1865 Weyerhäuser House (now House on the Hill) located in Rock Island, IL Courtesy of LandmarkHunter.com
Friedrich (Frederick) Weyerhäuser was the most famous baron from our region. He moved to Rock Island in 1856, and made a name for himself as an ambitious worker at local sawmills and lumberyards. With the financial support of his brother-in-law, Frederick Denkmann, he seized an opportunity to buy the distressed Mead, Smith and Marsh sawmill in 1860, which would eventually become the Weyerhäuser and Lumber Company.
Together with their later business addition, Rock Island Lumber and Manufacturing Company, the two employed 1,000 individuals and made $175 million in annual sales by 1886. Four years later, Weyerhäuser co-founded the River Logging Company, which organized the logging business of 17 lumber companies across the Upper Mississippi. He was eventually elected President of the organization.
Did You Know?
Log Raft with F.C.A. Denkmann in background.
Courtesy of Tulane University Digital Library.
Throughout one day in 1896, a record 64 rafts passed under the Government Bridge between Rock Island, Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. The longest recorded raft was sent down the Mississippi that same year. It measured 1,560 feet by 296 feet, which is equivalent to more than five football fields. The raft was powered by steam wheeler F.C.A. Denkmann (see picture above).
You can still visit the Weyerhaeuser (Weyerhäuser) House today, at 3052 10th Ave., Rock Island, though now it is known as House on the Hill on the campus of Augustana College. An extension of the original business continues to operate today, and perhaps more vibrantly than ever. Weyerhäuser founded Weyerhaeuser Company in Tacoma, Washington, and grew it to become one of the world’s largest sustainable forest production companies.
Denkmann-Hauberg House / Hauberg Estate (built around 1910)
Though the original Denkmann House no longer exists, you may still tour or rent the Denkmann-Hauberg House for weddings and other events, at 1300 24th St., Rock Island, IL. It is the former home of Frederick Denkmann’s daughter, Susanne Denkmann, heiress of the Weyerhaeuser and Denkmann companies, and her husband, John Hauberg, whom she married in 1911. John eventually became President of the company early in the 20th century.