I first discussed this book in October of 2012- The First City of the Lower Fox River. Menasha, ([1887]) Commissioned by Mayor P.V. Lawson, the booklet explained the city in a PR mode- an obvious attempt to attract new businesses but also a vehicle to showcase and gauge how much progress the city on the Fox had made since its inception some 40 odd years before. Is it any wonder then that the sub-title to the booklet was "Trade, Industries, Inducements to Capitalists, and Its Pre-eminence as a Manufacturing, Residence, and Educational City?" Rife with wood cuts featuring the preeminent factories and edifaces of the day, the booklet also featured selected favorable quotes from area newspapers and periodicals.
As for that barrel and broom handle factory, it eventually became a part of a bigger concern, as Charles Smith was the son of Elisha Smith, founder of the Menasha Woodenware and he, in time, became its president.
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