Hudson Dealerships |  |
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Brunswick Garage in Brunswick, Indiana |
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Photos Courtesy the Chicago-Milwaukee Chapter's November 2009 and March 2010 newsletters.
The community of Brunswick was founded by German immigrants back in the mid-1800s.
Just north of a single, three-way stop at the intersection of 135th and Calumet avenues was one of the early blacksmiths, a man by the name of Bieriete, who rented space in his shop to a wagon maker by the name of Charles Hildebrandt. The shop was sold to Charles A. Schreiber in 1900. About 1912, he ran his implement shop with an Adam Schafer. Schreiber built a garage building at this location in 1917.
Charles Schrieber was the inventor of the Nabon spark and other automobile parts and accessories, the manufacture of which has gained him considerable fame in the automobile industry. Charles passed in January of 1929 at the age of 54 after a brief illness with pneumonia. He is buried in the Brunswick cemetery, sharing a plot with his wife, Marie (1877 - 1955).
A 1941 Chicago-area newspaper ad lists Charles' business as Brunswick Garage. It's also been reffered to as Schreiber's Hudson Sales and Service or Schreiber Hudson Essex. However, Schreiber Hudson was a seperate business in Lowell, IN. It is believed that Schriber Hudson was a continuation of the Brunswick Garage business that went on to operate for many years by his son, Arnold (Ike) Schreiber, as a Hudson Dealership, with some Fords and Chevrolets also sold there.
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Arnold's wife, Etha, moved to the community in the early 1930s and as of 2003 still lived next to the Hudson dealership her late husband operated.
A pair of 1921 Essex touring cars owned by Arnold were sold in 2010 along with a couple stepdowns. The exterior Hudson sign was sadly removed from the building as well.
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Other historical buildings are the Zion Evangelical Church built in the 1800s and a one-room schoolhouse converted into a community center, also both north of the three-way stop. There was a time when Brunswick was a bustling community that boasted of having three creameries, two wagon wheel shops and even a violin string factory. The Perfection Musical String
Co at 14340 W. 135th St was started about 1910 by George Einsele. It shipped products nationwide and didn't close until almost 1990.
The 1922 photo above is labeled as Monte's General store and post office of Cedar Lake, IN. With Brunswick commonly being included as Cedar Lake, I believe this building and the one below, with some remodeling, to be one and the same.
The historic residence on Calumet Avenue, built in 1860, once housed the Brunswick post office and general store. Above photo circa 1922. Donna and Frank Wachter live in the two-story white frame house purchased by Wachter's grandfather in 1949.
Only two businesses still operate in the unincorporated area of Brunswick. One is Reichert's Tavern, owned by Donn Hylek and established approximately 1997. This is on the SouthEast corner of the intersection. -- The other business in Brunswick, Interstate Milk Transfer Co., is owned by Adolph Niemeyer and his son Richard. Adolph has lived in the area since 1938.
Suggested Reading:
Brunswick Hudson Dealership article
Structures offer slices of Cedar Lake's past - by Scott Bocock, member of the Cedar Lake Historical Association
The Village of Brunswick - June 28, 1995, Lowell Tribune
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Courtesy HET JetSet - All Rights Reserved.
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