Walking to Wheeling…
Born in 1807 in Germany, Johann Ludwig Stifel immigrated to Baltimore, Maryland when he was 26. He then moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where he worked in a wool mill and learned the textile trade. Legend has it that he walked all the way to Wheeling, where, by 1835, he had established a small dyeing shop in a log cabin with just a $10 investment and a piece of cotton cloth. Within a short time the business grew and Johann opened a larger calico shop on the southeast corner of 9th and Main Streets. The lower levels were for dyeing and printing while the upper level housed Johann, his wife Barbara Becht, and their children.
Johann was an active citizen, serving on the boards of various businesses, helping to found Wheeling’s first German newspaper- “Staats Zeitung,” and attending the second Wheeling Convention which helped found the state of West Virginia.
Stifel & Sons…
In 1859, Johann’s sons Louis C. and William F. joined the company and, when their father retired fifteen years later, J.L. Stifel and Sons had grown into one of the nation’s largest calico printing establishments.
The third generation of Stifels moved the calico works to a new location on Main Street between 3rd and 4th Streets. The company had grown from a one-man operation in a log cabin to a 70,000 square foot plant with many employees that was shipping products like indigo dyed prints internationally. The meticulous manufacturing process including singing the cloth to remove fuzz and lint, boiling to remove waxes and oils, bleaching to remove natural colors, and dyeing with indigo extracts to give it the distinctive Stifel blue color.
During the First and Second World Wars, the company switched over to war time production, providing textiles for France as well as khaki for American soldiers. By 1943, almost 90% of the company’s production was war-related.
After World War II, increasing costs and foreign competition caused instability in the national textile industry. Stifel merged with Indian Head Mills in New York in 1957, but even after the contracts were signed the company had to phase out operations. On December 17, 1957 after 122 years of service, Stifel and Sons Calico Works closed. The plant sat for a few years, until March 8, 1961 when it caught fire and the entire building was destroyed except for a 275 foot smokestack, which was toppled on March 25, 1969.
Geo. E. Stifel Co…
Fortunately, the destruction of J. L. Stifel and Sons did not end the Stifel business name or contributions to Wheeling. George E. Stifel — another son of Johann Ludwig — was born on May 5th, 1849. When he turned 14 he went to work at Stone and Thomas, a dry-goods retail store. He later opened a dry-goods store of his own on the corner of Main and 10th Streets called George E. Stifel and Company.
The business expanded greatly, and began to use eye-catching modern display windows to pull people in. In 1890 the company moved to 1154-60 Main Street. The store handled foreign and domestic dry goods, women’s apparel, as well as various other products.
George continued the Stifel tradition of good relationships between employees and employers. On Saturday mornings, for example, George Stifel and Co. broadcast a “Kiddie Time Program” from the State Theatre and one year the company gave out passes to all of their employees to bring in their children to audition for the show.
The following gallery of photographs are from the Kahn Collection, Ohio County Public Library Archives, donated by Betsy Kahn and contributed by Erwin Kahn. They include various exterior and interior images of the George E. Stifel and Company and (by 1956) Stifel-Taylor Corp, Department Store at 1152-1160 Main.
The company employed over 100 people and had an incredible patronage as it sold just about anything that anyone might need. In 1959 it became Stifel and Taylor’s Value City and continued to operate as a dry-goods retail store. The company eventually closed and in August of 1975, the building was razed to create a parking lot.
This second gallery of photographs features interior and exterior images of Stifel and Taylor’s Value City (1959-1975). They are from the Kahn Collection of Stifel and Value City Photographs, Ohio County Public Library Archives, donated by Betsy Kahn and contributed by Erwin Kahn.
George E. Stifel owed everything he accomplished to his education, so in continuing the Stifel tradition of giving back to the community, George set out to create a scholarship for kids. In the 1920’s he began his project which was aimed at encouraging young people to study hard and achieve things academically. He always said that “…a good education is well worth the ambition, patience, work, and sacrifice it may require.” (Javersak, pg. 9) The monetary prize would be given to children in grades 5 through 12 who had achieved academic excellence. Unfortunately, George died before he could see his dream fulfilled, but his daughter Nellie made it happen. In 1951 she established the George E. Stifel Scholarship Fund which provided college scholarships to deserving students in the area, a scholarship which still is given out each year. Because of his generous giving, involvement in his church and local groups and clubs, and other contributions to the Wheeling community, George E. Stifel was inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame in 1979.
