Theodore and Hermine Goessling

In the 1880 U.S. Census, Theodore Goessling was listed as single and aged 30, with his birthplace as Germany. He lived in Sandusky, where he worked as a retail grocer. His store was located at 727 Market Street (now in the west 100 block) in downtown Sandusky.

Notes on the original photograph state that Theodore Goessling is most likely the man holding a hat in the doorway of the store.

On October 18, 1880, Theodore Goessling married Hermine Engels, the daughter of Herman Engels, a well known local vintner. Hermine is pictured below in a photograph taken at the Platt studio in 1889.

The Goesslings had a son born on December 4, 1881, named Theodore Herman Goessling. Theodore, the son, died at age 30 from heart disease. Theodore Goessling, the father, had died in 1891, at the age of 41. Hermine Goessling lived to be 78 years of age, passing away on August 26, 1933. Because Hermine did have any direct descendants at the time of her death, she left twenty thousand dollars in her estate. She gave one thousand dollars each to Good Samaritan Hospital and the United Ladies’ Sewing Circle, and the rest to relatives.

Hugo Engels' Scrapbook of Performances

From 1882 through the 1890s, Hugo Engels kept a scrapbook containing programs and newspaper articles from local concerts, recitals, and plays. Many of the newspaper articles are in German. 

Hugo Engels was born in Germany on February 9, 1863. He came to the United States with his family in 1876, when his father Herman came to Sandusky to take over the wine business of his uncle Jacob Engels, who had died in 1875. Herman and Louisa Engels had five children, Hermine, Otto, Hugo, and Paul. Hugo and his brothers worked with their father in the winery, which became the Engels and Krudwig Wine Company when R. P. Krudwig joined the company in 1878. Hugo’s brother Carl L. Engels was also associated with the “Big Store,” a Sandusky department store.  

On June 4 1885, Hugo Engels performed Das Bild der Rose in Harmony Hall. Gesang Vereins is the German phrase for Singing Association.

On May 28, 1890, Mrs. A. P. Lange and Hugo Engels played a duet entitled Kucken in a Musicale.

Hugo Engels died on November 7, 1912. His wife Charlotte Engels donated the scrapbook to the historical collections of the Sandusky Library after his death. By looking through the scrapbook, one can learn more about the musical entertainment of Sandusky area residents in the late nineteenth century. It is interesting to note that many of the pioneer residents of Sandusky shared the love of music with residents of German descent who came to Sandusky as immigrants. 

The obituary of Hugo Engels, in the November 9, 1912 Sandusky Register stated that he participated in all of the Elks entertainments, particularly the musical performances.

At the funeral, Mayor John J. Molter delivered an address in German. Music was performed by a string quartet, under the organization of George F. Anderson. Hugo Engels was buried at Oakland Cemetery, with the Elks Lodge conducting the graveyard services.

Historic Building at 1408 Central Avenue

Now home to a legal office, real estate management company, and space for inside storage, the brick building at 1408 Central Avenue has been a commercial building in Sandusky for several decades. In the 1896 Erie County Atlas, this location was listed as a bonded warehouse. An article in the January 20, 1899 issue of the Sandusky Star reported that the officers of the Sandusky Warehouse Company had purchased the bonded warehouse on Central Avenue, which had previously been owned by Hugo Engels, a local wine dealer.  From 1916 to 1919, Sandusky city directories list the property at 1408 Central Avenue as a Special Bonded Warehouse for the Internal Revenue Service. In this image from the Sanborn Map, you can see that the property at 1408 Central wraps around to the 800 block of Polk Street.

An advertisement which appeared in the May 4, 1919 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that the Arbogust Garage was Sandusky’s “newest, largest, completely equipped garage.” It was located at the former site of the bonded warehouse at Central Avenue and Polk Street.

From the 1920s through the 1940s, 1408 Central Avenue was home to a variety of automobile related businesses. From 1950 to 1969, Sears and Roebuck had a warehouse at 1408 Central Avenue. In a local newspaper ad in 1950, Sandusky customers were urged to “follow the crowd” to the big Sears warehouse sale at 1408 Central Avenue and Polk Street. A map from the downtown Sears store to the warehouse was included in the advertisement in the June 14, 1950 issue of the Sandusky Register.

