1. John Plankinton is noted for expansive real estate developments in Milwaukee, including the luxurious Plankinton House Hotel designed as an upscale residence for the wealthy.
33 Facts About John Plankinton
1. 2.
John Plankinton was involved in the development of the Milwaukee City Railroad Company, an electric railway.
3.
John Plankinton started this trade as a butcher for his general store operating in the center part of the city.
4.
John Plankinton was the city's leading meat packer after his first year in the grocery business.
5.
John Plankinton expanded this industry and eventually became acquainted with the meatpacking industrialist Philip D Armour forming a company with him that lasted for 20 years.
6.
John Plankinton donated the land for the construction of the Perseverance Presbyterian church and supported the formation of a soup kitchen in Milwaukee for the poor that included the daily supply of meat needed.
7.
John Plankinton financed the construction of the first Milwaukee public library.
8.
John Plankinton met his future wife, Elizabeth Brachein, while a teenager in Pittsburgh, and they were married in 1840.
9.
John Plankinton was 24 years old in 1844 when he moved with his wife and new son to Milwaukee, Wisconsin Territory.
10.
John Plankinton traveled through the Great Lakes from Pittsburgh to Milwaukee on the steamer Great Western.
11.
John Plankinton was going to form a business with a friend who had already moved to Milwaukee prior, but his friend formed a partnership with another person before he arrived using as an excuse that this other person had more money and skills available for the new business he had in mind.
12.
John Plankinton became the leading butcher and meat packer in Milwaukee with his first year at $12,000 in sales.
13.
John Plankinton became acquainted with Frederick Layton around 1850 and formed a business partnership with him a couple of years later.
14.
John Plankinton's two daughters, Hannah and Elizabeth, were born around this time.
15.
John Plankinton reorganized his part of the Milwaukee meat packing business and Patrick Cudahy, who had been with him since 1854, became his facility superintendent and a business partner.
16.
John Plankinton purchased this strategically located piece of real estate and constructed the John Plankinton House Hotel there out of sandstone blocks and brick, chosen because they were fireproof.
17.
John Plankinton was associated with Frederick Layton and others when in 1865 they took over the River and Lake Shore City Railway Company and incorporated it into the Milwaukee City Railroad Company.
18.
John Plankinton financed the construction of the first Milwaukee public library in 1882, which at the time was on Grand Avenue between Fourth and Fifth Streets.
19.
John Plankinton is associated with the founding and financing of the Milwaukee Exposition building that was originally constructed in the city in 1881.
20.
John Plankinton promoted the events that took place in the building.
21.
On February 7,1887, the Plankinton Bank began operations, established with capital of $200,000, the majority from the bank's President and Vice President.
22.
In 1864, Plankinton purchased the James H Rogers mansion along with its surrounding seven acres that he turned into a parkland.
23.
John Plankinton spent $200,000 remodeling the house into the most elegant and expensive residence in Milwaukee.
24.
John Plankinton was involved with civil activities and was president of the Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce in 1867.
25.
John Plankinton served on the board of directors of several businesses.
26.
Besides being on the board at the John Plankinton Bank he was a member at the Northwestern Life Insurance Company.
27.
John Plankinton was involved with business affairs of the livestock producers of Wisconsin and northern Illinois by developing a market for their products in Milwaukee.
28.
John Plankinton donated two lots for the formation of the First Holland Presbyterian Church, which subsequently became the Perseverance Presbyterian Church.
29.
John Plankinton supported the formation of a soup kitchen to feed the poor, by providing the building rent-free, along with a generous amount of money, and a daily supply of meat.
30.
John Plankinton died of pneumonia in his home on the evening of March 29,1891, attended by his family, personal business secretary Jeremiah Quin, and his long-time medical doctor Dr Thompson.
31.
John Plankinton was buried in the Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee and a large monument and pillar is built on the site.
32.
Elizabeth John Plankinton commissioned artist Susan Frackelton to prepare and illustrate a hand-illuminated volume, Voices of Friends, with reminiscences of her father from his personal friends, those "who knew and loved him well".
33.
The Wisconsin Meat Industry Hall of Fame was initiated in 1993, and John Plankinton was one of three new inductees added in 1995.