Property Lineage
Harden & Cook – Wagons and Buggies
Mill Site No. 3 appears to have been vacant until around 1874 when Harden and Cook bought the site at Sheriff’s auction for one dollar and seventy five cents ($1.75) in payment of 1868 back taxes, plus court costs. He also purchased some legal rights from F.A. Weage, or perhaps settled a lien Weage had against the property, for twenty five dollars.
A property value of eighty dollars is shown in the 1873 property tax records. In 1874, the records show a value of five-hundred dollars indicating that a building was built on the site during that year. It had access to the Run-a-by canal for shared water power.
Harden and Cook, manufacturer’s of wagons and buggies would have production continue until1887. There is an obvious difference in dates written on the photo and the land records.
An article in Burlington Standard Press, May 6, 18871, gives a brief description of the business.
In 1886, Harden sold the south fifty seven feet to James Quinn while the north half was sold to C.B. McCanna.
C.B. McCanna – Creamery
Charles B. McCanna Photo, Wisconsin Digital Collection.
Charles B. McCanna resided in Burlington and operated creameries in Burlington, Waterford, Dover, Honey Creek, Rochester, New Munster, Caldwell, Kansasville and Windsor. Waterford’s factory produced cheese and butter. In 1893, McCanna joined forces with R.G. Frazer creating a new company, McCanna & Frazer Co., expanding their operation to 12-15 creameries in the area. In 1898, they organized Wisconsin Condensed Milk Co.. The company’s production ranged from 10-12 carloads per week.2
Judging from the following six month contract in 1892 with Frazer, for $50,000, it had to be a substantial operation.
Sometime shortly before 1920, McCanna & Frazer sold the Waterford operation to Nestle’ Foods. They continued to operate into the 1930’s.
James Quinn bought 57 feet of the south side of Mill Site No. 3 on September 8, 1886. He built a building and operated a business building wagons from 1887 to 1897 on the south half of the site. It is the building next to the McCanna Creamery shown in the above Sanborn Fire Map of 1911.
Jacob Schenkenberg – Livery Repairs and Auto Storage
In March of 1898, Quinn sold the south fifty seven feet of Mill Site No. 3 to Jacob Schenkenberg. Schenkenberg had a livery and repair operation on the north side of the first block east of the bridge. It appears that he re-purposed Quinn’s facility and expanded the operation to include repair of equipment. Later, storage and repair of automobiles are shown on the 1911 and 1926 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Schenkenberg’s owned the property at least until 1985.
Today, the Waterford Village Hall occupies this site and part of Site No. 4 as shown in the overlay on a Google Map.
Waterford Village Official Website link HERE
Lead Researcher: Robert E. Gariepy, Sr.
NOTE: Should the reader have further documentation to enhance the content of this web page, please contact the Lead Researcher through director@ExploreWaterford.com. We are particularly interested in pictures or historic artifacts that may be shared. Credit will be given.
Sources:
- Article, Burlington Standard Press, May 6, 1887 edition
- Commemorative Biographical Record of Prominent and Representative Men of Racine and Kenosha Counties Wisconsin Containing Biographical Sketches of Business and Professional Men and Many of the Early Settled Families (published in 1906), p.68 Ref: http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/wch/id/27376
- Racine County Register of Deeds – various documents
The Legacy of Waterford, Wisconsin 