The Wangerin Organ Company (1912-1942) was a manufacturer of pipe organs based in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

. It was a continuation of the company after the partnership of Adolph Wangerin and George J. Weickhardt, Wangerin-Weickhardt, ended with the death of Weickhardt in 1919. It had previously also been known as the Hann-Wangerin-Weickhardt company. Many of its organs are still played in churches today. During the

theater organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements o ...

boom in the 1920s, when the

Barton Organ Company The Bartola Musical Instrument Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA, was a producer of theater pipe organs during the age of silent movies. History The company was founded in 1918 by Dan Barton, who was from Amherst, Wisconsin. The sixth larg ...

of Oshkosh, Wisconsin could not keep up with the production demand, the Wangerin factory first loaned them factory space, and later was sub-contracted to build organs for them. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when manufacture of musical instruments was banned in 1942 in order to focus on the war effort, the Wangerin-Weickhardt Company built wooden airplane parts and other war-related goods. The firm did not resume organ building after the war, so it effectively ceased operation as an organ builder in 1942.''The Tracker'', 34:2 (Richmond, Va., Organ Historical Society, 1990), 23.

Some Wangerin organ locations

* St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (

Portage, Wisconsin Portage is a city in and the county seat of Columbia County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,581 at the 2020 census making it the largest city in Columbia County. The city is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Po ...

) *

Holy Cross Church (Kaukauna, Wisconsin) Holy Cross Church is a Roman Catholic church built in 1916 in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 29, 1984. Former pastors From 1873 to 1878 the Holy Cross Chapel was a mission ...

* Madison Masonic Center (

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

) - 1925 * Freeport Masonic Temple (Freeport, Illinois) - 1928 two small organs (two manual 9 stop) and one large organ (3 manual, 32 stop) * Praise Church (

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,708 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city primarily located in Dodge County. It is the principal city ...

) * St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) (Schuelke/Wangerin/Erickson) * Saint John's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) (Barckhoff/Wangerin) * St. Lucas Evangelical Lutheran Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) (Schuelke/Wangerin/Verlinden/Sipe) * St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) (Wangerin, 1913 / Verlinden, 1949) * St. Stephen Lutheran Church (

) * St. John's United Church of Christ (

Monroe, Wisconsin Monroe, known as "the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA", is a city in and the county seat of Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,661 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered by the Town of Monroe to the north and the ...

) - 1923 * Mosinee United Methodist Church (

Mosinee, Wisconsin Mosinee is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin. It is part of the Wausau, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,988 at the time of the 2010 census. History Early history The traditional inhabitants of the area were ...

) - 1928 * Sacred Heart Catholic Church (

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

) * Saint Joseph's Catholic Church (

Mason City, Iowa Mason City is a city and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 27,338 in the 2020 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro G ...

) * Saint Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church ( St. Peter, Minnesota) - 1939 (Replaced in 1983 by J. Walker Organ from Essex, England) The Walker organ was subsequently damaged in the 1998 tornado and it was sent back to Walker to be rebuilt. As of 2014 it stands in the balcony of the new church built following the tornado. The pedal division, formerly at the floor behind the swell, is now elevated to provide a walkway behind the organ. * St. Vibiana's Cathedral (

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

) Parts of this instrument were incorporated into the new organ by Dobson in the present Cathedral. * St. Louis Catholic Church (

Caledonia, Wisconsin Caledonia is a village in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,361 at the 2020 census. The residential community of Franksville is located within the village. Franksville is a former census-designated place. The resi ...

) * Wesley United Methodist Church ( Ottumwa, Iowa) * St. John's Lutheran Church (Woodstock, Illinois) * St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church (

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

) * St Mary's Church ( Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) * St Mary's Church (

Menasha, Wisconsin Menasha () is a city in Calumet and Winnebago counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 18,268 at the 2020 census. Of this, 15,144 were in Winnebago County, and 2,209 were in Calumet County. The city is located mostly in Win ...

) * St. Louis Catholic Church (

Washburn, Wisconsin Washburn is a city in Bayfield County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 2,051 at the 2020 census. The city is just east of and adjacent to the Town of Washburn. It is in northern Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Superior's Che ...

) * St. Michael Catholic Church (

Fort Loramie, Ohio Fort Loramie is a village in Shelby County, Ohio, United States, along Loramie Creek, a tributary of the Great Miami River in southwestern Ohio. It is 42 mi. northnorthwest of Dayton and 20 mi. east of the Ohio/Indiana border. The po ...

) * St. Lukes Episcopal Church ( Hastings, Minnesota) * St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church ( Tolleston, Indiana)/(

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the sou ...

) * St. Peters Lutheran Church (Hilbert, Wisconsin) * Immanuel Lutheran Church LCMS (Spring Valley Township, McPherson County, Kansas). A two-manual Himers organ purchased after it was removed from a former theater.

References

External links

Organs Made in Milwaukee: Adolph Wangerin Combines Hobby and BusinessOrgan Historical Society Pipe Organ Database - Wangerin Organ Co.Aerial Age Weekly (May 6, 1918)Wangerin Co. Turns Its Hand to War Goods
Pipe organ building companies Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Defunct manufacturing companies based in Milwaukee {{musical-instrument-company-stub