John Carl (JC) Hubinger was born in 1851 in New Orleans, the first of eight children of John Frederick (JF) and Katherine Hubinger. They resided in Madison, IN and Falmouth, KY before settling in Keokuk where JF ran a bakery between 7th and 8th on Main, later at 6th and Johnson where the family also lived. All the Hubinger children did a spell in their parent's bakery. Later JF built a new home at 822 Blondeau with proceeds from his business.
In 1876, age 25, JC left Keokuk to join his brothers Nicholas and Joseph in New England where they sold housewares door-to-door. By 1881 they had found a formula for Elastic Starch and opened the J.C. Hubinger Brothers Company in New Haven CT owned equally by the three siblings. They made a fortune.
In 1887 JC moved back to his hometown of Keokuk Iowa and under the aegis of the Brothers Company opened another Elastic Starch factory. With his wealth he created the J.C Hubinger Company (minus the Brothers) which combined his other business investments stretching from real estate to railways to telephones to power plants. He also built his Grand Avenue estate in 1887 and Pastime Amusement Park in 1897. Philanthropy was his nature and he gave generously to the city and citizens of Keokuk.
But by 1898, JC was overextended. More money was going out than was coming in. He suffered several business setbacks. He had to close his Keokuk Railway Co. due to lack of riders. A court judgment against his Keokuk Telephone Co. dealt him a severe financial blow. His brand new starch factory was destroyed by a spectacular fire in 1903. Adding to all that, his health was failing.
Forced to sell out, with no one to pick up the pieces of his personal empire, he lost a considerable amount of his holdings and wealth. On January 27, 1908 JC Hubinger died of pneumonia in a boarding house at 616 High Street at age 57. He's buried in Oakland Cemetery.
NOTES:
The J.C. Hubinger Brothers Company was formed by the three brothers for the manufacture of cornstarch products, which had plants in New Haven CT and Keokuk. The J.C. Hubinger Company was wholly owned by JC Hubinger and comprised his other business interests.
In a lawsuit over his will, JC's 1896 personal fortune was estimated at $500,000 - almost $13 million in 2009 dollars! By the time of his death 90% of that was gone.
Advertisements for Elastic Starch. At the height of production the Hubingers sold 25,000,000 individual starch packages per year.
J.C. Hubinger Mausoleum, Oakland Cemetery, Keokuk, IA. Leading citizens of Keokuk served as his pallbearers. (2008 photo)
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