A. F. Gallun & Sons

A. F. Gallun & Sons was one of the largest tanneries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and one of the four largest tanneries in the United States.[1]

A.F. Gallun & Sons
IndustryLeather production (tannery)
Founded1858 (1858) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
FoundersAugust F. Gallun and Albert Gottlieb Trostel
Defunct1993 (1993)
ProductsLeather saddles, boots and harnesses

History

A. F. Gallun & Sons was founded in 1858[2] by August F. Gallun, who was part of the old pioneer families of Milwaukee.[3] Gallun had been associated with Trostel and Gallun. Trostel carried on with Albert Trostel & Sons. Gallun's son, Albert F. Gallun eventually took over as president.

The tannery was located near the Milwaukee River in downtown Milwaukee.[4]

Closure

The tannery closed in 1993, citing its inability to keep up with the low cost of Asian competition and their production of cow leather. At the time the tannery was producing calf leather, not cow, and it felt it would not be economical to convert.[5] By the time of its closure, the company was the last major calfskin tanner that supplied shoe manufacturers in the United States.[6]

Today

Parts of Holton and Water Streets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are referred to as the Gallun Tannery Historic District and they were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[7] In 2011, a portion of the tannery was razed after a wall collapse.[8] The remainder has been redeveloped and converted into condominiums and apartments.[8][9]

References
  1. Wexler, Evan (10 July 2013). "Photos: Milwaukee's Industrial Past". PBS.org. PBS. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  2. "A.F. Gallun & Sons Corporation - Man with Coveralls".
  3. Watrous, Jerome (1909). Memoirs of Milwaukee County: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present, Including a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families in Milwaukee County, Volume II. Brookhaven Press. pp. 966–967.
  4. Holmes, David B.; Yuan, Wenbin (2008). Chinese Milwaukee. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-7385-5224-8.
  5. "The Milwaukee Sentinel - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-13.
  6. United States Congress House Committee on Ways and Means (1994). Trade Agreements Resulting from the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations: Hearings Before the Committee on Ways and Means and Its Subcommittee on Trade, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, Second Session, January 26, February 1, 2, 8, and 22, 1994. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 788. ISBN 978-0-16-044574-3.
  7. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  8. "Former Gallun tannery buildings face wrecking ball".
  9. "Gallun Tannery Site Presents Opportunity and Challenges".
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