Wisconsin GenealogyThe Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company, formed in 1903 by W. T. and W. M. Lewis, grew out of Racine’s long-running Mitchell wagon business founded in 1834. After rebuilding from a major 1880 fire and merging wagon and automobile operations in 1910, the company became a major Racine manufacturer with a large cement plant and more than 2,000 employees.
The Lavine Gear Company, founded in Detroit and later moved to Wisconsin, now operates from Racine’s Satterly building, where it manufactures auto steering gears for trucks and pleasure cars. Employing 100 skilled workers, the plant can produce 125 gears a day and is said to supply 70% of U.S. trucks, making it the nation’s second largest firm of its kind.
The Junction Hardware Company of Racine, now run by brothers Frederick T. and William G. Maxted, traces its roots to their father’s hardware business founded in 1891. The excerpt also highlights the brothers’ community involvement, fraternal ties, musical interests, and leadership in local football and basketball, where they helped promote clean, competitive sport.
A detailed history of Racine’s J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company, tracing its rise from Jerome I. Case’s first threshing machines in the 1840s to a global industrial leader by 1916. The article highlights the company’s innovations in agricultural machinery, expansive Racine plant, worldwide sales network, quality-control laboratory, employee benefits, fire protection, and the famous Old Abe trade symbol.
The J. I. Case Plow Works grew from a small blacksmith shop into one of the world’s largest independent implement companies, built on quality, service, and dealer support. With more than 600 skilled workers, strict inspection, experimental field testing on a 300-acre farm, and modern factory safeguards, the company set high standards for farm machinery.
The History of Racine County, Wisconsin Businesses American Mangle & Roller Company American Seating Company American Skein & Foundry Company Arnold Electric Company Bank Of Burlington Beffel Furniture & Undertaking Company Brehm Brothers Company Carroll Coal Company Chicago Rubber Clothing Company Commercial Press Company E. C. Tecktonius Manufacturing Company Elite Laundry F. J. Greene Engineering Works Gold Medal Camp Furniture Manufacturing Company Hartmann Trunk Company Henricksen & Jacobson Higgins Spring & Axle Company Horlick Malted Milk Company J. I. Case Plow Works J. I. Case Threshing Machine Company Junction Hardware Company Lavine Gear Company Mitchell-Lewis Motor Company Mohr-Jones Hardware Company … Read more
The Horlick Malted Milk Company, founded in Racine in 1875 by William and James Horlick, grew from a local infant-food business into a worldwide enterprise. After years of experimentation, William Horlick created a powdered malted milk that kept indefinitely and became a staple for infants, explorers, armies, and travelers, while the company expanded its modern, sanitary plants and employee benefits.
The Higgins Spring Axle Company, successor to the Ansted Higgins Spring Company founded in 1884, manufactures springs and axles at its Racine plant and ships products nationwide. Incorporated in 1892, the company grew into a major employer with 175 to 200 workers, modern equipment, and a reputation for fair business practices and employee advancement.
This paper was first issued at Racine, Wisconsin, January 1, 1877, under the name of The Racine Agriculturalist. An introductory on the first page, signed by A. F. Sweetser, states that it is the object of the “proprietor” to benefit the farmers of the country “as much as possible in inserting in its columns such articles as will be of special interest to them in their business and by offering such suggestions as may lighten the labor of the farm.” It is frankly stated that the columns of the paper will be largely devoted to advertising, but only such articles … Read more
One of the foremost business enterprises of Racine was organized in 1908 and succeeded to the business of John Geller, who had conducted his interests under the name of the Westside Printing Company. He had established the business about 1906, and it was conducted under the original name until 1910, when it was incorporated under the laws of Wisconsin as the Western Printing & Lithographing Company. In 1908 Edward H. Wadewitz had bought out the Westside Printing Company and admitted William Bell to a partnership, while six months later Roy A. Spencer became a member of the firm and afterward … Read more