Encyclopedia Dubuque
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GEORGE RICHARDSON'S BOOT AND SHOE FACTORY
GEORGE RICHARDSON'S BOOT AND SHOE FACTORY. This company was started in Galena, Illinois in 1850 by George RICHARDSON, Sr. A small-scale manufacturer, he was one of the first to manufacture boots and shoes in this area. Richardson brought the business from Philadelphia where he first settled after coming to the United States.
In 1877 work began on converting the Harbor Company building on Main Street. (1) In 1878 Richardson relocated his business to Dubuque into that building and was expected to hire from fifty to one hundred employees. He purchased the equipment of the W. P. LARGE & CO. and manufactured shoes for them. (2)
Business grew so quickly that in 1880 he negotiated the purchase of the GRAFFORT HOTEL. The building was renovated and the factory relocated. (3)
Richardson died in 1894 and his business was continued by his sons--George W. and Charles S. (4)
The firm in 1895 occupied a four-story brick building, 60x120, and employed about three hundred men. Raw material was obtained in Milwaukee, Chicago and Buffalo; finer quality of materials were imported. (5) The stock manufactured included all grades of calf and kip boots and shoes. The company was especially known for the Standard Screw Fastener used in many of their boots and their custom French kip boot. (6) With a capacity of producing 3,000 pairs of shoes per week, the company also employed nine traveling salesmen and sold south to the Gulf of Mexico and west to California. (7)
In 1904 the Richardson Company and the William Shoe company merged to establish a new firm known as the Regent Shoe Manufacturing Company. Under this arrangement, the entire Richardson Company was moved to Omaha, Nebraska for the manufacture of men's shoes, boots and rubbers. The business was destroyed by fire in 1911. (8)
The 1880 through 1886-1887 Dubuque City Directory gave the address as the southeast corner of 3rd and Bluff.
The 1899-1900 Dubuque City Directory located this business at the corner of Third and Bluff.
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Source:
1. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, January 20, 1877, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18770120&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
2. "Richardson of Galena Coming to Dubuque," Dubuque Daily Times, January 14, 1878
3. "Another Step Forward," Dubuque Herald, November 16, 1880, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18801116&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
4. "George Richardson Company," Dubuque Daily Herald, January 1, 1895, p. 7
5. Ibid.
6. First National Bank Calendar (1967) Courtesy: Diane Harris
7. The Northwest Reporter, Vol. 106, April 3--May 29, 1906. St. Paul: West Publishing Company, p. 596. Online: http://books.google.com/books?id=cS48AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA596&lpg=PA596&dq=George+Richardson+Company+%28dubuque%29&source=bl&ots=R9ZvtbdwbI&sig=kEVWL-f1PKvZcW4F4RmjO6UN0c4&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-kpwU9TCOKWmsATTq4H4CA&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=George%20Richardson%20Company%20%28dubuque%29&f=false
8. "George Richardson," Linwood Legacies. Online: http://www.linwoodlegacies.org/the-richardson-family.html