Though both the J. L. Stifel & Sons and the George E. Stifel buildings are gone, the Stifel name lives on through the Stifel Fine Arts Center on National Road. Originally built in 1912, this mansion was created by Edward W. Stifel as a family home, which he named “Edemar” for his children Edward, Emily, and Mary. With 39 rooms, formal gardens, a swimming pool, a tennis court, fish ponds, and a picnic area the mansion served as an illustrious private residence until 1976. The family deeded it to Oglebay Institute to be used as a fine arts center, furthering the Stifel legacy of involvement in the arts and giving back to the community. The Center currently houses exhibits from local artists, and gives dance classes, art classes, theater classes, as well as camps and community events.
The Stifels were one of the first German families to settle in the Ohio Valley. For five generations they helped build up Wheeling and make it a better place. They supplied jobs, culture, and community bonding through good times and bad. Wheeling has a lot to be grateful for, and it owes a lot to the Stifel family.
This article was written by Becca Rodgers, a student at Wheeling Jesuit University and an intern with the Ohio County Public Library Archives for the Spring 2015 semester. As part of her internship, Becca processed and scanned the Kahn Collection of Stifel and Value City Photographs seen above and researched the Stifel family for this article.
REFERENCES:
- Wingerter, Charles A. History of Greater Wheeling and Vicinity, a Chronical of Progress and a Narrative Account of the Industries, Institutions and People of the City and Tributary Territory. Chicago and New York: Lewis Pub., 1912.
- Sullivan, Ken. The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Charleston, W. Va.: West Virginia Humanities Council., 2006.
- Conley, Philip Mallory. The West Virginia Encyclopedia. Charleston, W. Va.: West Virginia Pub., 1929.
- Javersak, David J. Stifel. 1988.
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My mother returned a large piece of calico a few years ago, it had belonged to her grandmother, still with uncut. I believe it went to the Historical Soc. I am sorry I didn’t photo it. Mom was told it was the largest piece they had, at the time only small pieces were donated .
We would have loved to have seen a photo of that! Thanks for sharing your memory.
Just love reading these articles. We have so much history to be proud of.
Thank you so much for letting us know you enjoy these articles. We love sharing them. We agree, Wheeling really does have so much history to be proud of.
My mother’s father was some distant relative of the Stifel’s who live on National Rd. She remembered visiting there and playing with the lions by the koi pond. Also, as the entire building was cement (to make it fire proof so it could not burn down as the factory did) on rainy days the children would go up to the attic and roller skate. The floor up there was also cement. But she said it did make quite a racket for the poor people downstairs!
The Stifle attic cement floor where the Stifle family and friends would roller skate during the warm season and ice skate during the cold season is now being used for storage and they had a newer roof
installed over the entire house around the 1940’s
My grandmother, Rosey M. Globe-Marson-Carroll worked for George & Emma Stifel as a maid in the early 1920’s and she appears on the 1920 census with them. She loved this family very much and they loved her just as much in return. Long after George and Emma had passed, she remained good friends with their daughters Nellie and Alberta. My grandmother had nine children and times were always hard, especially after her husband died. Miss Nell, as she called her, paid to have a telephone put in her apartment so that Rosey’s boys could call her while stationed with the Army in different parts of the U.S. Nell’s attorney would send a check every month. I found documents that noted Nell paying for her son’s funeral and then later that of her husband. The Stifel’s were very good to my grandmother and I will always have a place in my heart for them. And, Miss Nell also remembered Rosey in her will, which brought tears to my eyes when I found that while researching. I applied for the Stifel Scholarship Award when I was a senior in high school. I remember writing an essay that I had to attach to my application. Of course I told several stories about Rosey and the Stifels. Yes, I got the scholarship award probably for that reason. Carefully tucked away in a cupboard, I have a very thick leather bound book of beautiful postcards from all over the world that Nell gave to Rosey years ago. These are not .25 cent postcards. They are pieces of art. I get them out every once in a while to look at them. I feel guilty that they are tucked away, as they should probably be turned over to a family member. I have been researching the Stifel’s on ancestry.com, and I have attached some of the postcard collection (just a few because I have at least 100) to Nell Stifel. Every time I go to Greenwood Cemetery and I pass the Stifel plot, I wave and say thank you to them. Every time!
Never heard of Wheeling until researching WWI and WW II knitting patterns for the military. Most patterns call for Wheeling wool. Would like more info as I am unfamiliar with characteristics other than the colors were military specific … Thank you for your article for my research
I’m not totally sure about Wheeling wool, but I know that the Cockayne family farm won first place at the 1876 Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia for their merino wool and that they were a big supplier during WWI for US uniforms. That farm is just 10 miles south of Wheeling, so maybe that is at least part of what they are referring to.
Where can i find collectors of this type of denim and i have found a piece of cloth with the logo on it plus i found a good amount of a bib overalls that has a rip proof brand button on it
Do you happen to still have it?
I found my mom’s fur? Coat. It has a Stifels and Taylor Wheeling tag in it. Did they sell fur coats?Or faux fur?