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Cigar business had many popular brands

Mystery Place template

Mystery Place answer from May 10, 2009

Photo at left: Former Van Velzer Brothers Cigar Company in Delavan. More Mystery Place photos are GALLERY

DELAVAN -- The building at 610 E. Wisconsin in Delavan is a former shoe factory.

E.W. Walker, W.F. Fernholz, A.M. Ross, E.F. Williams, A.M. Kendrick and F.G. Tanck founded the company in late 1909.

In March 1910, the officers voted to build a new two-story building and use the current one for a warehouse.

By May, they were in the new building, however production outstripped sales, and by July 1, production was halted in order to reduce inventory.

Sales never picked up, however, and the inventory and machinery was sold to a Stoughton company.

The building then became the Van Velzer Brothers Cigar Company and operated for almost 40 years.

In 1877, long before they bought the shoe company building, Washington Van Velzer, along with his brother Ferdinand, began making cigars in a small shop at 212 E. Walworth St.

According to Butterfield’s History of Walworth County, their cigar brands included Cash, La Excellencia and La Pluma. They produced about 200,000 cigars annually, and in 1890, their most popular brand was La Delavana.

According to Beckwith’s history of Walworth County, Washington Van Velzer continued making cigars until 1948 and produced chewing tobacco until 1954.

Local farmers grew tobacco for Washington’s business. A story in a local newspaper indicated that in 1885, the company used 125 tons of leaf tobacco.

Washington Van Velzer was a justice of the peace in Delavan in 1876, ‘78, ‘80 and ‘81. He served for a time as deputy sheriff, and also served as secretary for the Delavan Cornet Band.

Ferdinand Van Velzer later got into the ice business.

The Van Velzers’ father, Philander Knapp, was one of Walworth County’s best-known and highly honored citizens, according to Beckwith.

Knapp was born in New York, an in 1836 settled in what is now part of Lake Geneva.

He and his wife, Prudence, had 10 children, most of whom remained in Walworth County, although Knapp later move to DeKalb County, Ill.

In 1954, the building became the Delavan Window Company where owner Len Weidner made custom windows.

J.H. Robertson operated a glass devices firm there for a time, then it was an antique shop. Today, it has been converted into a residential property.