BUSINESSES GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: FLOUR MILLS, BREWERIES, CIGAR MAKERS

ROTH TOBACCO WAS ONE OF SEVEN LOCAL CIGAR MAKERS: Roth Tobacco was one of seven cigar-manufacturing companies in Cape Girardeau's history. This business operated at on South Frederick. It opened at this location on May 1, 1905. The factory was established by Louis Roth in 1874. (JUDITH ANN CROW COLLECTION)

THILENIUS OPERATED BREWERY: In 1867, Thilenius purchased a nine-acre hilltop at the then western edge of the city, where he established a three-story winery. His home, Longview, stands today adjacent to the winery site. This photo was taken in May of 1951. He also operated a flour mill. (JUDITH ANN CROW COLLECTION)

FLOUR MILLS WERE ONCE COMMON IN CITY: A number of mills operated in the city in the 1800s and early 1900s. Among those was the Plansifter (Stein and Lance) Mill at 434 Broadway. The mill later burned. (JUDITH ANN CROW COLLECTION)

Businesses change and new names emerge, but one thing remains the same in Cape Girardeau: the city remains a regional hub for more than a century and a half.

During the heyday period of the post-Civil War era, Cape Girardeau was a trading center for an area extending into the Ozarks and south into Arkansas.

Farmers, trappers and others sold their products to Cape Girardeau merchants, who shipped them to New Orleans and other cities by steamboat and later by rail.

Grain was sold to Cape Girardeau millers, whose brands became well known. Millers sold millions of barrels of flour throughout the Mississippi Valley.

Flour became the largest commodity export of the city. In one year, 1874, flour accounted for 77 percent of products shipped out of Cape Girardeau.

The 1874 the business world of Cape Girardeau featured three flour mills, two cigar-manufacturing shops, 11 blacksmiths, seven wagonmakers, a barrelmaker, three livery stables and a distillery.

The city's growth as a regional center has continued, although most of the 1860s and even turn-of-the-century businesses and manufacturers have phased out and are now names in history.

Flour mills Planters Mills on Independence; Cape City Rollers Mill, later Plansifter Mills in the 300 block of Broadway; and Union Mills turned out barrels of flour.

Cigar-manufacturing firms were plentiful in the city. The firm of Tatum and Cross produced such blends of tobacco as Beeswax, Foxy Grandpaw and Egg Shell Twist. Bierwirth Cigar Manufacturing, 38 Main, was one of the seven cigar firms. Others included Roth Tobacco, on South Frederick; C.W. Allers on Court House Square; August Krieger at 224 S. Sprigg; Gus Grieb, 629 Themis, Brodtman Brothers, Pearl and Sprigg, and the firm of Tatum and Cross.

Three breweries were in operation at the turn of the century. Cape Brewery and Ice Co. at Morgan Oak and Middle featured Standard Lager, Drummers' Choice and Royal Beer, sending its products throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, Northern Arkansas and even Eastern Kansas. Two other breweries were the Columbia Brewing Co., 500 Main; and Green Tree Brewery on North Water.

Other businesses which no longer exist in Cape Girardeau include wagonmakers, cotton gins, and a distillery.

Cotton is still a big product in Southeast Missouri, especially in the Bootheel area. But shortly after the Civil War two cotton gins were situated in Cape Girardeau. There is still a blacksmith in town, but through the early 1900s as many as a dozen blacksmiths could be found in the city.

"Flour was the big manufacturing product in Cape Girardeau until the railroads came," said Frank Nickell, director for regional history at Southeast Missouri State University.

"Wheat and corn were difficult to ship on steamboats," explained Nickell. "Roustabouts had to carry the grain in bags to the boats. This was a tedious task, and it was difficult to ship large volumes long distances. Farmers sold their grains to the local millers."

During the last half of the 1800s and into the early 1900s, many milling operations were in evidence throughout the area, with two to three mills operating in Cape Girardeau.

Most mills were constructed along creeks to utilize running water for power, but one of the most unusual flour mills in the county was that designed by Barthelemi Cousin to utilize the running water of the Mississippi River for power.

The mill was mounted on two flatboats and powered by a wooden spiral wheel.

One of the largest mills in the area was the one on Whitewater River at Burfordville. Area history says that settlers came as far as 100 miles to have their grain ground at the mill, which has now been restored to preserve the mill, dam, pond and a covered bridge as a public park.

One of the premier flour mills in Cape Girardeau was that founded by George Thilenius. Construction of the 160-barrel mill started in January 1865. It was completed a year later.

Thilenius' Cape City Roller Mill became world famous for its quality of flour, winning a medal of merit at the World's Fair in Vienna, Austria, and a first prize at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.

"Col. Thilenius was my great-great-grandfather," said Liz Stanfield, who lives in Cape Girardeau. "The first time his flour won an award he wasn't even aware that it had been entered into competition.

"A group of employees submitted the flour to the Vienna World's Fair and didn't tell him about it until it won the medal of merit," said Stanfield. "We still have a jar of the flour which had been submitted to the contest."

Stanfield said members of the family have several of the original flour sacks used by the mill.

In 1867, Thilenius purchased a nine-acre hilltop at the western edge of the city, where he estblished a winery, an impressive three-story operation. The underground level contained a wine cellar. Steam-power mills and presses were located on the second floor, with the packing and shipping department on the third floor.

In addition to producing wine, Thilenius' specialty was a "sparkling champagne cider." The winery also produced a non-alcoholic carbonated beverage. Thilenius was the first to produce "soda pop" in Cape Girardeau.

When the winery was in full production, Thilenius constructed his home, That home, a two-and-a-half-story brick house called Longview, still stands on Whitener Street.

"Once railroads came to Cape Girardeau, farmers started shipping more and more of their grain by railroad," said Nickell. "The railroad service gave the city a big boost. Population increased, doubling in three years.

"We sometimes forget how small the city was at that time," said Nickells. "The population was between at the turn of the century. That figure more than doubled in a decade after the trains came."

At that time the business and manufacturing scene started changing. But today Cape Girardeau is still considered a regional hub.

See MANUFACTURERS, Page 12

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