Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
The Ochs Brothers were the sons of German immigrants and members of a tightly knit family that grew up in New Ulm, Minnesota.
Two of the brothers - Anton and Albert - went to work as clerks in a local general store when they were only twelve.
But William did not join them, because he was deaf.
Instead the family sent him to the Minnesota School for the Deaf in Faribault.
After graduating, William Ochs decided to remain in town and opened a small, one-room variety store.
It did so well that he sent for one brother, Anton, and then another, Albert, and the store quickly expanded.
Both Anton and Albert were still in the teens when Ochs Brothers opened
in 1888 on West Third Street, selling dry goods and notions.
It became one of the leading stores in Faribault,
and other Ochs Brothers branches opened in Rochester, Owatonna, Waseca, and Austin.
In 1901, their youngest brother — Otto — joined the firm in Faribault,
while Anton moved back to New Ulm to open his own store.
In 1909, Albert bought the controlling interest of the Faribault store from his brothers,
but soon after, a big new competitor moved into town.
In March 1911, the W. W. Stack Company of St. Paul opened its doors in a new commercial block built by two Faribault’s most important contractors,
Patrick Gallagher and William O’Neil.
Although many thought that the location was located too far north of the main business district, Stack didn’t.
The company’s full-page ads declared that it was the first department store in town —
the “city store at your very door.”
A bitter retail war ensued, as Ochs fought back with ads of their own and a wave of special sales.
The battle was settled abruptly eight months later,
when the local company bought out the Stack Department Store,
including its complete inventory and the lease to this building.
Ochs moved quickly into its new home,
just in time for the Christmas shopping season in 1911.
Over the years, a new generation entered the family business,
as Don and Albert Jr. took over after the death of their father in 1922.
Through the years, the store gained a reputation not only as a great place to shop, but also as a good place to work —
especially since they offered employment for women as retail salespeople.
The last active family member was Verna Ochs, the wife of Alfred.
Following his death in 1969, she took over management of the company,
one of only five women in the country to serve as president of a department store at the time.
After she sold her interest, new owners of the building enclosed the facade with metal panels in an attempt to look “modern,”
but in recent years, the State Bank of Faribault restored the building to reflect its original appearance.