Page 11 - Hillview_book

J. C. Easton spent a great deal of time at the Hill View Farm, involved in horse breeding and growing 3,000 varieties of grapes.
Hill View Stock Farm was bordered on two sides
by Myrick Park, then called Lake Park, and the old Interstate Fairgrounds, which is now the site of Veter- ans Memorial Field Sports Complex at UW-La Crosse. Jason Easton’s son Lucian F. Easton, who was the first president of the Board of Park Commissioners and eventually helped start the citywide comprehen- sive park system, had his father’s farm surveyed and platted in 1908. That land became the Hill View Place Addition of La Crosse, currently bordered by Myrick Park to the west, La Crosse Street to the south, Losey Boulevard to the east and the La Crosse River Marsh to the north.
In 1912, William G. Haebich purchased four lots in the Hill View Place Addition. A La Crosse Tribune ar- ticle describes an improvement made on one of these lots. That improvement is likely to be the first green- house of what would later become officially known as Hillview Greenhouses. Haebich, an evangelical preacher in Germany before coming to the U.S., preached at Salzer Memorial Methodist Church and worked as a foreman at the Salzer Seed Company in La Crosse, a large firm that shipped seeds worldwide. In 1913, another La Crosse Tribune article notes that a fire caused $500 worth of damage to “the green- houses on Twenty-fourth street, owned by Haebich,” destroying the heating plant at the facility.
1915 was an active year for Haebich and his greenhouses. William F. Baumann, a clerk and office manager at Salzer Seed Company, became an inves- tor in the now-incorporated Hillview Greenhouses. In the same year, significant improvements were made to the greenhouses, nearly tripling the value of the land. The final state of the greenhouses on North 24th Street was likely achieved by these improve- ments. Haebich also petitioned for streetcar service to be extended from 18th Street to 25th Street through the winter.
In 1918, Haebich, serving as president of Hillview Greenhouses, Inc., filed a petition for bankruptcy with the clerk of the United States District Court in La Crosse. Shortly thereafter, A.W. Zeratsky, a local businessman who established two companies in La Crosse before moving to Madison in 1935, invested in the land. Known to be active in the Salzer Memo- rial Methodist Church during his time in La Crosse, Zeratsky possibly knew of Haebich and his troubles through that association. Haebich remained president and manager of Hillview Greenhouses until 1923, when he started Haebich Seeds.
Haebich sold the land to Abraham and Edward Pittenger, who managed the company until 1926. The land was then sold to David C. and Lillie J. Jones.
An eastward looking view of the Hill View Farm. The city had not yet spread to the bluffs at this time.
HillviewUAC.org
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