Property Record
619 MAIN ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Neenah Stove Works |
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| Other Name: | INTERNATIONAL CHILDRENS FUN |
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| Reference Number: | 63709 |
| Location (Address): | 619 MAIN ST |
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| County: | Winnebago |
| City: | Neenah |
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| Year Built: | 1876 |
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| Additions: | 1906 1915 |
| Survey Date: | 20042019 |
| Historic Use: | industrial building |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | Concrete Beam |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | Y |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | Four story altered brick industrial building with altered stone "portal." Begun in 1857 by A.K. Moore as the Neenah Stove Works. The foundry became best known as the Bergstrom Brothers Foundry. Begun by D.W. and George Bergstrom and Havilah Babcock, the foundry operated from 1876 to 1948 under the Bergstrom name. The 1996 map code was 123/10 on city base map. The Bergstrom Brothers and Company Stove Works, as it came to be known, was established in 1857 by W.N. and A.K. Moore and B.W. Wells as the Neenah Stove Works. It is noted as the earliest iron foundry in Neenah. The original Block of this structure was erected in circa 1872 and, at that time, was still owned by the Moores and Wells. in 1873, Hiram Smith and DeWitt Clinton Wan Ostrand prochased the foundry; the firm's primary product of which was the manufacture of stoves. In 1878, the company changes hands and was sold to George Bergstrom, his brother D.W. and Havilah Babcock and the name was changed to Bergstrom Brothers & Company. Within the first year, the firm expanded to include the manufactrue of plows and it employed fifty workers. By 1908, the company had approximately seventy-five employees. George Bergstrom eventually bought out his brother, as well as Babcock's interest and he maintained the company until 1928. The manufacturing concern remained in the Berstrom family until about 1948. Fox River Valley Industrial Survey W. N. Moore, A.K. Moore, and B. W. Wells established the Neenah Stove Works in 1857 as the first iron foundry in Neenah. The site, located at 619 Main Street, was first occupied by the foundry in 1873, when the business was sold to Hiram Smith and DeWitt Clinton Wan Ostrand, who made foundry iron stoves. The company was sold again in 1878 to George Bergstrom, D. W. Bergstrom, and Havilah Babcock, who were all involved with the local paper industry and renamed the foundry the Bergstrom Brothers and Company Stove Works. The company also manufactured furnaces and plows. George Bergstrom bought out his partners in 1904, when the company had approximately seventy-five employees, and renamed it simply the Bergstrom Stove Works. The stove works consists of a four-story brick industrial loft and warehouse at the eastern end of the site with a series of single-story production sheds to the west and finally another three-story loft at the western end bracketing the foundry. The company shifted its focus to furnaces instead of stoves during the 1930s and was sold in 1948 to Lyall Williams, who operated a plumbing supply business. It was sold again in 1951. The Neenah Stove Works is significant under Criterion A: History in the area of Industry for its role in the Neenah metal products industry. The period of significance for the property would extend from 1878 to 1948. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Front of building, painted sign B. Shattuck's History of Neenah, p.299. All historical infromation is taken from the "Bergstrom Brothers & Company Stove Works," DOE form, 10-12. “Architecture/History Survey: Glatfelter Mill Redevelopment Project, Neenah.” WHS project number 08-0393/WN. August 2008. Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center (GLARC). |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |