The owners roster — proprietors paired to their firms, era by era

1851–2026 · THE ROSTER AS ITS OWN APPARATUS

To 1869. C. W. N. Stephens — West York grocery and post office, 1851; the first Walkerton store, 1854. C. Behrn (Behrens) — general store, by 1869. John J. Miller — mercantile business, 1866–1871. Wm. W. Hamilton — grocery, 1867.

1870–1889. G. E. Libbey — jewelry, 1871. Abraham Barkley — drug store, 1872 (Chapman's line; the 1884 directory lists him grocer, and both stand). Henry S. Mintle — Walkerton Visitor, 1875. J. M. B. Giberson — Walkerton Hotel to 1875; Florence House, 1875. Dr. James F. Endly — drug store, 1875; The Van Guard and the St. Joseph County Republican, 1879, with his son. B. H. & E. J. Vincent — furniture and undertaking, 1876. A. B. Rupel — harness shop, 1878. Hamilton & Thompson — Walkerton Livery Stable, by 1880. Reece & Hale (J. N. Reece, W. C. Hale) — meat merchants, by 1880. Jacob Bender — store block and hall, by 1880. John W. Kirtsinger — Empire House, by 1880. Schwartz & Tischer — Walkerton Planing Mills, by 1880. U. F. Townsend — shoemaker, from 1870. T. J. Wolf (Wolfe) — clothing; Maggie B. Wolf (Wolfe) — millinery, both by 1880. Rogers & Son, then Rogers Bros — flour mill, 1882–1884. Andrew Cunningham — hardware, implements and livery, 1882. Reuben Varner — livery, sale and feed stable, 1882–1884. G. W. Jones — livery, sale and feed stables, 1882–1884. Leiher & Thompson — barrel hoops, 1882. Arthur S. Leroy — harness manufacturer, 1882. Jacob Ruple — harness, 1882. Horace P. Courtright — hardware, 1882. J. Willis Cotton — agricultural implements, 1882. Claus Behrens, then Behrens Bros — general store, 1882–1884. Samuel Hudelmyer — general store, 1882–1884. Michael R. Burger — blacksmith, 1882–1884. Curtis & Covert — blacksmiths, 1882–1884. Adam Baugher — carriagemaker, 1882–1884. William L. Caudle (Candle) — wagonmaker, 1882–1884. George D. Ewing — photographer, 1877–1900. Daniel M. Eveland — Walkerton Republican, 1882. James Quinn — saloon, 1882–1884. John Wolfenberger — saloon, 1882–1884. S. F. Ross & Co. — hardware, 1884. E. T. Henderson — lumber and grain, 1884. Stevens, Hare & Co. — general store, 1884. Edward Grider & Daniel Brubaker — general store, 1882–1889. William A. Endley — the Visitor purchased 1887, renamed the Independent.

1890–1909. Myron D. Leroy — livery and sale stable, 1891. Edward Grider & Charles Stevens — general store, 1892–1902; Edward Grider alone thereafter. George P. Ross — hardware (his father's business purchased), 1897. The Commercial Bank of Walkerton — in existence by May 1893, suspended that month. John C. Vanatta — president, the bank of Walkerton, by 1903. Atwood Brothers (Walter J. and Ed E. Atwood) — pickle and relish manufacturers, 1903. Robert F. Dare — wood and coal, by 1907.

1910–1929. Central Cut Glass Co. (Chicago) — Walkerton works, 1910–1919 (H. T. Racine, local manager, 1916). State Bank of Walkerton — Edward Grider president, by 1916; organized at the $25,000 capitalization contemplated in 1903. Farmers State Bank — J. E. Johnson president, by 1916. W. B. Apple — autos and garage, 1916. Wm. A. Howe — garage, 1916. C. L. Miller — taxicabs, 1916. James W. Hardenbrook — Hardenbrook's Bottling Works, 1916. H. J. Heinz Co. — salting station (C. A. Wills, manager), 1916. B. I. Holser & Co. — grain, wool and poultry foods, 1916. Houser Bros (Claude E. and Clement P.) — hardware and implements, 1916. D. W. Place (of South Bend) — implements, Walkerton branch, 1916. Walkerton Lumber Co. (W. S. Rhodes, manager) — lumber and coal, 1916. Walkerton Telephone Co. (A. O. Yerrick, manager), 1916. H. A. Giles — Lincoln Theatre, 1916. M. Piowaty & Son (of Chicago) — onion buyers and storage (Ora Jackson, local), 1916; Daniel Beal, Nels Erickson, George Stouffer — onion buyers, 1916. H. A. Hardy; M. M. Masterman — dairies, 1916.

1930–1949. Polygon Company — composites manufacturer, founded 1949, Walkerton headquarters in the modern record. The two town banks close this band's opening year (February 1930, the banks article); no new proprietor of record enters the town's business between the closings and 1949 in the sources read, and the band prints thin because the record does.

1950–1989. Williams Supply Co. — Studebaker sales, 408 Michigan St, established 1951. Farmers State Bank of Wyatt — Walkerton Branch, first attested January 1964 (its opening date is GAP-W6-3). Plas/Steel Products, Inc. (S. M. Shobert, president) — manufacturer, by 1973. Celebrity Motors Inc. — used cars, from 1987 by its own account.

1990–present. 1st Source Bank — Walkerton Branch, 411 Illinois St, from the merger of June 19, 1992. Masonite Corporation — interior door facility, 111 Muskin Drive, in operation 2022 (220 jobs). Modern Door Corporation — 1300 Virginia St. Ultra Manufacturing Inc — 648 Stephens St. Ross Engineering & Machine — 70100 Stephens St. Midwest Motors — used cars, 1220 Roosevelt Rd. Auto Value Walkerton — parts, 626 Roosevelt Rd. Hamilton Service Center — repair, 100 Roosevelt Rd.

Undated. The second barrel-hoop factory of the 1882 header — proprietor unnamed in every source read. The Rogers flour mill's working years beyond its two directory sightings (1882, 1884). The Farmers State Bank's and State Bank of Walkerton's organization years beyond the 1903 item and the 1916 canvass.

Sources:

1. The articles of this section, each entry at the strength of its own article's sources: Chapman (1880); Howard (1907); Polk 1882–83, 1884–85, 1916–17; the bank, court, FDIC and press records cited in wk-biz-banks; the Studebaker registry and modern records cited in wk-biz-dealerships and wk-biz-modern.