Montgomery's Early Industry Was Mainly Shades of Gray

Stationed tall and proud on the hillside facing the Fox River in Montgomery, the new stands guard over a tiny yellow cottage; the oldest building in the village.

This pair of buildings provides both a glimpse into a promising future and a reminder of the village’s humble beginnings: the larger one, young and strong, poised to march ahead, yet reluctant to leave its frail ancestor behind.

Much of Montgomery’s history is contained in this area, including the large mill, still standing, built on the river to take advantage of the water power. This power gave birth to new factories and brought new settlers to the village. These historical buildings give silent testimony to the possibilities of what can be achieved.

From early documents, we can get a fairly good idea of the early businesses. The very first of which seems to be the tavern of Elijah Pearce, which also served as a home for his family. This was located on the east side of the river, near the site of the present-day Dieterle Funeral Home.

Daniel Gray built a second inn on the western bank of the Fox River near the Jefferson Street ford.  Here the Frink and Walker Stagecoach would cross over on its journey between Chicago and Galena.  When the river is low, you can still see the rocks protruding from the water at this point.

It seems Gray didn’t have enough to do, so he also built the millrace and the dam shortly after 1840.  The reaper factory and foundry were operating by at least 1845.  Daniel Gray and Son manufactured both the Hussey and Esterly brands of reapers.  This factory had a big impact on farming, simply by increasing the amount of hay that could be harvested. 

Demand outpaced the ability of the Montgomery facility to produce these reapers, due to the factory's limited power source (water), and the fact that McCormick was able to supply them faster. 

Hiram Bauder had a wagon shop on River Street in the 1840s.  He was a son-in-law of early settlers Jacob and Nancy Keck. They came from Montgomery County, New York with a party of 40 people—three sons, seven daughters and their spouses and children.

Daniel Gray also operated a general store. In 1848, the Aurora Beacon reported that a fire that started in a stovepipe destroyed Daniel Gray and Sons’ Store and Post Office two and a half miles below the city of Aurora.

A new railroad was constructed between 1852 and 1854 that connected the little village with the rest of the world. This opened up new opportunities for the farmers as well as the manufacturers.

Gray was a successful businessman, but he had bigger plans. He envisioned the outline of the town by 1852 and hired a surveyor to lay it out. The settler’s cottage on River Street, judging by its awkward position on the lot, was probably built before the town was platted.

From the very earliest days, Mill and River streets became the hub of the village, and soon other businesses located around that center and along Webster Street west to Route 31. Sometime in the 1850s Xenophon Beher opened a meat and general merchandise store on the southeast corner of Railroad and Webster. The post office would be located in this store.

In 1857, 'Montgomery Mills, prop. R. Gray and Co.' advertised “all kinds of flour and feed.” And the Palmer and Brother operated a sash, door and blind factory. Adam Phye had a general store across from the mill at River and Mill Streets. A variety of other small businesses located around it to accommodate the new workers and their families. 

By 1859 there were boarding houses, blacksmiths, shoemakers, and merchants listed in the business directory. Granberg and Lindgren owned the Reaper Manufacturing Company, and Miss Sarah Whitney was a milliner.

This is but a sampling of the businesses that existed before 1860 in Montgomery.  Future articles will profile businesses that came later.