Mueller Lumber Company

The Mueller Lumber Company was located in downtown Davenport, Iowa, United States. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. ^[1] It has since been torn down and it was delisted from the NRHP in 2005.^[2]The site is now the main clinic for Community Health Care.

History

The Mueller Lumber Company started as Burnell, Gillett & Company in 1850. In eight years it became one of the largest firms in Davenport employing 90 workers.^[3] The company went through several ownership changes after the Civil War. It became DesSaint & Schricker around 1865 and then Schricker & Mueller in 1868 when Christian Mueller, an immigrant from Holstein in present-day Germany, bought out Mr. DesSaint’s share of the business. When Mr. Schricker died in July 1883 he became the sole proprietor of the company.^[4] The firm led local production figures by the 1870s, but fire destroyed the mill in 1885 and Mueller had to rebuild. ^[5]

In 1895 he was joined by his three sons, Frank, Edward and William, as partners. The company’s name was changed to Chris Mueller & Sons. Christian Mueller died in September 1901 and his three sons continued to run the business. ^[4]

References