When I was seven and bouncing in the back of our 1966 Chrysler (no seat belts), just before arriving at paradise (grandma's house) there was this stench so strong only my dear grandmother could properly explain to a seven-year-old what it was precisely.
"The glue factory!" Grandma exclaimed. "That's old horses, they're making glue!"
When you're a kid - and I guess even as an adult - you hope the story isn't true. That a tall tale is being told, and that's all, you hope.
Turns out she was right. The myth, in my imagination larger then life at the age of seven, was confirmed nearly 30 years later upon our arrival and investigation of the Peter Cooper Glue and Gelatin Factory near Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
The Peter Cooper Glue factory was, apparently, too stinky even for Milwaukee in 1899. It was built on the far outskirts over one hundred years ago, nine miles directly south of the booming industrial city on Lake Michigan.
When we arrived, probably thirty years after the last horse rendered its hooves to the adhesive cause, the air was heavy and acrid and the place resounded with sounds of clanging steel and dripping water. As some ghost hunters would say... the place felt very active.
Most rooms were enormous with lots of what were, at one time, giant windows, now with torn plastic pitifully in place to contain asbestos particles from escaping into another world - a world of full of life, in contrast to this one.
Even in the largest of rooms, hundreds of feet long, voices seem to be muffled by the thick air. A yell or two for your nearest companion more often than not fell silent as if you were always alone, as if you decided to enter this wasteland of industry by yourself.
An awkward silent, as they were right next to me... I could swear. I was spooked and it was the middle of the day.
I continued to shoot wondering where everyone went. There was Thomas, with his shirt covering his nose and mouth, and I wondered if that was that to protect him from asbestos or an attempt to tame the stench of animal bio matter that still hung heavily in this decrepit place. I was too busy setting up my next shot to decide.
I called it "the masher". I was sure that this was machine was an evil machine. One device that, if not was the perpetrator of death, then its close accomplice. It was the largest chain-driven machine I could ever imagine running and I wondered about the noise. Who's job was it to keep this massive chain, the width the size of my fists, lubricated?
27 years after the glue factory stopped slaughtering animals, a building wide exposed to the harsh Wisconsin elements of winters and summers, the stench of animal matter was too strong to not feel ones gag reaction kick in.
Jell-O. It was Peter Cooper who owned the patent for Jell-O, the delicious fruit flavored gelatin desert that was a smash during the industrial revolution. It was cheap, high tech (for the time) and I'll be darned if it was a truly American desert. And in addition to Jell-O we can thank Mr. Cooper for the first American steam-powered rail engine, the Tom Thumb.
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11 comments:
Dear blogger,
I am a middle school student. In my science class I am writing a paper about horses in glue factories. I was wondering if you could provide me with any information on the topic.
-thank you
(if you would reply back to me as a comment that would be great)
The Glue Factory was an important part in my ancestral history. These the the best photos I've ever seen. Do you by chance have photos of the housing that was built for the workers? Thank you so much for sharing these online.
i read your blog & a few other blogs about the glue factory yesterday (jan 1, 2012) and i wanted to see if i could add any to the story.
I have a friend who is 92 years old and he moved to carrollville in the 1956 & moved away in the mid 1960's.
So i went to visit him yesterday and i asked him about the area.
First off i asked him if he knew of any drag racing deaths on fitzsimmons road, if he ever heard any stories of a car going off the cliff.
He told me he did not know anything about that... He did say that there was a race track just north of the Glue Factory but it was closed down when he moved into the area.
Then we talked about the Glue Factory.
He told me that the Glue factory built about 10 houses for their employees and as far as he knows they are still standing today. I told him i would like to take a ride there with him and he could point them out to me.
He then commented that between the smells of all the places in that area it was hard to BBQ in his back yard. He said the places were the now WE Energies, the Fertilizer company, Aluminum smelting company & the Glue Factory.
2014
The glue factory is closed. And the houses in Carville are still up.
Fitsimmonz- a few peeps have committed suicide on that cliff
Closed as in, no longer there. Its demolished
I worked there are a security guard in the early 80s when I was going to school. The steam powered compressors were amazing to watch. My clothes would stink so bad, I had to change before going home or to school. The "Honey House" was like stench concentrate. The fertilizer factory next door was like a breath of fresh air when the wind came form the south. Makes me really appreciate the desk job I have now!
Hi, I love your pictures.
I lived in Carrollville as a kid in the 1980's. Could you tell me what year you took these pictures? I'm trying to explain the history of Carrollville as a "company town" to my son and I lived there when Peter Cooper burned down. It was a HUGE fire, it was so hot that you could feel the heat standing on 5th avenue across the street (more than 100 feet away). It was burning at about 3 AM and I woke up thinking the sun was rising. I think the fire was in 1986?
This was one of the few buildings even I was too afraid to explore, so being able to see the inside is fascinating. My grandma also lived in Carrollville and her father operated a tavern on the corner of 5th avenue and American avenue from the 1920's-1940's.
Pam
My grandpa who just turned 91 worked there when he was 14 along with his dad. They lived on a farm close by which now is part of the Bender Park area I believe. After my grandpa turned 17 he went off to WWII. He wanted to go at 15 but his dad couldn't read English to sign his papers. There were 7 bars in that tiny town too he tells me. I wish I could find photographs of the people who worked in it. I've never seen a photo of my great grandpa. Thanks for the great read!
Amy Dontlooksick@gmail.com
Lady Callie, I'm 100% positive my great grandpa was at your bar. He was a mega alcoholic. Every one knew each other then. I wish it was still that way. Small town life. 👍
your blog inspired my son and I to write one about "The End of Fitzsimmons Road" i did find one suicide on the web, its posted at the end of my blog post
https://theaddressdoesntmatter.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-end-of-fitzsimmons-road-oak-creek-wi.html
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