Title: Johannes Van Loon Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1841-1956

Creator:

• Van Loon, Johannes, 1841-1941

Call Number: La Crosse Mss AH; La Crosse SC 47

Quantity: 1.6 cubic feet (4 archives boxes and 1 folder)

Repository:

Housed at the Special Collections & Area Research Center, Murphy Library, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

UW-La Crosse Murphy Library / La Crosse Area Research Ctr. (Map)

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

Abstract:

Papers of Van Loon, a La Crosse, Wisconsin, florist and horticulturist; containing diaries, 1862-1938, kept while living in New Amsterdam, New York and while developing his business in La Crosse, and account books, 1885-1909, recording business and personal finances. Also included are miscellaneous papers, 1855-1895, 1961, 1964, concerning Van Loon, his family, and the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam, La Crosse County, Wisconsin.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-lx00ah

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Johannes Van Loon was born August 17, 1841, in Oostermeer, in Freisland, Netherlands, and came to the United States with his widowed mother and her five other sons in 1855. The family settled in New Amsterdam, New York.

In 1863, Van Loon married Mary La Fleur, who also came from Holland. In 1884 he and his family settled in La Crosse, Wisconsin where he operated a floral business, and was prominent in local business and community affairs. He became known throughout the region as a horticulturist, and over the years developed several new strains of garden and flower varieties. As early as the 1880's Van Loon raised muskmelons, sheltering each plant under glass until the danger of frost had passed. He called them “Van's Best”; they were the earliest on the market, and ranked high in form, texture, and flavor. He advertised them in a unique manner, far ahead of his time. He was known also for his strawberry and current culture and for pioneer achievements in the culture of alfalfa, Golden Glow seed corn, peonies, and delphiniums. Johannes Van Loon served with the Eighth Wisconsin “Eagle” Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, He was a member of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Association, and was president of the La Crosse County Horticultural Society.

Van Loon died on April 15, 1941, just two months before his one-hundredth birthday. Mary La Fleur Van Loon had died seventeen years earlier in 1924.

The Papers of Johannes Van Loon consist of diaries, account hooks, and some miscellaneous papers spanning the years 1841-1956 but date primarily between 1862 and 1938.

The bulk of the collection consists of thirty-three diaries, 1862-1938, covering a seventy-six year period dating from Van Loon's early years in New Amsterdam. Every year is represented except 1864, 1877, and 1899. The diaries give insight into both the period of Van Loon's early settlement in New Amsterdam, and the development of his business in La Crosse.

Also included in the collection are account books which span a much shorter period of time than the diaries, 1885-1909, lacking only 1886. They serve as a running record of Van Loon's business and personal expenditures and receipts.

Both the diaries and account books provide sources for the study of horticultural and agricultural development.

In addition, the collection contains some miscellaneous papers including a few items of general correspondence with the Wisconsin State Historical Society's field supervisor; a certificate granting sale of land; a resolution from the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Association providing membership to Johannes Van Loon; and some historical sketches and newspaper clippings which relate some activities of the Van Loon family. There is also a digest of religious lessons for the elementary grades of the Dutch Reformed Church, January 27, 1841. Additional miscellaneous papers received later in the Archives and in the separate folder.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Maude Van Loon, Rockland, Wisconsin, 1971, and by Nida Saunders, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1972. Accession Number: M71-017, M72-182

Processing Information

Processed by JP (archives intern), October 4, 1972.

La Crosse Mss AH Box   1 Folder   1	General correspondence, 1937, 1956
Box   1 Folder   2	Certificates and resolutions, 1856, 1937
Box   1 Folder   3	Historical sketches
Box   1 Folder   4	Newspaper clippings, 1931, 1937, undated
	Diaries
Box   1 Folder   5	1862
Box   1 Folder   6	1863
Box   1 Folder   7	1865
Box   1 Folder   8	1867
Box   1 Folder   9	1868
Box   1 Folder   10	1869
Box   1 Folder   11	1870
Box   1 Folder   12	1871
Box   1 Folder   13	1872
Box   1 Folder   14	1873
Box   2 Folder   1	1874
Box   2 Folder   2	1875
Box   2 Folder   3	1876
Box   2 Folder   4	1878
Box   2 Folder   5	1879
Box   2 Folder   6	1880
Box   2 Folder   7	1881
Box   2 Folder   8	1882
Box   2 Folder   9	1883
Box   2 Folder   10	1884
Box   3 Folder   1	1885
Box   3 Folder   2	1886-1889
Box   3 Folder   3	1890-1896
Box   3 Folder   4	1896-1898
Box   3 Folder   5	1900-1902
Box   3 Folder   6	1902-1906
Box   3 Folder   7	1907-1911
Box   3 Folder   8	1912-1916
Box   3 Folder   9	1917-1921
Box   3 Folder   10	1922-1926
Box   4 Folder   1	1927-1931
Box   4 Folder   2	1932-1936
Box   4 Folder   3	1937-1938
	Account books
Box   4 Folder   4	1885
Box   4 Folder   5	1887
Box   4 Folder   6	1888
Box   4 Folder   7	1889
Box   4 Folder   8	1890
Box   4 Folder   9	1891
Box   4 Folder   10	1892-1893
Box   4 Folder   11	1894-1909
Box   4 Folder   12	Digest of religious lessons in elementary grades of the Dutch Reformed Church, 1841 January 27
La Crosse SC 47	Miscellaneous papers, 1855-1964 Scope and Content Note: Concerns Van Loon, his family, and New Amsterdam in La Crosse County and includes biographical sketches, land deeds, clippings, and other item.