This file part of www.watertownhistory.org website
Beal & Torrey Shoe Co
Established 1904 in Watertown
1904, established
Orbit, Watertown High
School, 1921
Scarcely had the guns
of the Civil War ceased firing when two young men from Massachusetts, E. F.
Beals and I. G. Mann (the former a wounded and discharged soldier) stopped off
in Milwaukee looking for a satisfactory location for a shoe jobbing house.
Milwaukee seemed to impress the young men as being the place they were looking
for, and they at once completed arrangements for a store at
At this time the firm
opened a factory where were manufactured men's work shoes and women's turned
shoes, both high and low cut. This
factory was in a building occupying the site of what became Child's Restaurant
on
In the early days of
the firm its goods were sold in Wisconsin, northern Iowa and southern
Minnesota, E. F. Beals and J. L. Beals covering the territories twice a year
mostly by team. Goods sold on the spring trip were collected in the fall, and
those sold in the fall were paid for in the spring. In 1897 the business had so developed that it
was deemed advisable to incorporate, and so in the spring of that year the
corporation known as Beal & Torrey Shoe Company came into existence.
In 1904 a desire
which E. F. Beals had long been possessed of was consummated and the company
erected its own factory at Watertown.
For a short time the same class of goods was manufactured in the new
factory as had been in the old, but after the death of E. F. Beals in 1906 the
new management decided on making a radical change, and devoted the entire effort of the factory to the
production of Men's Fine Goodyear Welt Shoes.
Those in active
control of the business since 1906 are:
F. E. Beals ..........President
J. H. Pratt
............Vice-President
J. G. Hafemeister ....Treasurer
R. W. Tait ............Secretary
F. W. Pfeifer ..........Superintendent
Under their regime
the business so increased that it became evident a larger factory was
necessary, but before plans could be carried into effect the war came on and
building operations had to be laid aside. As soon as permitted to do so work
was commenced on a modern factory, up-to-date in every respect and its
completion was reached early in 1920.
This factory has a
capacity of 2,500 to 3,000 pairs a day and is known as Beals-Pratt Shoe
Manufacturing Company. The company is
now covering the entire United States and also includes in its territory, Cuba,
Mexico and Central America.
1904 06 24
The Beal & Torrey
Shoe Co. of Milwaukee has decided to remove their manufacturing plant to this
city. The officers of the Watertown Advancement Association have been negotiating
with the company for some time and finally closed a deal with them last week. A
cash bonus of $8000 will be given the company, and they will erect a plant here
to cost $30,000, and as soon as it is completed 100 men and 50 women will be
put to work.
Milwaukee Street Bridge with Beal & Torrey in
distance, c 1913
The factory will be
built on a piece of land just northwest of Milwaukee Street bridge. It is to be
four stories high, 200 feet long and about 60 feet wide.
Mayor Wertheimer and
Fred A. Hoffmann, the soliciting committee, are at present taking subscriptions
from our business men and others and it is hoped they will be generously dealt
with. This company will from the start pay out about $1 000 a week in wages,
which will be of great benefit to Watertown.
John Buckley of Emmet
has signed $20 to the enterprise, taking an interest in our city because it is
his market town and he wants to see it prosperous. We want more John Buckleys
in and around Watertown to give a good active boom on this city.
1904 11 08
The shoe factory at
West Milwaukee and Water streets, completed for the Beal & Torrey Shoe
Company of Milwaukee, will be in operation about December 1 and employ about
125 persons.
The factory is of
brick, four stories in height. It is 150 feet long and 41 feet wide, with an
additional boiler room and coal bunker at the north end, together with a steel
water tank, seventy feet from the ground, which will be used in the operation
of an automatic sprinkler system in case of fire. There are 225 windows in the
building and gas and electricity have been installed, the latter to be used for
power. It will be heated by steam. The building is constructed with a view to
perfect sanitation and comfort of employees.
The cost of
construction was about $30,000. C.
Huenefeld of this city was the contractor and the workmanship throughout is of
the best character. F. L. Lindsa, was
the architect.
1904 07 12
Saturday morning the
writer visited the Beals & Torrey Shoe Co's factory and was surprised at
the amount of work performed and the exceeding friendliness of the factory in
each and every department. The factory is located at the corner of Milwaukee
and Water streets, is built of white brick, and there stories above the
basement and is an imposing structure and a credit to both the company and the
city.
At the present time
over one hundred and twenty-five hands are employed in the factory, and
footwear for men women, youths and children are manufactured, there being
several grades of each, running from the common up to the very finest shoes
being made, such as any lady or gentleman would wear with the satisfaction of
knowing that they were well shod. The daily out-put is 800 pairs each working
day, each passing through the several departments and finally and lastly to the
polishing department under Foreman Devine, where they are finished for the
trade.
The machinery in use
is of the latest, and is a marvel of the ingenuity of man, and many of the
machines work as if possessed of intelligence, which one can watch with
interest by the hour. The wages paid monthly amounts to a large sum and is a
great help to the city in furnishing employment for many people at good wages
which are promptly paid.
1908 Beals & Torey fire alarm box 36. 08 07 WG
Cross-References:
No
1: Beal & Torrey building became site for
Kusel Dairy Equipment
No 2: M D Wells Company, Mastiff Shoe Factory,
Watertown, 1909
