Title: William F. Christel Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1927-1954

Creator:

• Christel, William F., 1869-1952

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 69

Quantity: 0.4 c.f. (1 archives box)

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Fragmentary papers of William F. Christel, founder of pea-canning factories near Valders, Wisconsin, and of a farm implement and hardware firm, and inventor of canning industry equipment. Included are legal and financial papers, papers on his inventions, and other records, primarily concerned with the settling of his estate.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0069

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William F. Christel, a pioneer Wisconsin entrepreneur and inventor, was born in 1869 to Austrian immigrant parents living in the Town of Steinthal, Manitowoc County. In 1890, Christel married Wilhelmina Lulloff; the couple subsequently had fifteen children. Between 1895 and 1900, Christel embarked on several business ventures, among them the establishment of a pea-canning factory in St. Nazianz in 1896. About 1900, the Christels moved to Valders, where William built a general store and tavern and organized the Pioneer Canning Company, later the Valders Canning Company. A third plant was located in Hilbert, and the company owned and operated a 400-acre farm adjacent to the village of Valders. Christel remained president of the company until his death in 1952, when his son assumed the presidency until the company was liquidated in 1963.

In addition to founding and operating the Valders Canning Company, Christel invented equipment for use in the canning industry. One of his thirteen patented inventions, the texturemeter, which tests the maturity of peas and other vegetables, has had considerable impact on the industry.

Other business enterprises of Christel's were combined as William F. Christel, Inc., originally a farm implements and hardware firm. At the time of his death, Christel was also president of the Valders State Bank and the Valders-Collins Oil Co., and director of the Hilbert State Bank.

The Christel collection is fragmentary and contains primarily legal and financial papers dealing with the management and settling of his estate. Two folders of plans, correspondence, and legal documents, 1927-1944, pertaining to his inventions and patents, are present, in addition to some general legal and financial records, 1935-1954. Also included is a scattered grouping of miscellaneous financial records of William F. Christel, Inc., 1952-1965.

“Valders Canning Company Records, 1913-1964,” (Green Bay Mss 48) contains related records.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Charles C. Christel, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, 1975, and by Ruth Glasow, Pasadena, California, 1976. Accession Number: M75-417, M76-397

Processing Information

Processed by Menzi Behrnd and P. Tall, September 28, 1978.

Box   1 Folder   1-2	Inventions and patents, 1927-1944
Box   Folder   3	Legal and financial papers, 1935-1954
Box   Folder   3	Clippings, 1948, 1952
Box   Folder   4	Estate legal papers, 1952
Box   Folder   5	Estate financial papers, 1953-1954
Box   Folder   6	William F. Christel, Inc., financial records, 1952-1965