Title: Fisher-Fallgatter Milling Co. Records
Inclusive Dates: 1888-1979

Creator:

• Fisher-Fallgatter Milling Co. (Waupaca, Wis.)

Call Number: Stevens Point Mss BR; Tape 1386A

Quantity: 6.8 c.f. (4 record center cartons, 6 card boxes, 1 flat box) and 4 tape recordings

Repository:

Housed at the Nelis R. Kampenga University Archives & Area Research Center, Learning Resources Center, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; 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-Stevens Point Library / Stevens Point Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records, mainly 1941-1969, of the Fisher-Fallgatter Milling Co. of Waupaca, Wisconsin, a water-powered flour mill founded in 1884 as the Crescent Roller Mills. Shortly after the turn of the century the mill began concentrating on rye and selling its product on a national market. The business closed in 1969 due to changes in transportation, but was briefly reopened in 1979 as a private museum. The collection documents day-to-day operations of the firm's last 25 years including purchase of grain from local producers; flour sales to eastern bakers and brokers; maintenance and repair of the dam and milling equipment; purchase of supplies and pest management services; financial and production record keeping; and developing new markets such as flour sales to E. I. Dupont & Company for use in dynamite manufacturing. The records consist of correspondence, routine financial and operational records, a history by Polly Athan and a small amount of historical background, and oral history interviews with former owner Don Fallgatter and two employees. Although few of the financial and operational records are complete they provide representative documentation.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-stpt00br

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The Fisher-Fallgatter Mill of Waupaca, Wisconsin was originally constructed in 1884 as the Crescent Roller Mills by Robert N. Roberts and Samuel Oborn. They constructed a flume from an existing millpond to the Waupaca River as well as a three-story frame mill building. The mill was constructed on a fieldstone foundation with a forty-five inch Monitor turbine to power the machinery that was located in the flume under the basement. Original machinery in the mill included six double sets of Stevens rollers, four George Smith middlings purifiers, a Prinz dust collector, and a variety of other equipment.

The mill originally processed a variety of local grains including several types of wheat, oats, buckwheat, and rye. Most of the flour was sold locally, but Roberts and Oborn also contracted with the Wisconsin Central Railroad to lay a spur track to the mill so that their flour could be delivered to more distant markets in Wisconsin and other states. After operating the mill for 17 years, in 1901 Roberts and Oborn sold it to J.C. Eilertson, who changed the name to the Waupaca Roller Mills. In the following year Eilertson sold the business to Walter and Victor Fallgatter, from Marshalltown, Iowa. Several changes in ownership ensued over the next few years, but by 1905 the mill was owned by a third Fallgatter brother, Ward, in partnership with Fred Fisher. Fisher (d. 1959), a native of Waupaca County, had originally been hired by the brothers to manage their Iowa mill. In Waupaca Fisher supervised the milling operations and Fallgatter did the selling and bookkeeping. Fisher and Fallgatter continued operations as a general mill, primarily serving the local trade. Their partnership made a number of notable improvements to the mill, including installation of electric lighting and several structural additions including the construction of an elevator capable of storing 5000 barrels of grain. They also operated a boarding house for the mill employees until the 1940s. From 1910 to 1915 the partners shifted from a local retail business to a commercial operation based on high volume and wide distribution. New equipment increased the mill's capacity from 100 barrels of flour to 150 barrels per day. The partners also decided to concentrate on milling rye flour to the exclusion of other grains. This decision was based primarily on the preponderance of rye cultivation in central Wisconsin. During this period the mill produced several different grades of rye flour and livestock feed. An additional turbine was installed to power a separate feed mill constructed on the property.

The mill operated successfully during the 1920s and 1930s, although with some reductions during the Depression. During this period the partners sold most of their flour to Jewish merchants in New York City. In 1927 the firm patented its “Acme” flour trademark.

As a result of the death of Ward Fallgatter and Fred Fisher's increasing interest in politics (which eventually included serving as mayor of Waupaca and two terms in the State Senate, 1939-1942), the mill was put up for sale in 1936. After two years without a buyer, Ward's son Don (born in 1907), who had originally worked for Hobart Manufacturing Company, returned to operate the mill in partnership with Fisher. In 1943 he bought out Fisher's interest, but retained the Fisher-Fallgatter name. Once Fisher was no longer involved, Don Fallgatter abandoned the local feed business and concentrated on flour milling.

