Two Creek's Tannery
The Village of Two Creeks with farmers unloading baled hay and grain. Left to right: hay shed, boat at pier, warehouse, manager’s residence, store, and hotel. Circa 1905. MCHS 2006.11.1408
In 1861, the township of Two Creeks welcomed its new name. A petition stated: “In 1859 the town of Rowley was set off from Two Rivers and the question of subdivision submitted to the electors. In so determining the division, no opportunity was given the electors to express a preference of name, and the town was organized under the name of Rowley, which is obnoxious to the whole of the resident voters. At the last town meeting the electors unanimously voted to request your honorable body to change the name of Rowley, which is objectionable on account of personal association, to the name of Two Creeks.”
It is around this time that the G. Pfister and Company from Milwaukee created a large tannery in the crossroads community. Pfister soon held 22 land entries in section 11, 13, and 24 of the township – mostly along Lake Michigan. His holdings represented a total of 1,429.9 acres of land. With a lot of hemlock bark nearby, the business quickly developed, and employees traveled to the bustling village. Soon a post office was created, called Nero. A sawmill was built, and a pier was constructed to receive bark, cord wood, and other materials needed for a successful tannery operation. The company’s leather was shipped to Milwaukee – and reshipped to other cities from there.
The Pfister Leather Company also built homes its employees at the tannery and sawmill. Most of these homes were located at the intersection of the community’s crossroads.
“It was expected of tanners to be possessed of a reasonable amount of technical knowledge and efficiency in handling their chosen line of work. The hemlock bark consumed by the plant was secured within a radius of about twelve miles of the tannery. It was not an uncommon sight to see twenty-four or more ox and horse teams, following each other in line, drawing loads of bark and other products to the village to be sold at the company’s store.”
The company also encouraged village citizens to produce their own hemlock bark, ties, fence posts and more that they would buy from the settlers in exchange for credit in the company store.
In 1863, the unincorporated village of Two Creeks was founded and the tannery was expanded. In addition to the tannery, the village also included a public school, general store, boarding house, blacksmith shop, tavern, wagon maker, tailor and shoemaker, a meat market and a telegraph office.
By 1866, the town of Two Creeks was full of prosperity and had an estimated 150 to 200 residents in 60 families. In the summer of 1869, Fred Vogel Jr. took over management of the Pfister Leather Company, as his father had purchased it. A few years later, the leather tanning company was incorporated under the name ‘Pfister Vogel Leather Company.
After about 20 years, the supply of hemlock dwindled and the tannery industry was dissolved. The plant was destroyed by a fire around 1885. The Pfister and Vogel Leather Company continued to operate almost 300 acres of farmland, and buy hay and peas to sell and ship. Soon, a change from the lumbering industry to farming would take the lead in Two Creeks.