jun 1, 1848 - Pfister and Vogel Leather Company is founded

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Tanning was an enterprise that relied on the resources of the surrounding countryside: cowhides, above all, but also hemlock trees, an abundant species in northern Wisconsin. Before synthetic agents became available, prodigious quantities of hemlock bark were chipped and stewed to produce tannin, the chemical compound that turns hides to leather. Milwaukee tanneries consumed more than 30,000 cords of tanbark in a good year, and schooners piled high with hemlock slabs were a common sight on the city's waterfront.

Although Yankees were involved in the business, tanning became a distinctly German stronghold. Leading the immigrant wave were Guido Pfister and Frederick Vogel, two Wurtembergers who came to Milwaukee in 1847. They opened the Pfister & Vogel Leather company in 1853 and by the mid-1800,s the partners owned three plants whose combined output made them the leading tanners in the city

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