Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Co. Mukwonago Lumberyard

Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Company in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on November 20, 2001

The W.S. Heddles Lumber Company was established on this site at 616 Grand Avenue in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, in 1897. It was the third lumberyard to open in Mukwonago within 10 years. It was purchased by the Alexander Lumber Company of Chicago, Illinois in December 1924. Their first manager at this location was Peter Christisen.

Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Company in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on November 20, 2001

John Alexander was the youngest of the Alexander family who came to Wisconsin from Scotland in the 1870s. In the 1880s he was hired by the Stewart family of Wausau, Wisconsin, to open a lumberyard in Aurora, Illinois. In 1891, John Alexander opened his own lumberyard in Aurora, the Alexander Lumber Co., with the help of partners Tom Brittingham and Joe Hixon and a $5,000 loan from the Continental Illinois Bank of Chicago.

Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Company in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on November 20, 2001

The company continued to expand and by the 1920s Alexander operated more than 100 lumberyards. In 1929, he bought out his partners and acquired the Brittingham & Hixon lumberyards in Wisconsin, which he continued to operate using the Brittingham & Hixon name as a subsidiary.

Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Company in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on November 20, 2001

During the Great Depression, Alexander continued to expand by purchasing additional lumberyards. His son, John Alexander, Jr., was named president of the company in 1932, and starting in 1940 the day-to-day operations were managed by vice-president Otto Unteed. John Alexander, Sr. died in 1944 and his son assumed full control of the company.

Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Company in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on November 20, 2001

The Soo Line passenger train depot was located next to the lumberyard at 610 Grand Avenue. It was demolished after the Soo Line discontinued passenger service on the line in 1961, and the lumberyard appears to have expanded onto the former depot property.

Brittingham & Hixon Lumber Company in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, on November 20, 2001

Following the retirement of Otto Unteed in 1966, control was passed on to the third generation as Walter Alexander became company president, a position he would hold for 45 years until his retirement in 2014. This lumberyard closed between May and September of 2008.