September 22, 2004

One man's dream became a town in Froelich, Iowa 
One man's dream became a reality when he came to America and settled in Giard Township in Clayton County, Iowa. J.. Henry Froelich lived and worked in the area and in later years his son John brought fame and notoriety to the area that now bears his name. Pioneer settler Henry Froelich (the name has several different spellings) was Johannes Heinrich Froehlich, born Sept. 3, 1812, in Bassfeld Kreis Homberg, Kuhrheisen, Germany. His mother died in 1819 and being left alone, he came to America in 1845 at the age of 33. Many immigrants arrived in America at Ellis Island and Baltimore, but Froelich landed in Cincinnati, Ohio. Perhaps he joined other settlers going north, because he went as far as Dubuque and continued on to Clayton County. His boyhood friend, Herman Schneider, with whom he had attended the same church in Germany, came to America in 1828 and was living here. No doubt that gave Froelich courage to make the journey and helped him make the decision to settle in Giard Township, where his friend already had entered a claim for 160 acres in 1842. Schneider had written back to Germany asking some of his relatives and friends to come to the new country. Being young and free to travel, Henry Froelich went back to Germany and found 20-28 people to come and live in Clayton County, Iowa. Some of the people among the group who came with Froelich were Henry Schneider and his wife Catherine Elizabeth and six of their children; Conrad Hartwick and his wife Elizabeth; Daniel Bickel and his wife Anna Elizabeth and a son S. Bickel, Conrad Helwig and his wife and son; Martha Bernhardt; Adam Bert and Mrs. Misz. This was a strenuous trip for these people and costly too. Conditions in their home land were not good, so they made the effort on the say-so of two men, taking everything at face value and trusting the unknown.
They left Germany from the Port of Bremen on the ship "Norfolk." They see arrived in New Orleans, La., on the 4th of June 1847. The voyage took three months. After leaving New Orleans they traveled north on the Mississippi to a port known as McGregor Landing. When they left their water route they walked along the rutted tracks of the old Military Trail on a hot day on the 6th of June 1847. Climbing the bluffs was tiring and they finally reached a clear, cold spring coming out of a bluff, where they rested. They noticed all of the lush grasses and the giant forest trees for shade. They had seven more miles yet to travel before reaching the Schneider farm in Giard. The Schneiders did not know these people were coming, but in true frontier fashion, they gave them food and lodging until each and all of them could find homes and land of their own. Pioneer spirit and fortitude is truly something to admire. On the 23rd of June 1849, Henry Froelich bought about two acres of land from Daniel and Elizabeth Bickel for the sum of $25. Little did Henry know that this parcel of land in Section 28 was near the future village that would be named for him. Henry Froelich married Kathryn Gutheil, one of the group who came to America in 1847. They had nine children and John Froelich was the oldest. Then there was Frederich, Martha, Elizabeth, Caroline, H.J., Katherine, Gottlich and Edwin. They grew up, married or moved away, to become contributing citizens to this new country. Henry's wife died in 1887. After her death, Henry went back to Germany. He returned there still another time, and brought seeds and trees from his home land to the prairies of Giard Township. The stories of these trees and the tales that go with them are many. A Thriving Town Froelich, the town, was once a thriving community which had depot, sawmill, blacksmith shop, a creamery, a post office, general store, hatchery, ice house, barber shop, shipping warehouse, church, lumberyard and stockyards. But like so many other towns of that time, in the name of progress, people moved away, and it dwindled to a wide spot in the road, with only the general store and post office still operating. Today the town's population is only 12. In an attempt to keep the history alive the Froelich Foundation, nonprofit organization, was established in 1986. Their goal is to preserve the heritage of this village. Each year members of the Foundation and many volunteers organize and host events to give people a chance to remember. Not only visitors and local resident but descendants of Henry and John Froelich visit. These people came from many places. They make the trip to connect with their past and relive some of the stories their grandparents told them. There are many brochures and a lot of information available at the General Store museum in Froelich. Each year the foundation and many volunteers hold various events to uncover the history, that for too long was hidden. The grounds include the Giard Country School which many of the surrounding area children attended. The one room school dates to 1866. It was moved from its original site, which was a short distance away. The flag pole which flies the American flag every day, was taken from one of the trees that Henry Froelich brought back from Germany on his visit, after his wife died. The blacksmith shop, dates back to 1880. William Mann was the smithy who was a friend of John and together they built the first tractor in 1892. The "Iron Clad Store," built in 1891 was so named because the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad ran parallel to the store. Iron sheets were put on that side of the building, to prevent sparks from the train (a steam engine fired by wood or coal) from starting a fire. The store is restored to nearly its original look, when Lon and Mattie Burlingame were the owners and were running it. Not only did they run the store but they were both Postmasters. The cracker barrel and the potbelly stove are still there and if they could only talk. Not only did the neighboring farmers and townspeople stop to warm their hands and feet, but to swap stories and of course get the latest news. It was a gathering place. The store carried a full line of goods, from food to outer wear, pain killers and just about anything. What was once a bustling community was no more after the new highway went through. A curve in the main road, went right past the store, but when this changed the only access to the store and surrounding grounds became a gravel road. The area was by-passed and the store and post office closed. Today the Froelich Museum occupies the former store building. John Froelich, Inventor Henry's eldest son John stayed in the little settlement. He married Katherine Bickle, daughter of Daniel and Anna E. (Schwartz) Bickle on May 7, 1874. They had four children, Benjamin, Jenetie, Clarence and Anna Lisette. Froelich became well-known for his many inventions. These included a washing machine, dishwasher and dryer and an air conditioner which went on to become the Carrier Air Conditioning Company. A mechanical corn picker and the mounting of a gasoline engine on his well drilling outfit were some of his other ideas. Adding the engine to the well-drilling rig led him to modify a gasoline engine for a tractor for threshing.
The tractor became his greatest invention earning him well-deserved recognition. In 1892, John Froelich made the first gas traction engine that would propel itself both forwards and backward. This tractor was the forerunner of the John Deere tractor as we know it today. A working replica, made by George Erbe and his son-in-law Jim Leete, is on display at the store museum. Froelich had his problems and he and his partner and friend, Wm. Mann designed many parts until everything could be assembled and ready for trial. Of course , the villagers were amused and not too sure it would ever amount to anything. After many trials and errors he finally had the finished product. They took the machine to South Dakota where they were threshing grain and threshed 72,000 bushels of small grain. It was a success! This was the beginning of the "Waterloo Boy" and the start of the John Deere Company. This is just a thumbnail sketch of the history that some residents of Clayton County have known for years, history we just took for granted. There is so much detailed information available at the store museum. John Froelich, despite all of his inventions (imagine a dishwasher, air conditioning etc. in those days) never received the credit he deserved. In the years that followed after he had left this area he changed jobs frequently and his career had it ups and downs. He worked for Novelty Iron Works, manufacturing gasoline engines. He worked for his brother, Gottlieb, manufacturing washing machines. In 1910 he was vice president of the Henderson-Froelich Manufacturing factory. But he never seemed to find what he was looking for. He spent his last years with his daughter Jenetie in St. Paul, Minn. Froelich died a pauper and is buried in St. Paul. A centennial celebration was held on the 100th anniversary of the invention of the John Froelich tractor, on July 12, 1992, in the town that bears his name. It is only fitting that we recognize and remember this man for his great gifts and talent and the impact his invention of the tractor has on farming the world over and how it has influenced farming history. There is a monument dedicated in his memory on the grounds of the Froelich Museum. Celebration Planned On September 25 and 26, the Froelich Store museum will come alive to celebrate the name and accomplishments of John Froelich at the Froelich Fall-der-all. There will be tours, a flea market, and a threshing, raffles and much more. Froelich is located near the junction of Hwy. 52 and Hwy 18, four miles east of Monona.