Biographies
For
Muscatine County Iowa
1889



Source: Portrait and Biographical Album, Muscatine County, Iowa, 1889, page 177

HON. BENJAMIN HERSHEY, President of the Hershey Lumber Company of Muscatine, Iowa, amd a pioneer lumberman of the city of 1853, is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born on the 10th of April, 1813, on a farm in the township of Manor, near Indiantown, Lancaster County. His parents were Joseph and Hester ( Hostetter ) Hershey. On the father's side the family is of Swiss origin, and dates its settlement in America from early Colonial days. The paternal grandfather of our subject resided in the vicinity of Indiantown at tha time of the massacre of the red men at that place, by the pale face, and hearing the noise of the slaughter at night, he visited the town the following morning only to find its inhabitants, old and young, lying dead about their homes. On the mother's side the family is of German descent, and her ancestors were residents of Pennsylvania prior to the Revolution. The manufacturer of the celebrated Hostetter Bitters is a member of her family.

Our subject was reared on a farm, and his parents being of Mennonite faith, he was trained from early childhood to habits of industry and frugality. By strict moral precepts and examples of the most rigid honesty and morality, the foundations of good character were laid by these worthy people in the minds of their children. Having attained his majority, Mr. Hershey began business for himself as a farmer, and was also a tobacco merchant at Columbia, Lancaster Co., Pa., where he carried on an extensive business. In 1836 he was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Whitmore, daughter of Daniel Whitmore, and a native of Lancaster County. Four children were born of their union, two of whom are now living: Sarah, the eldest, is now the wife of Clarence Eddy, of Chicago, Ill.; Amanda, died in Europe, in 1876; Elizabeth died in Muscatine, Oct. 7, 1856, and Almira, the youngest, is the present secretary of the Hershey Lumber Company.

In the spring of 1852 Mr. Hershey first came to Muscatine, and finding the location of a promising business point, he returned to Pennsylvania, and in the following spring brought his family here. Renting a sawmill, he at once engaged in the manufacture of lumber, and two years later bought the mill. The opening up of the Great West to civilization created a good market for the products of his mill, and the venture proved a profitable one. From the old sawmill in 1853, with its primitive machinery and limited production, has sprung the immense lumber corporation of the Hershey Lumber Company of 1889, with its annual business of upward of a million dollars, and furnishing employment to nearly a thousand men. For details of Mr Hershey's lumber business see history of the Hershey Lumber Company elsewhere in this work. In addition to his extensive lumber business Mr. Hershey has found time to gratify his taste for agriculture and stock-raising. He is the owner of a fine farm of 800 acres, which is beautifully situated on the bank of the Mississippi River two miles below Muscatine. The farm is noted for its fine herd of thoroughbred Hereford cattle, numbering 225 selected animals, also for the magnificent farm buildings, which are so complete in appointments that a detailed description is given of them later on in this sketch. Mr Hershey imported the first of his Hereford cattle after a personal inspection of the various breeds of cattle in Europe. A comparison of their merits led to his favoring the Herefords as combining excellent beef qualities with the hardy constitution that adapted them to better endure the enclement weather sometimes experienced in Eastern Iowa. By shipping the less promising of his young stock to his Nebraska ranches, he has attained a choice herd on his Iowa farm that is unsurpassed by any in the West.