As the years passed and the local farmers ceased raising rye, Fallgatter began purchasing grain from the Dakotas through the Minneapolis Grain Market. The resulting variability in color and consistency of this product created difficulties. The mill produced white, medium, and dark rye flour, as well as ground coarse rye meal for use in making pumpernickel bread.

Fisher and Fallgatter mill sold its flour in railroad carloads to large bakeries or jobbers who resold it to smaller bakeries. The buyer would make a contract with a 120-day window for performance, and sometimes price fluctuation during the contract period resulted in losses for the mill. Railroad shipping rates were also variable. Most of the flour sold in this way went to bakers and jobbers in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Cleveland. During the 1940s and 1950s business with Jewish bakers who had been the heart of the New York market began to wane, although, at least initially, the other markets picked up the slack. Fallgatter also sold a significant amount of industrial grade flour to E. I. Dupont & Company for use as a base in the manufacture of dynamite. Although Dupont bought at a lower price, they were not as concerned about quality because the flour was not for human consumption.

By the early 1960s, Fallgatter had lost most of his eastern markets, and the markets in Chicago and Cleveland were also faltering. The primary reason for the loss of markets was the change in transportation technology. The Fisher-Fallgatter mill was designed to pack flour in 100 and 140 pound burlap or paper bags. As the shipment of commodities such as flour moved toward bulk railroad cars in the 1960s, Fallgatter realized that it would not be cost effective to convert the mill to accommodate this new reality. In May 1969 he made his final shipment and closed the mill. Fallgatter left the building and machinery intact, however, and in 1978 Waupaca residents Robert and Marjorie Paske purchased the mill. In 1979 they arranged to have the mill placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and they began operating the mill as a private museum. In 2002 when these records were processed, the museum was closed.

These records of the Fisher-Fallgatter Mill are the papers that were left in the mill when it was closed by Don Fallgatter in 1969. Unfortunately, the documentation is not complete, and there is little information in the collection before 1941. Even for the more recent period, coverage is hindered by the absence of summary financial records such as ledgers, journals, and financial statements. (The bibliography in Polly Athan's study mentions two invoice journals, 1906-1943, and a resource and liabilities journal, 1917-1943, but both were missing from the collection that was received by the Historical Society in 1979. Nevertheless, researchers will find good evidence of the operation of the mill during its last quarter century. Much of this documentation is routine and no specific file category covers the 1941-1969 period completely. But taken together the records permit researchers to piece together the remarkable story of the Fisher-Fallgatter mill. The records are organized into three series, BACKGROUND FILE, CORRESPONDENCE, and ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS.

The BACKGROUND FILE consists of the history written by Polly Athan for the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1979 (Technological Watersheds on the Waupaca River: A History of Fisher-Fallgatter Mill); directory references dated 1959 and 1968, and a photocopy of several relevant pages from the 1888 book, Illustrated Waupaca. A 1979 newspaper clipping notes the mill's opening as a museum. Most important are the oral history interviews conducted by Polly Athan with Don Fallgatter and two former mill employees.

CORRESPONDENCE dating from the early 1940s through the mill's closure in 1969 constitutes the heart of the collection. The correspondence documents such day-to-day operations as purchasing of grain; flour sales to bakers and jobbers in the Midwest and on the East Coast; purchase of supplies and services; maintenance of the mill, machinery, and dam; relationships with customers, grain brokers, and shippers; and investments in grain futures. Significant correspondents include suppliers such as the Bemis, Chase, and Fredman bag companies, Allis-Chalmers, and Twin City Machine Co.; flour brokers including Brey & Sharpless, Follett & Leach, and Mohr-Holstein Commission Co.; flour re-sellers such as Burgess Flour Co., Franke Grain, and LaBudde Feed & Grain Co.; and large commercial bakers including Laub Baking. Some personal correspondence concerning purchases, medical care, and similar issues is included, but the amount is not substantial. Although the correspondence covers the period from the early 1940s through 1969, there is a gap from 1958 through 1965 during which there is virtually no representation. Also included is some material from the 1930s, but this is fragmentary. Much of the correspondence, especially the letters dealing with the purchase of grain and the sale and shipment of flour, has invoices and bills of lading attached. The correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent with reverse chronological arrangement within each folder.

The ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS include financial records about sales and disbursements and other miscellaneous files used in the day-to-day management of the business. From 1962 through the end of the business, the financial records primarily consist of a chronologically-arranged file of sales slips. The slips are not only a record of the sales, but they also record purchases from grain producers and the checks written, so this file functions in effect as a financial journal. Generally, the sales slips record the customer name, the date, and quantity, type and price of the flour sold or grain purchased. Records of disbursement are present as files of check stubs and invoices. The invoices are arranged into two groups: one file covering 1940 to 1942 and a second file covering 1948 to 1955. Thereunder the records are arranged alphabetically by company name. Some additional invoices are interfiled with the correspondence. The collection also includes a file of check stubs dating from the 1950s through 1960s that includes disbursement and payroll information.

Production is documented in several ways. The most systematic records of this type are two volumes that serve as a rail shipment account journal, 1949-1965. They document the date and weight shipped to each customer, together with occasional comments on the condition of the freight cars. This is complemented by bills of lading that indicate the type of flour, the customer, and the shipping charges. Also included are packer's reports (1946-1947, 1955-1956, 1959-1960, 1963-1965, and 1967-1969) that record the date and quantity of all flour bagged during those years, together with information on type. Loading cards record rail shipments by date, customer, type and quantity from 1956 through 1969. Additionally there are milling statistics compiled for the United States Department of Commerce (1948-1954) and scattered government inspections and reports.

Miscellaneous administrative files include inventories (including one from 1918); insurance and investment documents; Don Fallgatter's federal income tax returns, 1939-1942; blank forms; and a hand-drawn diagram of a milling machine.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Don Fallgatter in 1979. Accession Number: M79-281 and M79-478

Processing Information

Processed by Jonathan Nelson and Carolyn J. Mattern, 2002.

