It is the principal of marketing to extol one’s virtues, including a healthy amount of exaggeration, therefore it should come as no surprise that the Mesker companies touted their products as the most modern and affordable solutions for commercial building facades on the market. It also stands to reason that such remarkable goods had to …
Continue reading The Largest and Most Complete Establishment
Every legacy has its origins and the four Mesker brothers and their respective companies owe their genesis to a certain John Bernard Mesker (1823–1899). John Bernard Mesker was born in Germany on February 22, 1823, and came to America in 1835. Settling in Cincinnati, John trained as a “tinner,” a craftsman who worked with tinplate, …
The post below appeared in the "Found in the Archives" series of the Vanderburgh County Clerk’s Records and Archives blog on May 20, 2015. After an early Mesker artifact was unearthed and featured in the Endangered Heritage display for National Preservation Month, it was spotted by historian and friend Dennis Au. Subsequently, I was asked …
Bernard, Frank, and George are the best known of the six Mesker brothers. However, one more brother also made important contributions to the ornamental iron work trade in Evansville and the surrounding region. As Bernard and Frank were establishing a niche for their business in St. Louis, George continued to work for their father in …
“Evansville’s new $175,000 Greyhound Terminal is not only the last word in modern construction but it is one of the most beautiful and imposing structures in this area. Contributing greatly to both of these outstanding points was the George L. Mesker and Company of Evansville. Fireproof construction and strength are clearly denoted by the terminal. …
Meskers had many competitors over the years. Some were imitators, with varying degrees of success, while others were innovators in their own right. But only one competing enterprise was begun by three former employees of George L. Mesker & Co. The International Steel & Iron Construction Company of Evansville, Indiana (and later Chicago, Illinois) was …
Mesker Brothers 