The following description of the Star Creamery, which constitutes one of the prominent features of Mr. Hershey's extensive farm, is taken from an article written of it a few years since when in full operation. The building is not now in use. "The building of this imposing and model establishment was begun in the fall of 1875, and when completed comprised a structure 75x120 feet on the ground floor, and ninety feet in height from the sill to the top of the cupola, which is adorned with a gilded cow five feet in height. The building is of two stories with a mansard roof, and is lighted on the front side, which faces the Mississippi, by twenty large windows. The system of drainage and ventilation is complete. The building contains 148 stalls, and the hay mow extends from the ground floor through the center of the building to the roof, being fifty feet high and having a storage capacity of 500 tons of hay. A portion of the second floor is occupied by feed bins and feed mill machinery. A 35-horse power engine is used to operate the mill and feed cutters. The creamery proper is situated in an adjoining wing on the lower floor, and embraces the milk and churn room, the wash room and the cellar. The milk room is furnished with four large milk pans that have a capacity of 175 gallons each, where the milk is set. The temperature of the room is kept at sixty-two degrees, and is regulated by a steam heating apparatus and a tunnel which runs through the base of the hill, at the foot of which the building stands. This tunnel extends 500 feet into the hill, and is from twenty to thirty-five feet below the surface of the ground. The normal temperature in this tunnel is fifty-one degrees. The churn used is operated by a small steam engine, and has a capacity of sixty gallons of cream, which makes from 100 to 120 pounds of butter. The butter is marketed in Chicago and New York, and is classed as gilt-edged. Farrow and sick cows have a barn to themselves. The upper story of the creamery wing is fitted up for a temporary residence of the proprietor while sojourning at his farm. Near by, and to the northwest, is an elegant and roomy cottage for the accommendation of the superintendent.

The horse department of the farm is deserving of special mention. In 1864 Mr. Hershey bought his Kentucky bred horse "Gen. Hatch," one of the finest and most stylish horses in the county, which has a record of 2:40. In the spring of 1867 he brought from Canada the fine Norman horse known as "Hershey's Royal George," and a lot of fine young Percheron mares. With these as a foundation he has increased his stock by breeding and purchase, until his stud now numbers upward of 500 horses, the greater portion of which are now on his Nebraska ranches. This stud embraces a large number of the best bred horses in the United States, not excepting those of the celebrated blue grass region of Kentucky. In addition to the farm buildings before described, this model farm has two large and well-arranged horse barns, and had at one time a fine driving track of a mile in length for the exercise and training of the horses. In 1880 Mr. Hershey turned his attention to Nebraska as a field of operations in the line of stock and farming, and purchased a tract of land in Dodge County, near Fremont, of 3,600 acres. This land is situated in the center in as rich a corn and grass region as can be found in the United States. In addition to this he bought 9,400 acres in the valley of the South Platte, in Lincoln County of the same State, which embraces some of the most fertile lands of Nebraska, the tract having a river frontage of eleven miles. The last-named tract is largely used for pasturage, while the Dodge County ranch, which is productive of hay and corn in large quantities, is the fattening ground where the cattle are fitted for market. Mr. Hershey now has over 6,000 head of cattle on two ranches, besides a large number of horses. It will be observed by the facts above that Mr. Hershay has indulged his fancy for farming and stock-growing on a magnificent scale, and by so doing has materially aided in improving the grade of stock, both cattle and horses, in either State where his farms are situated.

Another peculiar fancy of this gentleman is to introduce a system of market gardening on the South Platte that will supply with vegetables the principal towns and the eating-houses along the line of Union Pacific Railway. The experiment was begun in 1887 under the management of a professional gardener as superintendent, and has proved a marked success. The rich bottoms of the Platte Valley that never overflow, yet lie so low that vegetation receives all necessary moisture by evaporation from the water that lies near the surface, is found to produce good crops without rain or irrigation. The gentleman in charge of the business is confident of making the undertaking a profitable one, in which case the valley of the South Platte may be made to rival the celebrated Muscatine Island in its garden products.

In political sentiment Mr. Hershey is a supporter of the Republican party, but has never in any sense been a politician. The few times that he has accepted public office only marked the exception to the rule. He once served as a member of the City Council and twice as Mayor. He was in the Council in 1854, and held the office of Mayor during the years 1865 and 1866. Mr. Hershey began life with limited means, but possessed of abundant energy, a strong will, and a self-reliance that never failed him under the most trying circumstances. His business enterprises have been conducted with method and forethought, and the general results have been a compliment to his sagacity and executive ability. His success in life has been won by close application and untiring energy, and has been achieved entirely within the channels of legitimate business, and on the broad basis of strict integrity. A fine portrait of Mr. Hershey may be seen upon an accompanying page.


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