During the 1970s, property was vacant for some years, and a pharmaceutical company which sold vitamin products was in business there for a few years. From the very late 1970s until about 2000, the Warehouse Gift and Gun Shop were in business at 1410 Central Avenue, while 1408 Central served as a warehouse for the shops.  Many of the commercial buildings in Sandusky have been home to a variety of businesses through the years. Visit the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center to see Sanborn Maps, county histories, and historical Sandusky city directories to learn more about our community’s past.

Herman Engels

Herman Engels was born in Germany in 1827. He and his wife Louise immigrated to the United States in 1874. Herman’s uncle, Jacob Engels had come to the Sandusky area in 1848, where he became active in importing wine and in the culture of grapes. Jacob Engels founded the Engels Wine Company in 1863. After Jacob’s death in 1875, Herman Engels took over his uncle’s wine company. Herman’s children assisted their father with the business. In 1878 the firm became known as Engels and Krudwig, after R.P. Krudwig joined the company. Engels and Krudwig was located at the southwest corner of Water and Hancock Streets.

Engels and Krudwig produced several varieties of red and white wines, both sweet and dry. In the late 18^th century, a bottling works was connected to the main facility by an underground tunnel.

Herman Engels died on July 6, 1899. His obituary, which appeared in the July 7, 1899 issue of the Sandusky Star read, in part: “Mr. Engels was a man who was admired and esteemed by all who knew him. He was a man of broad culture, unostentatious in manner he attracted all by his simple kindliness. He held nature above everything else, and was known for his strong love the beautiful. He admired flowers and was never happier that when at work upon the park commission, lending his aid and advice upon matters tending to beautify the city.” 

Herman Engels was buried in the family lot at Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery.  His sons ran the winery after their father’s death. Later, the sons-in-law of Carl Engels operated the E & K Wine Company until the business closed in 1961. Herman Engels was one of Sandusky’s most highly respected business men at the time of his death.

Sandusky’s Big Store March and Two Step

In the first decade of the twentieth century George Godfrey composed a march and two step in honor of Sandusky’s Big Store. The Big Store was located on East Market Street in downtown Sandusky. In 1882 Carl L. Engels was engaged in the dry goods business with Mr. Hasselbach. Later C.L. Engels became the sole proprietor of the business, and it was known as the C.L. Engels Company.

The C.L. Engels Company eventually became known as Sandusky’s Big Store. An advertisement in the September 18, 1903 issue of the Sandusky Register featured an advertisement for Sandusky’s Big Store. Above an image of the Big Store were the words: “The Heart of Sandusky.” In 1908 Mr. Engels disposed of his controlling interests in the store, and by 1910, the Herb & Myers Company bought out Sandusky’s Big Store.

George Godfrey was a Sandusky businessman and an accomplished musician. He was a member of the Great Western Band for many years. In the spring of 1902, Mr. Godfrey conducted a series of free concerts at the Big Store. Mr. Godfrey’s musical composition entitled Sandusky’s Big Store was published by the C.L. Engels Company in Sandusky, Ohio.

For a time Mr. Godfrey’s wife, Mary Schields Godfrey, sold hats at Sandusky’s Big Store.

Sandusky Cider and Vinegar Works / Struebe & Engels

Carl H. Struebe was the proprietor of a vinegar factory from about 1884 through 1900. The factory was located on the west side of Columbus Avenue, near the Lake Shore and Michigan Railroad.

In the 1888 Sandusky City Directory, the proprietors of the Sandusky Cider and Vinegar Works were listed as C. H. Struebe and C L. Engels.

By 1902 C .H. Struebe was a manufacturer of carbonated beverages and he was also was a wholesale dealer of Schlitz’s lager beer. In 1902 Carl L. Engels was the president and manager of a dry goods store, the C. L. Engels Company on Market Street. This store was also known as “Sandusky’s Big Store.” Herb and Myers purchased the dry goods store from C. L. Engels in 1910.

C. H. Struebe and his wife moved to Detroit, Michigan to be near their daughter. Mr. Struebe died in 1923, and is buried in Oakland Cemetery. C. L. Engels died in 1935, after having been involved in several local business ventures, including the well known Engels and Krudwig Wine Company. Tributes to C. L. Engels are found on pages 27 and 37 of the 1935 Obituary Notebook located in the Archives Research Center of the Sandusky Library. Mr. Engels was also buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Pictured below are employees of the C. L. Engels Co. at a company picnic held at Cedar Point in 1902.