×

Letts-Fletcher building opens door to Marshalltown’s past

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO - Marshalltown Senior Residences, 201 E. Main St. from a 2014 photo.

Marshalltown history echoes from the former Letts-Fletcher/Western Grocer Co. building, 201 E. Main St., more recently known as Marshalltown Senior Residences.

Fittingly, Letts-Fletcher and related enterprises once contributed to the town’s one-time legacy as “Little Pittsburgh” – a nickname earned because of the town’s burgeoning business and industry at the turn of the 20th Century.

Much of the building’s original facade is intact, despite the July 19 tornado.

It crushed the roof and fourth floor.

Two gray cherubs made of concrete can be seen holding an ornate banner, also of stone, with L-F Co. carved in the middle, above the Main Street entrance. Two stately gray columns, one each on both sides of the entryway, serve as pedestals for the cherubs.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO - The Western Grocer Mills complex, formerly on the east side in the 700 block of South Third Avenue, is pictured. A horse and buggy can be seen in the upper left, below the Western Grocer MIlls building. The power plant is center, and the company’s signature canning facility to the right. At one time 43 were employed in the Marshalltown office and 600 company-wide.

The building is quiet inside. It will be until workmen finish picking-up bricks, glass and lumber crushed and dislodged by the EF-3 tornado. Clean-up work is expected to begin this week, with other repairs planned in spring 2019.

Nearly 117 years ago workers were busy in the four story building, taking care of business, and making their way to one of two double fireproof safes where orders were kept – after all, it was critical for operations at the Letts-Fletcher Co., and later, Western Grocer Co.

At one time related to the Letts-Fletcher property were buildings at 702 S. Third Ave.

Now a complex of old structures – ghosts of their former selves – stand. Approximately 74 years before, the buildings were full of people and produce – a hotbed of food packaging and processing activity, with Marshall Canning Co. and Marshall Mills holding court.

The Marshall Canning Co. was one of 12 in the midwest, and canned pickles, vegetables and vinegar. As many as 2,500 workers canned during the peak summer seasons in the 1930s and 1940s, according to Times-Republican archives.

Marshall Mills packaged coffee, dried fruits, gelatin powders, oatmeal, peanut butter and spices under the Jack Sprat label.

In addition to payroll, the company added significantly to the agricultural income of Central Iowa, as area farmers were paid by the company for their bountiful produce.

The origins of Letts-Fletcher Co. go back to 1867, according to the “History of Marshall County, Iowa, 1955” by Gerard Schultz.

That year the H.L. Spencer Co. was organized as a Oskaloosa wholesaler.

16 years later another major development took place.

Frank Letts, a retail dry-goods clerk began his career in the wholesale grocery business as a member of the newly organized firm of Lacey, Letts and Gray.

Letts later went into partnership with Tom Fletcher, cashier of the First National Bank, and established the firm of Letts-Fletcher Co.

They bought out Lacey, Gray and others in forming the new company.

Letts-Fletcher Grocery Co. was housed initially at 19 S. Center St.

The customers of this wholesale grocery business were mainly local grocers and food users such as cafes and hotels.

The Spencer enterprise at Oskaloosa became Spencer-Wright Wholesale Grocery Co.

Then, Letts and Spencer purchased interest in a Mason City firm.

The company had found a second home at 133 E. Main St.

However, a fire in 1891 dislodged the company, but it eventually landed at a brand new building at 201-205 E. Main St. in 1898.

The building was constructed by several prominent Marshalltownians, Thaddeus Binford (of Binford House fame), G. F. Kirby and F. J. Woodbury.

In its heyday, Letts-Fletcher had 44 employees in several departments, and annually handled upwards of 500 rail carloads of merchandise, in addition to smaller shipments. Its four floors and basement were completely stocked with thousands of articles that made up its wholesale grocery stock.

Cheese, coffee, corn, soaps, syrups, sugar, tomatoes and more comprised its inventory, which were sold to cafes, retail grocers, institutions, hotels and restaurants.

The move to 201-205 Main St. foreshadowed a major consolidation of the wholesale grocery business in Iowa in 1901, and Letts-Fletcher played a major role.

Spencer-Wright Co., Letts-Fletcher Co. and the Letts-Spencer-Smith Co. were drawn together under the name of Western Grocer Co., with Letts as president. The firm was capitalized at $5 million.

Originally, the company was headquartered in Oskaloosa, but later, the central office was moved to Marshalltown at 702 S. Third Ave., in 1908.

Jack Sprat, a character borrowed from a nursery rhyme, (“Jack Sprat ate no fat, his wife ate no lean”), was chosen to be the product symbol.

The reason: Company officials thought the nursery rhyme would conveniently remind consumers of its products.

A giant replica of Jack Sprat’s face also graced the front of 201-205 Main Street, and in evening was lit up.

Jack Sprat was affixed to more than 400 food products. Included in its various branch stocks were a complete line of staple groceries, fruits, vegetables and frozen goods.

Many local cafes and restaurants purchased their supplies directly from Western Co.

As Western Co. grew, it was necessary to establish branch offices and warehouses in Carroll, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, Des Moines, Dubuque, Mason City, Roland, Albert Lea, Minn., Faribault, Minn., Minneapolis, St. Joseph, Mo. and Manhattan, Kan.

The company’s workforce created a strong market for its products throughout Iowa, northwestern Illinois, northwestern Kansas, northwestern Missouri, southern Minnesota and southeastern Wisconsin.

In 1944, Western Grocer became a division of Consolidated Grocers Corp. of Chicago.

At the time Consolidated Grocers Co., was known as one of the nation’s largest distributors of foods. The acquisition led to Marshalltown operations being eliminated in 1952, and by 1961, all local offices had been closed.

Later, Iowa Wholesale Supply bought the building at 201-205 E. Main St. and did business from that location until several years ago, when it moved to 3110 S. Sixth St.

The former IWS property was sold to Cohen-Esrey Affordable Partners LLC, and the Iowa Finance Authority approved a $5 million construction project to convert the then 116-year old building from commercial to residential use.

Specifically, 28 apartments for low-income seniors and disabled residents were constructed, giving a new purpose to a historical property.

Owner Cohen-Esrey invested an estimated $5.4 million in the building, according to Angela Morehead, an official with Preserving U.S., Inc., a project subcontractor.

Previously, the project had been awarded more than $1 million in historic grants.

The Marshalltown Senior Residences, in tandem with the Orpheum Theater complex, Tallcorn and recently refurbished Kibbey Building, have been keystones in a revitalized East Main Street area.

Contact Mike Donahey at 641-753-6611 or mdonahey@timesrepublican.com

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today