The company continued to expand in the twentieth century and still exists today. 2010-2011 Intensive survey info: This industrial complex is comprised of several periods of building, beginning in the late 1860s/early 1870s and continuing to the circa-1950s. The oldest portion of the building is the two-story block constructed of stone and brick. Tall-and-narrow, glass block-infilled windows with stone sills and a brick surround are located along each floor. with the building's modernized entrance located within the third bay from the south. Based largely on Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, the remaining multi-storied, brick blocks were built in 1901 (the bulk of the complex situated along the south half of the block as well as the block immediately north of the stone block); circa 1915 (the 3-story brick block behind the two-story brick, loading dock); 1922 (the northernmost block) and finally in the 1940s-50s (the aforementioned loading dock and the one-story brick block to its north). Although many of the windows are boarded over, a number of original multiple-light, double-hung sash and factory sash windows do remain. Based on an 1898 photograph of the original stone-constructed block, its third story was removed between 1927 and 1951. The two-story, brick-trimmed and stone-constructed building located along the north half of the subject block was built for the La Belle Wagon Works. William Bensel, a local contractor and builder, is identified as having built the structure. The wagon works firm was established in 1868 by William and James H. Farnsworth, as well as William H. Knapp under the name of Farnsworth Bros., Knapp & Co. In 1873-74, interest in the company was purchased by Benjamin F. Moore and A.G. Ruggles and the name was changed to the La Belle Wagon Works (William Farnsworth maintained an interest in the company until 1876 and James H. Farnsworth served as the business manager until 1879, after which he served as Secretary). As of 1874, the company is identified as producing 3,000 wagons annually and, in 1880, a county history identifies that 200 workers were producing 20 wagons a day. In 1887, the company was sold to Minneapolis parties who planned to relocated the firm to Fridley, Minnesota (immediately north of Minneapolis). At that time, the firm employed approximately 250 men and made 6,000 wagons a year. Although the company remained in Fond du Lac for at least two more years, it was by 1890 moved to Superior, Wisconsin, where it is said to have ultimately folded in 1896. The wagon works building was purchased in 1890 by the Gurney Refrigerator Company, which was organized in Oshkosh earlier that same year with a capital stock of $300,000. After just a few months, the Oshkosh plant burned down and it was moved to Fond du Lac. The president of the firm was Chauncey Medberry. In 1895, a substantial addition was made to the plant; a total of four additions are cited as of 1901. On 27 (or 30) April 1901, a fire destroyed the plant, except for the original, three-story stone structure. By October of the same year, it is noted that the plant was again open for business. In 1910, a newspaper article indicates that the firm employed 200 hands, manufactured more than 200 styles of refrigerators (as well as builds to order) and that the trade of the company extended throughout the United States. In 1922, a three-story, 60 foot x 140 foot addition, designed by Frank J. Stepnoski, was built by Hutter Construction (and is believed to the northernmost block of the complex). The firm remained in business until between 1934 and 1936. The complex was then taken over by the Wells Manufacturing Company, maker of automotive ignition, replacement parts and fuel pumps. They continue to utilize the buildings. Fox River Valley Industrial Survey The Gurney Refrigerator Company was established in Oshkosh in 1890, though it moved to Fond du Lac a few months later, when the company purchased the LaBelle Wagon Works. Three additions were made to the non-extant company buildings before 1901, when the site burned down. Only the northern most stone structure of the previous wagon works remained. The Gurney Refrigerator Company rebuilt its factory the same year at 42 South Brooke Street in Fond du Lac. The company produced non-ice box refrigerators for commercial sale and boasted 200 employees by 1910. A two-story addition and smokestack were added to the rear of the building in 1915, and a large non-extant addition was completed to the north in 1922. In 1936, the refrigerator company went out of business, and the industrial loft building was sold to the Wells Manufacturing Company, which made automotive ignitions, fuel pumps, and replacement parts. The Gurney Refrigerator Company is significant under Criterion A: History in the area of Industry for its local role in the Fond du Lac refrigeration industry. The period of significance for the property would extend from 1901 to 1936. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | A. City Directories for the City of Fond du Lac, on file at theFond du Lac Public Library., Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. B. Sanborn-Perris Maps for the City of Fond du Lac, on file in the Archives of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconisn. C. Tax Rolls for the city of Fond du Lac, on file inthe Area Research Center of the University of Wisconsin-Oshksh Library, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |