Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond Du Lac From Early Times to the Present, Personal Reminiscences, Remarkable Events, Election Results, Military History, Etc.

              40 BUSINESS HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC
The Old Giltner Place.
It is very doubtful if there is a house in Fond du Lac that has gone through the vicissitudes of approaching destruction and been occupied by more families than the so called "Giltner House" on East Second street, opposite No. i engine house. In the fifty-eight years of its existence, it has suffered from fire, lightning and wind, but escaped destruction. It was twice enlarged after it was built, was occupied for a time by four families, including Jo. Kings and Steve Buckland. Father Bonseuil, the early Catholic missionary, held services there, the "Giltner girls" had a millinery and dress making shop there several years, a picture gallery was there, many transient doctors had rooms there, Mr. Kellogg, general agent for the New York Mutual Life Insurance Co., made his headquarters there, and W.,H. Ebbets at one time had his law ofiice in the building. Of the four Giltner girls, some or all of them lived there many years. At the time of the great Main street fire in 1852, the wind dropped burn¬ ing shingles on the roof and it was on fire several times. Three or four times in its history the house was on fire on the inside and* twice was struck by lightning.    Its identity was changed in 1903.
Peat Fifty Years Ago.
The operations of Dr. Beebe in peat reminds the old settler in Fond du Lac, of the agitation of the same subject in the early fifties, by J. W. Whinfield, who had given some attention to it in England. If the claims of Mr. Whinfield for peat as fuel for domestic use and under boilers for steam could be half realized, it would be more valuable than the coal fields. In an article from him printed in the Fond du Lac Journal at the time, he claimed that iron had been smelted in England with peat fuel. He had evidently given the subject much attention, and among other things predicted that peat would be the fuel of the future and that we had enough in the peat beds of our marshes to last hundreds of years. Our wood supply was nearly exhausted at that time and transportation made coal too costly. Peat was the coming fuel and he urged the people to assist in developing this fuel so plentiful at our very doors.
Rush Lake marsh, near Ripon, is an almost inexhaustible peat bed, and an attempt was made in 1870, to utilize it, but without the proper machinery, buildings or money, was a failure.
A Laundry Not Thought Of.
It is now one of the singular facts of history that it is only twenty- five years since a laundry was first thought of for Fond du Lac. Up to 1879 the young men had had to look to a washwoman to launder their shirts and collars, and seldom got them well done. The Chinamen did the best work here in that line until the Ira W. Hughes laundry was opened, and a little later the Eureka.