General / Grocery Store History
Compiled and Edited by Michael R.Reilly
Last Revised 04/14/2014
Colgate area
Once there were several businesses in Colgate, including general stores, a blacksmith, and a post office. From 1887 to1903 the post office was on the south side of County Line Road, and thereforewas in the Town of Lisbon. The Wisconsin Central Railroad depot was the originalpost office.
In Dec. 1902 – Max Manthey, Town of Lisbon Supervisor, dies after jumping from asecond story porch to escape his general store/post office disastrous fire. Thisevent led to the post office moving out of the Town into Washington County.
After 1903, thepost office was established on the north side and has remained there since, atfirst within Frank Stirn’s General Store. After1946, the post office moved fromthe general store to the tavern next door.
Colgate Main St.1908: The first building on theleft was Tony Stirn’s tavern; during Prohibition it was converted to an icecream parlor. The next building was a general store run by Tony’s brother, FrankStirn. Frank also ran an adjacent coal yard and a barley shipping terminal.Source: Untitled, published in Yesteryear in SussexREVISITED by Fred H. Keller,pages 29-30
Below is a later picture with the former tavernbehind the tree.
Sussex – Lisbon area
Edward Champeny (1816-1891) – opened ageneral store in 1852 on the northwest corner of Main St. and Maple Ave. inSussex. He continued in this business until 1884, then sold to A. J. Elliott.The store was torn down and a cream brick home was built for the Craven family,which was torn down in the early 1960’s. Source: Champeny,an English Dr. in Sussex, published in Yesteryear in Sussex REVISITEDby Fred H. Keller,page 6; orig. published in Sussex Sun, Tues., ?, 1977.
About 1868, Cooling generalstore. Source: Turn of thecentury Lisbon political bigwigs, published in Yesteryear in Sussex REVISITEDby Fred H. Keller,page 28; orig. published in Sussex Sun, Tues., Jan. 17, 1978.
Thompson Richmond (1817-1901), proprietor ofa county general store. Possibly due to TB he had to leave store business. Source:Richmond and Pearl, two 2 yankees in Lisbon, published in Yesteryear in Sussex REVISITED by Fred H. Keller,page 2; orig. published in Sussex Sun, Tues., Mar. 15, 1977.
About1887 James Templeton takes over a general store; he went into business with his father-in-law,Mr. Cooling. Retired from store (andpost office in Templeton) in 1900. Source: Turnof the century Lisbon political bigwigs, published in Yesteryear in SussexREVISITED by Fred H. Keller,page 28; orig. published in Sussex Sun, Tues., Jan. 17, 1978.
In 1895 the only store in Sussex was theTopping General Store owned by David topping who had married Serena Weaver,daughter of Richard. The Sussex General Store was opened in 1870 at the urgingof his father-in-law in a building that still stands today (the second housewest of Paul Cain’s Texaco Service, in 1977, on Main St.) as a two familyapartment. The Topping store sold everything from food to twine, from Eurekaplows to oil stoves. The Excelsior Publishing Company’s 1894 Portrait andBiographical Record of Prominent Waukesha Citizens, said this of David topping;”His life has been spent in mercantile pursuits and since 1870 he hascarried on the same business in Sussex. He handles a good stock of generalmerchandise and is doing a prosperous business, the volume of which amounts toyearly to about $7,000. By courteous treatment of his customers he has won theiresteem and patronage.” The Topping General Store was sold some time afterthe turn of the century (1900) to Fred Boots with the new owner changing thename to the Boots General Store. Material sources: ToppingGeneral Store ledger identified, published in Yesteryear in SussexREVISITED by Fred H. Keller,page 19; orig. published in Sussex Sun, Tues., Nov. 8, 1977.
Downtown Sussex, About 1905. Main Street Schoolwas across the street from the early shops. The street was of gravel. (Noticethe string of horse hitching poles.) The Ganthier & Freyer General store inthe center was the hub of the community. The A. Malsch Store on the left soldfurniture and in an adjacent building a Malsch brother handled horse harnesssales. Today (in 1978) it’s the site of the Sentry Store. An April 1966 firedestroyed the General Store. Source: Turn of thecentury Lisbon political bigwigs, published in Yesteryear in Sussex REVISITED by FredH. Keller,page 28; orig. published in Sussex Sun, Tues., Jan. 17, 1978.
Charles Unke has sold his interest in the local I. G. A. storeand will move to Milwaukee again, where he will engage in the printing business.Waukesha Freeman, Thursday, April 4, 1932
The local I. G. A. store has changed hands again. Herbert Loos,of Milwaukee sold it to Anthony Schumann who took possession Monday. WaukeshaFreeman, Thursday, November 15, 1939. Editor’s note: This article may havewrongly attributed the sale to young Anthony who was about 18 years old at thistime. See below.
George Lees has sold his store goods and rented the building toGeorge Schumann who will continue his I. G. A. store in the new location. Mr.Lees will give possession the first of May or sooner. Waukesha Freeman,Wednesday, April 5, 1944, page 3.
Mr. and Mrs. George Schumann and family have moved from theformer Art Meyer home in this village, to the George Lees building where theyoperate a fine IGA store. Counters and shelves have been arranged for thecomfort and convenience of the patrons, with handy carts to carry packages,groceries and vegetables while serving themselves from the well filled shelvesof choice foodstuffs. Busy housewives will appreciate the advantage of shoppingat this super food mart. Waukesha Freeman, Wednesday, May 17, 1944, page2
Corporal Anthony Schumann of Camp Upton, N.Y., arrived lastTuesday as a surprise to his family, for a furlough until after Thanksgiving. WaukeshaFreeman, 1944
Mrs. A. Schumann left Thursday to visit her husband who is stationed in theeast. She expects him to leave for overseas duty soon, as he has beentransferred into the infantry. During her absence, Mrs. M. Kramer is taking herplace as upper grade teacher in the Sussex school. Waukesha Freeman,Wednesday, February 21, 1945, page 3.
In the early ’50’s, the Schumann IGA generalstore closed and moved a quarter mile east to the “flats” betweenSussex and Olde Templeton. Source: Yesteryear in Sussex by Fred Keller,page 47.
In April of ’66, a monumental fire destroyedthe old Lee’s-Schumann Building.