The J. U. Neuhauser & Sons Records collection contains records of the hardware and farm machinery business of J. U. Neuhauser & Sons, Bird-in-Hand, Pa. The items include product inventories, records of sales and customers, territory lists and salesmen, financial records, and tax records.
Admin/Biographical History
Neuhauser Brothers was established in 1891. In 1901, brothers Isaac U. Neuhauser and Jonas U. Neuhauser bought land from Levi Rhoads at 2701 Old Philadelphia Pike in Bird-in-Hand. The transaction included buildings that the Neuhausers had been using since 1890. Jonas bought out Isaac's share in 1921 and the business name was later changed to J. U. Neuhauser & Sons. Jonas' sons sold the store to Abram E. Keener in 1958 who continued the hardware business, but did not deal in farm machinery.
The business was located on property formerly owned by the Bird-in-Hand Hotel, was The Old Village Store for many years, and is presently the Bird-in-Hand Village Antique Market (2008).
Employees in 1958 were Irvin Denlinger (shop), Aaron L. Hershey (store clerk), Miriam G. Neuhauser (bookkeeper), Aaron P. Miller (store clerk), Henry K. Blank (shop), Michael L. Fisher (shop).
Reference: Bird-in-Hand, 1734-1984: A History of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. 1984.
The source is unknown for the bulk of the collection. Record book of automobiles, farm machinery, and major appliances, 1922-1959 in Folder 12 was a gift of Robert G. Neuhauser, December 2006.
Access Conditions / Restrictions
Folder 13 is restricted.
Copyright
Collection may not be photocopied. Please direct questions to Research Center Staff at research@lancasterhistory.org.
Permission for reproduction and/or publication must be obtained in writing from LancasterHistory.
Credit
Courtesy of LancasterHistory, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Other Numbers
MG-21
Classification
MG0021
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
The collection was cataloged prior to 1997; Folder 12 was added by HST in 2007. Added to database 29 July 2021.
Chapters: The formative years --Working on the Nolt special --Moving beyond Farmersville --The New Holland bonanza --"It changed everything" --The later years --1964 interview --Other stories.
Summary
"Subtitled "Everything Just Went Right," this book shows how Ed Nolt's early life shaped him and that the resources and relationships he formed allowed him to develop the baler, in spite of the struggles he endured. Ed Nolt's distinctive skills, personal habits, and fertile mind made him a remarkable inventor admired by engineers and entrepreneurs who recognized that his traditional Mennonite background and values were not impediments but were real resources for his success. His inventions helped to cement New Holland's reputation in the farm equipment industry." [from the publisher]
"Thomas R. Winpenny examines the formative years of the factory system in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and the impact of industrialization on the community.The study focuses on the establishment of the Conestoga Steam Mills in the late 1840's and the following three decades. Professor Winpenny maintains that this industrial revolution brought progress and economic benefits without social upheaval and labor strife...Lancaster was able to absorb the factory system without discord because of local circumstances such as the wealth of the countryside, the stability of the long-established town, and the ready supply of resident workers. In a narrower variation of Thomas C. Cochran's geo-cultural concept, Winpenny argues that the character of the industrialization experience is molded by local conditions and that problems often associated with industrial progress are rooted in the environment in which industrialization occurs." [from a review of the book by Robert M. Blackson, Kutztown State College]