Stevens Point Mss BR	Series: Background Files
Box   1 Folder   1	History of the Fisher-Fallgatter Mill, 1979
Box   1 Folder   2	Directory pages, 1888, 1959, 1968
Box   1 Folder   3	News clipping, 1979
Tape 1386A	Oral history interviews, 1979
No.   1-2	Fallgatter, Don
No.   3	Johnson, Evan
No.   4	Durrant, Evan
Stevens Point Mss BR	Series: Correspondence	⇧
	Major correspondents
Box   1 Folder   4	Adams, C.V., 1941-1943
Box   1 Folder   5	Albert, A.R., 1941
Box   1 Folder   6	Allis Chalmers, 1942-1950
Box   1 Folder   7	Barnard & Leas Manufacturing Co., 1949-1961
Box   1 Folder   8	Bemis Bag Co., 1942-1967, undated
Box   1 Folder   9	Beyer Products, 1950-1967
Box   1 Folder   10	Bremner Biscuit Co., 1965-1966
Box   1 Folder   11-14	Brey & Sharpless, 1941-1966
Box   1 Folder   15	Burgess Flour Co., 1951-1967
Box   1 Folder   16	Cargill, 1965-1967
Box   1 Folder   17-18	Cereal Grading Co., 1941-1967
Box   1 Folder   19	Chase Bag Co., 1941-1966
Box   1 Folder   20	Dawes Laboratory, Inc., 1964-1966
Box   1 Folder   21	Dickerson, A.B., 1949-1967
Box   1 Folder   22-23	Eau Claire Elevator Co., 1948-1967
Box   1 Folder   24	Follett & Leach, Inc., 1944-1960
Box   1 Folder   25	Franke Grain Co., 1943-1955
Box   1 Folder   26	Fredman Bag Co., 1943-1966
Box   1 Folder   27	Freihofer Baking Co., 1943-1953
Box   2 Folder   1	Gross, Morris, 1952-1955
Box   2 Folder   2	Gross Bros. Flour Co., 1943-1952
Box   2 Folder   3	Hallet & Carey Co., 1948-1954
Box   2 Folder   34	Hawkins, Aubrey, 1948-1955
Box   2 Folder   4	Hummer, Wayne, and Co., 1939-1943
Box   2 Folder   5	Kircos and Sons Flour Co., 1949-1952
Box   2 Folder   6	Koch, Charles, 1948-1953
Box   2 Folder   7	LaBudde Feed & Grain Co., 1948-1966
Box   2 Folder   8	Laub Baking Co., 1958-1968
Box   2 Folder   9	Lederer, Arthur, Milling Co., 1952-1956
Box   2 Folder   10	Levy & Son, Inc., 1948-1954
Box   2 Folder   11	Mannott, R. William, 1948-1951
Box   2 Folder   12	Marshfield Milling, Inc., 1948-1966
Box   2 Folder   13	Merrill Lynch, 1949-1966
Box   2 Folder   14	Meyer, F.C., 1948-1953
Box   2 Folder   15	Mill Mutual, 1948-1967
Box   2 Folder   16	Mineral Milling Co., 1950-1951
Box   2 Folder   17	Mohr Holstein Commission Co., 1948-1967
Box   2 Folder   18	Nieman Bros. Co., 1948-1965
Box   2 Folder   19	Northwestern Flour and Feed Co., 1948-1950
Box   2 Folder   20	Pagel Milling Co., 1950-1966
Box   2 Folder   21	Phelps, Vernon, 1941-1942
Box   2 Folder   23	Reliance Collection Service, 1941-1942
Box   2 Folder   23	Research Institute, 1941-1942
Box   2 Folder   24	Rothstein and Co., 1943
Box   2 Folder   25	Ruth, George, 1941-1949
Box   2 Folder   26	Sheinbart, Aaron, Flour Co., 1949-1954
Box   2 Folder   27	Star Elevator Co., 1941-1943
Box   2 Folder   28	Stratton Grain Co., 1941-1943
Box   2 Folder   29	Twin City Machine Co., 1952-1967
Box   2 Folder   30	Universal Laboratories, 1941-1958
Box   2 Folder   31	Westfield Produce Co., 1941-1943
Box   2 Folder   32	Wooster S.C., 1952-1955
	Minor correspondents, 1938-1967
Box   2 Folder   34	A
Box   3 Folder   1-22	B-Z
	Series: Administrative Records	⇧
	Bills of lading
Box   3 Folder   23-29	1940-1955
Box   4 Folder   1-2	1959-1969
Box   4 Folder   3	Checking account statement, 1927
Box   4 Folder   4-6	Check stubs, 1955, 1957-1962
Box   4 Folder   7	Check stubs, Payroll, 1964-1967
Box   4 Folder   8	Checks, 1927-1930
Box   4 Folder   9	Fallgatter, Ward, Estate papers, 1936-1938
Box   4 Folder   10	Forms
Box   4 Folder   11	Government inspections and reports, 1942-1969, undated
Box   4 Folder   12	Insurance assessments & policies, 1916-1944
Box   4 Folder   13-15	Inventories & appraisals, 1918, 1930, 1934, 1937-1948
Box   4 Folder   16	Investments, 1938-1939, undated
	Invoices
Box   4 Folder   17	1939
Box   4 Folder   18-33	1940-1942, A-Z
	1948-1955
Box   4 Folder	A-H
Box   5 Folder   1-8	I-W
Box   7	Loading cards, 1956-1969, undated
Box   5 Folder   9	Machinery diagram, undated
Box   5 Folder   10	Milling statistics, 1948-1954
	Packer's reports (in reverse chronological order in each box)
Box   8	1946-1960, June
Box   9	1960, July-1969, April
	Sales slips
Box   10	1962-1964, April
Box   11	1964, May-1966, August
Box   12	1966, September-1969, March
Box   6 Folder   1	1969, April-June
Box   4	Shipment journals
Box   13	1948-1955
Box   6 Folder   2	1956-1965
Box   6 Folder   3	Tax returns, 1939-1942