Johann Michael Kohler

Johann Michael Kohler migrated with his family from Schnepfau, Vorarlberg, to Minnesota where he farmed in 1864. His son Michael, one of eight children, moved to Chicago, Illinois, married well and moved to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. First working in the iron industry, he began producing enamel ware, such as pots, bath tubs, and water closets.

By 1900 Kohler Company, in the company town of Kohler Village, employed some 4,000 workers producing enameled toilets and bath tubs for the growing American middle class. The Kohler company became also known for authoritarian anti-union labor practices. Kohler’s son Herbert was elected governor of Wisconsin in the 1920s and his son Herbert, Jr. in the 1960s. The Kohler Company is still in family hands today and employs some 15,000 people.

Video: The History of Kohler Company, via Kohler Co./ YouTube