1860 Manufacturing in Boone-Duden Country
by Bob Brail

     “Manufacturing is alive and well in St. Charles County,” according to a report issued earlier this year. This report was based on a 2016 survey of St. Charles County manufacturers. The survey respondents predicted the continued growth of manufacturing in the county, with the top jobs being in assembly, engineering, computers, machinery, quality inspection, warehouse shipping and receiving, and welding.

     Some may find it hard to believe that even as far back as1860 St. Charles County had many manufacturing endeavors. In fact, there were eighty-three manufacturing businesses earning at least $500 annually in the county in that year. Of course, the types of manufacturing were different then. Common manufacturing jobs were held by blacksmiths, carpenters, saddlers, millers, shoemakers, and tailors.

     Perhaps the best source for discovering what American manufacturing was like in the years before the Civil War is the1860 Federal Census of Manufactures of the United States. This census had been done previously in 1820 and 1850, and would be done again in 1870 and 1880. Information gathered included the name of the manufacturer, the type of product, the capital invested, the value of the materials used, the annual value of the product, the type of power used, the number of people employed, and the cost of labor. Only businesses that produced at least $500 worth of goods in a year were supposed to be included in the census, although many census takers ignored this limit.

     The southern half of St. Charles County, rural and rather sparsely populated, was home to only twenty-one of the eighty-three manufacturers in the county in 1860. Of the 360 people involved in manufacturing in St. Charles County, forty-seven were working in Boone-Duden country, only about 13% of the county total. Only six women were working in manufacturing, none in the southern portion of the county. Tobacco production involved more employees than any other manufacturing endeavor, about 40% of the total number employed; the same was true in Boone-Duden country, with about 35% of the total number employed working in tobacco manufacturing. (Nearly half of those workers lived with tobacco factory owner Thomas Mason: John Clowers, William Sutton, Thomas Burton, and Alf Matthews).The average annual salary for all manufacturing laborers in the county was about $250.

     Although smaller in population, the southern part of the county had five of the county's eight flour mills, but produced only about one-fourth of the county's annual product. Not surprisingly, Boone-Duden country, which had many farms, was home to a quarter of the county's blacksmiths. In terms of production, the area of manufacturing in which the southern part of the county dominated was lumber milling. Although it had only five of the thirteen lumber mills in the county, almost ninety percent of the value of the lumber sawed in St. Charles County came from Callaway, Femme Osage, and Dardenne (southern half) Townships in 1860. Most of the manufacturing in the southern portion of the county was centered in and around the villages of New Melle, Augusta, and Cottleville. Missouriton had three such businesses, and Pauldingville, Femme Osage, Hamburg, and Naylor's Store all were home to one or two manufacturing businesses.


1860 Manufacturing in Southern St. Charles County

1 - $ Capital Invested 2 - $ Value of Raw Materials 3 – Employees
4 – Quantity of Annual Product 5 – $ Value of Annual Product

Name                       Business              1           2           3           4           5
CALLAWAY TOWNSHIP

Waddy Thompson       Tobacco Factory          1500      1000            5        8000 lb      3000
Conrad Weinrich         Blacksmith                     200      1000            2           -           18,000
John H. Reinart           Milling (steam)             2000     1100 lumber 1    150,000 ft     2900
                                                                                       4000 grain                 -              6000
Edward Rickmuss       Blacksmith                      200       500             2           -              1200
Thomas J. Mason       Tobacco Factory            6000     8500           11      60,000 lb  11,000

FEMME OSAGE TOWNSHIP

Heinrich Karrenbrock Steam Sawmill              2000        -                2      624,000 ft     5000
                                    16 horse
Elias Lee                     Steam Sawmill              1200      2000           3       800,000 ft     6000
                                    16 horse
William Sehrt             Steam Sawmill               3000      1500           3       600,000 ft     5000
                                   24 horse
Heinrich Schaaf         Steam Flourmill              7650    24,000          3        4800 bush 28,800
                                   24 horse
Henry Dickhaus        Ox Mill                            2000          -              1             -                600
Heinrich Dubbert      Ox Mill                            1000          -              1             -                500
Daniel Hays             Water Mill                        1000        750            1             -              2500
Julius Kruse             Carding Machine                300          -              1             -                500

DARDENNE TOWNSHIP (southern half)

Lawrence Wolff         Wagon Making                  50           -              1               -              800
Martin Miller              Boots/Shoes                     100       1800           3               -            3000
John Seymour             Boots/Shoes                   250         250           1               -              400
John Stripe                 Blacksmith                       400        580            1               -            1200
Lincoln & Croft         Steam Sawmill                1000        400            3               -            1000
                                   10 horse
Heronimus Herman   Blacksmith                        200       380            1                -           1000
Nelson Marsh            Cabinet Maker                  200      200             -                -             500
Morris Nustatter        Blacksmith                        100       150            1                -             600

     Even in 1860 in the southern half of St. Charles County, manufacturing was undergoing change. It is interesting to note that Femme Osage Township was home to seven mills in 1860. Three of these mills were powered by “old fashioned” methods, oxen or a water wheel. The majority of the mills, however, were driven by steam, a major innovation of the Industrial Revolution.

     It is interesting to note what is not included in the agricultural census: the many manufacturing businesses which did not qualify for inclusion in the report since they did not produce at least $500 in goods each year. For example, Callaway Township has only five manufacturers listed in the chart on the next page. However, a check of the 1860 population census for Callaway Township shows forty-three men employed in manufacturing. While it is possible that some of these men were employed in neighboring townships, it is very unlikely that most of them were. Callaway Township was home to fifteen blacksmiths, six millers, five carpenters, and several others. The five brickmakers (William Shuta, Henry Slater, Fritz Hamesmeier, William Stambe, and Henry Feltmiller) all lived in the same house, which was owned by Henry Sonoor. The township even had two members of the Neidejohn family who made wooden shoes. None of these businesses apparently made enough money to be included in the manufacturing census.

     Also not included in the manufacturing census is any indication that five of these manufacturers did not mention their businesses when asked by the 1860 population census taker for their professions. All of these men considered themselves first to be farmers. Two others listed farming in addition to their businesses. Not surprisingly, Lawrence Wolff, who was listed in the manufacturing census as a wagon maker, is listed in the population census as a blacksmith. One man, William Sehrt, listed his profession on the population census as Master Carpenter and Miller. Sehrt even had four apprentices living in his home, yet he did not make enough money as a carpenter for his carpentry business to be listed in the manufacturing census!

     Noteworthy, too, is the fact that the majority of business men in southern St. Charles County in 1860 were immigrants from Germany. Fourteen of the twenty-two individuals listed were German born. This number included all five blacksmiths listed in the manufacturing census. In fact, each type of business had at least one German involved, with the exception of tobacco production. American born men made up most of the remaining business operators; also listed are one Irish man and one English man. The value of goods produced by German manufacturers was seventy percent of the area's total.

C     ertainly the southern part of St. Charles County was dominated by farming in the years before the Civil War, but manufacturing also had an important role in the county's economy. Whether making wagons, tobacco, furniture, clothing, shoes, flour, or lumber, manufacturers in Boone-Duden country way back in 1860 could easily have said, “Manufacturing is alive and well in St. Charles County.”

Sources: “1860 Census: Manufactures of the United States” (census.gov); 1860 Federal Manufacturing Census (State Historical Society of Missouri); “Manufacturing Is Alive and Well In St. Charles County” (growmanufacturing.org); “Missouri Boone Sites” (boonesociety.com); “Nonpopulation Census Records (archives.gov) St. Charles County Federal Census for 1860 (Boone-Duden Historical Society archives).