early industry

One of the first business established in Belle Plaine was a post office; it being a small building near the Chatfield residence. Mail was delivered weekly.

GRIST MILL

The grist mill, erected at a cost of  $30,000, was constructed by the Belle Plaine Company in 1857. In 1865, it burned down and was rebuilt that same year by Dolittle & Norris, at a cost of $9,000. This mill was located on the bank of the river around where the old depot once stood, or about a block east of the old river bridge.

SAW MILLS

George Sly erected the first sawmill in 1855. This was located adjacent to Brewery Creek, near where the present railroad tracks are today. It was a two-story building, partially built into the side of the hill giving the appearance of the second story being on the ground floor. It was constructed so that the logs could be rolled down the hill, onto the carriage that put the logs through the saw mill.

Another sawmill was erected by Dolittle and Norris along the banks of Roberts Creek, just to the west of Belle Plaine. The Dolittle and Norris mill did not have a circular saw like we are used to seeing. Instead, it had one that worked up and down; it was known as a drag saw.

FOUNDRY

A large manufacturing plant was built in the latter part of the 1850's, situated about midway between the old depost site and the river. The structure was 40 by 125 feet, built on large pilings to keep it above rises in the river. Even then at flood time, the building would fill with water and cease operations. After two years it was moved farther inland to a higher ground. The plant manufactured plows, drags, fanning mills, large iron kettles, stove parts and castings for steam engines.

The people of the town spent many an hour admiring all the large iron and wood working tools in operation. When the plant did casting, many persons watched as the molten iron flowed in little rivers to the various molds in the sand.

A Mr. Kaiser, who worked at the foundry, made a cast iron cannon weighing about 150 pounds. It being during the civil war, the cannon was brought out and fired every time news reached town that the North had won a battle. The cannon was placed near the intersection of our present Main and Meridian Streets, and it faced north. On one occasion, a David Smith was firing the cannon so rapidly that it got hot. While he was ramming in the next charge, it went off; David Smith lost two fingers. Rumor had it that it was secretly buried under one of the streets, so that someone wouldn't get hurt due to an accident. It was stated that an overcharge in cast iron cannon would cause it to explode, with very serious consequences. The foundry burned down in the late 1880's and was not rebuilt.

BREWERIES

The first brewery was established in 1860, by an Anton Swingler. It was built near a site along Brewery Creek, about 200 yards to the east of the present railroad bridge on Highway 25. It produced beer until it burned down in 1866. Near the same site, another brewery was established by Christian Schmitt in 1871, and the business was carried on by his sons John, Peter and Matt. This brewery was in its prime well into the 1890's. With competition from the larger breweries, local breweries began to decline. The Schmitt Brewery in Belle Plaine continued in business into the 1920's. Among the other very early industries in Belle Plaine was a stave and barrel factory. This business flourished from the time of its inception in 1866 to its close in about 1874. A very short-lived venture was a hop yard, which ran from 1867 to about 1870.

BRICK YARD INDUSTRY

Brick making was a very important early industry because of the natural materials available, the simplicity of producing bricks and the demand for cheap and fireproof building material. There were several clay deposits to be found along the Minnesota River, ideal for the manufacture of brick. The first brickyards produced brick intended for building chimneys by the early settlers. They were discovered prior to the civil war.

In the late 1860's, Jacob and Martin Krenz opened the first big brickyard which produced a very good quality of red brick used in building several of the downtown buildings. In 1901, the Becker Brickyard shipped an even hundred carloads of brick. About 22,000 bricks a day were processed by a team of 20 to 25 men. When Mr. Becker passed away, the business was carried on by his son-in-law, Joseph Albrecht, Jr. After a time, the accessible clay diminished, operations ceased, and today you may drive by and harldly know that it was once a brickyard.

To learn more about Belle Plaine's rich and detailed history, please visit the Belle Plaine Library and check out Leo J. Albrecht's book "Belle Plaine: 150 Years - 1854 to 2004"