207 



MANUFACTURES OF RACINE COUNTY. 



Rochester, December 31sl, 1851. 



Dear Sir — I am honored by your request of an article upon tlie manufac- 

 turing interests of Racine county, for the use of the State Ag'i'icultural Society. 

 Glad to aid, in any way in my power, the C fficers of the State Agricultural 

 Society in any undertaking for the promotion of the cause in which they are 

 laboring, evidently, with much fidelity, zeal and ability, immediately on receipt 

 of your request, I addressed letters of inquiry to ditierent individuals in our 

 county, intended to elicit information in regard to individual operations in the 

 various branches of manufacture ; and the statements embodied herein are mainly 

 the result of such inquiry. 



The present county of Racine is one of the smallest in the State, embracing a 

 territory of about twenty seven miles east and west, by twelve miles only north 

 and south. It is not what would be considered, naturally, a manufacturing 

 county, having no water-power, excepting in the eastern part, where Root River 

 affords water-power of considerable efficiency ; and in the western part where the 

 Fox River at Waterford, the Fox and Muskego at Rochester, and the White and 

 Fox Rivers at Burlington, aftbrd quite extensive power, not often excelled in this 

 State. The interior of the county from Root River to the Fox, is entirely defi- 

 cient in water-power and in manufacturing operations. Yet, although we are 

 not remarkably fovored as a county with natural facilities for manufacturing, 

 from the enterprize of citizens in the improvement of those we do possess, and in 

 the introduction of steam-power to a considerable extent, and from industry in 

 various handicrafts, we shall be able to give a statement of manufactures that we 

 think will compare favorably with other counties in Wisconsin. 



Those who have furnished the information upon which much of our account 

 is based, have had recourse, in some cases, to statistics of 1850, and in one case to 

 1849, with the signification of a probable increase for 1851. In the statements 

 which follow, we may embrace some branches of industry which may not be 

 considered strictly manufacturing. On some branches, we enter into the compu- 

 tation, some allowance on operations of a small magnitude not reached by our 

 hiquiries. 



We find, then, that there are employed in the different branches of manufac- 

 turing and mechanical industry, in Racine county, 900 hands, and a capital of 

 $350,000 in real and personal estate; consuming yearly $550,000 in raw mate- 

 rial, and resulting in $940,000 value of annual products. 



The following statements, under the head of different branches, will set forth 

 the state of these interests more particularly. First, manufacture of 



