Historic Treasure of the Week - July 5, 1992
By Alice Zimmerman Johnson
Vigo County Historical Society
Historic Treasure of the Week - July 5, 1992
By Alice Zimmerman Johnson
Vigo County Historical Society
Hulman success began with Herman
My piano teacher was Anna Hulman. She told me so many stories of studying with the masters in Europe. She also told me about the Hulman family, so when I read about Anna in the "History of Hulman and Company," I was enthralled.
The picture that piqued the interest in Hulman and Co. ad that of Herman Hulman. At the age of 23, Herman left his home and family in Lingon, Germany, and came to Terre Haute at the urging of his brother, Frances.
Frances had established a wholesale grocery business in Terre Haute and by 1858 it was booming. Herman arrive in Terre Haute in 1854. He was a real asset to Frances.
Anna Hulman was quoted as saying what Herman told her after his mother’s death--"The only way I felt I could help Mother was in a larger field. So I left my home I dearly loved and came to America. When I was leaving her, I promised myself that from each $1 I made, she would get a dime of it. And I never forgot that promise."
Soon Frances felt very confident leaving Herman in charge and he sailed with his family to Germany. On the return trip, his ship burned and he and his family perished.
Herman should have been grateful to his brother because a very moving letter sent from America to Herman actually begged him to come.
I feel compelled to quote a portion of Frances Hulman’s letter to his brother. It states: "O Herman! Herman! follow my advice. There is still time! You will lead an entirely different life, be a difference person, a free man, independent, and a republican who is conscious of his worth and dignity as a man. In this free and happy America, poverty and ignorance do not reign, one can express his opinion freely, and there is no censorship.
After the death of Frances, Herman took over the business. He was 27. He was known to be fair and very generous. He gave people credit and helped them establish businesses. He made many friends.
In 1862, Herman married Antonia Riefenstahl from Lingon. She has waited seven years for Herman.
They lived on a farm called Strawberry Hill. Antonia and Herman had three children: Mary, who died when a child; Anton, born in 1864; and Herman Jr., born in 1867.
During the Civil War, Herman made sure his customers had the very best. When the war ended, he expanded the store. It was the largest of its kind in Indiana.
Then in 1869 he had a spice mill built behind the wholesale store. He could roast 100 sacks of coffee per day. Hulman merged with R.S. Cox, another grocer, and called the business Hulman and Cox.
Herman was an intuitive businessman. He bought McGregor’s Distillery where Fairbanks Park is today. Surplus corn was used at the distillery. He was one of Terre Haute’s first recyclers. He put in a hog pen and fed them the mash from the distillery. By 1870, he was feeding 1,400 hogs.
Herman’s distillery was the third largest in the world. His wholesale grocery was a leader in the nation. On April 16, 1879, he traded the distillery for Cox’s interest in the wholesale grocery. It was again Hulman & Co.
When Frances Hulman entered business in Terre Haute, it was housed in one room with $2,100 in a town of 4,051. In 1900, Herman had fulfilled Frances’ dream. He had a capital of $100,000 in a town with a population of 36,673.
Herman’s life was the business. After walking home from the company and saying he had never felt better, he died the following morning, July 4, 1913, at the age of 82.
Terre Haute was extremely fortunate that Herman Hulman wove the dreams of a lifetime on Strawberry Hill.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.