Henry Knippenberg . . .

Heinrich Knippenberg was born December 27, 1843 at Hamm Hesse Darmstadt, on the Rhine, near the city of Worms, Germany. Henry was the oldest son of Johann Jacob Knippenberg and Justina Ritshcer. The family took part in the German Rebellion of 1848 but ultimately fled to America aboard the Elizabeth. Henry, along with two of his siblings and his parents, departed at Bremen, Germany, and after 52 days at sea, arrived in New York on June 4, 1853. Both parents died within a short time after their arrival. Henry was just ten years of age when he became an orphan. Henry would then find himself in Cleveland, Ohio in about 1856 where he attended Bryan and Stratton Commercial College. It is not clear what transpired after the death of Henry's parents or whether his siblings went to live with relatives, Mr. and Mrs. Professsor J.H. Kappes of Indianapolis but in all likliness, this would have been the most likely arrangement.

In 1860 he reportedly accepted a position as an assistant bookkeeper at a coal mine near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, for $17.50 a month. After a year he was appointed Superintendent, having full charge of a business employing 500 men, at a salary of $75 a month. In 1865 he resigned for health reasons. Henry then went to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he visited family, Prof. and Mrs. J. H. Kappes. Within their circle of friends, it is likely that Henry met successfulbusinessman Elias Atkins where a partnership was formed under the name of E.C. Atkins & Co. Henry was now in the saw manufacturing business. His partner, Elias would soon depart Indianapolis, leaving Henry at the helm, while he traveled to the gold mining camps of the west.

On June 9 1865, Henry married Alice Mills Featherston, daughter of William Featherston and Mary Norwood Featherston of Indianapolis. Henry and Alice would have two children, William F. born May 21, 1869 and Mary Norwood born in February 1, 1872. Henry's partner, Elias, was involved in business and financial affairs of the Hecla Mining Company out west in Montana Territory. After an "on the spot" tour of the company properties the month before, Henry Knippenberg formally accepted the position of General Manager on March 01, 1881. Following the inspection Knippenberg's report to the Board of Directors was not an optimistic one. Despite this report and his initial reservations,
Knippenberg believed he could make the Hecla properties turn a profit so he accepted the position.

He based his decision on fifteen years experience in the manufacturing business and his five years as a Pennsylvania coal mine manager. Knippenberg immediately obtained financial backing to correct the company's state of affairs. After getting $95,000 from New York backers, he wasted no time in getting to Glendale on April 3, 1881. With the arrival of the Railroad into Melrose, Henry Knippenberg brought with him, his wife and book keeper, George Conway, to assume control of the properties. Henry appointed Conway to serve as cashier and book keeper for the company. After Knippenberg's arrival, the company found it's way out of the red at a time when the company was in debt of nearly 78,000. Within three months the Company's debt had been repaid and a ten percent monthly dividend was returned to the stockholders.

Alva Noyes in his, "Story of the Ajax" tells of a conversation he once had with Henry Knippenberg which Mr. Knippenberg spoke as follows, ”When I came to the United States from Germany, I happened to get acquainted with a countryman of mine, this old gentleman was quite wealthy, he took a liking to me and gave me much wholesome advice, when I found out the exact financial condition of our company and after having satisfied myself that a certain amount of money would place the mines on a paying basis, I went to this gentleman explaining just what was needed and asked for a loan, he let me have the money on my personal note and I went ahead and made a success. It was a mighty good thing that the ore was there in paying quantities or I would have been placed in a very disagreeable position”, To quote Mr. Noyes "These mines were in large pockets and required an immense amount of dead work to find them, I am told that one of these pockets contained two million dollars. The impression that this young German made on the old financier proved to be the one thing needed to place a mine on a paying basis that was about to go under after thousands had been spent in its development.

Henry Knippenberg quickly went to work reorganizing the new company into three divisions, appointing a superintendent for each. James Parfet was in charge of Mining, headquartered at Hecla, George G. Earle in charge of reduction at Glendale and John M. Parfet, in charge of the iron mines at Norwood in Soap Gulch. By December 31, 1881, the company's reorganization paid off with a profit of 237,729.76 The production of bouillon increased drastically that in 1885, the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company built at the Glendale Plant, three blast furnaces, two crushers, and a large roaster. A four mile long tramway was built between Hecla and the mill at Greenwood to improve transporting of the ore from the mines. Henry Knippenberg also involved himself in local politics, serving for a time as a Beaverhead County Commissioner, a state representative, and a member of Montana's 1889 Constitutional Convention.

Henry was a very straight-laced, religious man who considered himself as adhering strictly to the "Golden Rule", and woe be unto those who didn't do likewise. Quite often, during Knippenberg's term as General Manager, he attempted to "strongarm" and bend the will of the miner to mirror that of his own personal idea on how a man should live, at least as far as Henry's world of morality and ideals were concerned. In his official correspondences to Indianapolis, Henry made mention of the sinful nature of the miners and the effects of whiskey on their souls. Knippenberg would go so far as to build a town close to the mines and ban drinking establishments. He would also require single miners to live in Company boarding houses as a way to keep order and productivity.

Henry Knippenberg was a citizen of Montana from 1881 until 1914, having been involved in politics and economic development which helped usher Montana into statehood in 1889. In 1889 he was elected to represent Beaverhead County in drawing up the State's Constitution. He authored the "History of the Society of the Framers of the Constitution of the State of Montana, July 4, 1889". In 1895 he was elected to the fourth Montana Legislature for the county, and that same year became a county commissioner.

 

During the 1890s, mining slowed to a crawl as silver was no longer profitable to mine and by 1900, the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company would disband. Knippenberg would eventually gain ownership of the former Hecla properties and retain them until his death in 1924. His friend, George Conway would continue to work with the remaining interests through the newly formed "Darby Mining Company" until the properties were eventually passed into his hands. George Conway leased to various miners, mainly the Norris and Wilhelm families. There were others before and even some that made later attempts but no one was ever successful at reviving this "once thriving" area to it's original glory. The Bryant Mining District was dead. The Hecla Mining Company and the communities that resulted were no more. More than 110 years later, mother nature has managed to reclaim the hillsides that were once home to thousands, today, little evidence remains of this once "massive mining enterprise". Henry died of pneumonia at 81 years old on April 18, 1924 at Short Hills, New Jersey, where he had lived for three years. His wife, Alice died September 17, 1926 at Short Hills, and both are buried in the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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