Property Record
113 N BADGER AVE
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | LIETHEN CORP. [SIGN] |
|---|---|
| Other Name: | |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 40262 |
| Location (Address): | 113 N BADGER AVE |
|---|---|
| County: | Outagamie |
| City: | Appleton |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
| Section: | |
| Quarter Section: | |
| Quarter/Quarter Section: |
| Year Built: | 1929 |
|---|---|
| Additions: | 1930 |
| Survey Date: | 19912019 |
| Historic Use: | industrial bldg/manufacturing facility |
| Architectural Style: | Astylistic Utilitarian Building |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Concrete |
| Architect: | |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | Yes |
| Demolished Date: | 0 |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
|---|---|
| National Register Listing Date: | |
| State Register Listing Date: |
| Additional Information: | The Liethen business was founded in 1916 when Englebert Liethen, who had operated a variety store in downtown Appleton bought Marshall & Hammill Feed Mill on the corner of College Ave. and Richmond Street. When he died in 1918, his wife and 6 children carried on. The current mill was built in 1929 and 1930 on N. Badger Street. There was a major fire in 1944. Other than the substantial monetary loss at the time, then estimated at $100,000 (now, adjusted for inflation, >$1,400,000), there was the matter of reconstruction in time to process the fall grain harvest: war necessity. The company received a priority just below national. Alois J. Liethen was the second youngest of the six children who carried on the business, their mother presiding. His father died in 1918. There is a seventh, the oldest, who married and did not participate in the business. Alois was in the Military Intelligence Service in WW II. The fire occurred about a week before he embarked with his unit, general staff, XX Corps, for France from England. The mill also had a major fire in 1977 which severely damaged it. The fire hurt the business financially, and forced the family to liquidate the facility. The elevator was torn down in 1981. After the 1977 fire, the company constructed a new facility in far north Appleton. The company was liquidated in a sale to a national corporation in the early 1980s. |
|---|---|
| Bibliographic References: | (A.)"Liethen: Survivor of big competition," POST CRESCENT, July 1, 1979, Sec. B, p. 7. (B.) "Liethen to be sold to giant feed maker," POST CRESCENT, Nov. 13, 1980, Sec. B, p. 1. Appleton Post Crescent, July 28, 1944. Appleton Post Crescent, July 10, 1944, pp. 1, 7. Appleton Post Crescent, July 29, 1944, p.3. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |