One of the entrepreneurs who helped to make Beloit a cradle of home-grown manufacturing in the late 1800’s and into the next century was John C. Thompson, patriarch of one of the community’s leading families whose contributions covered a broad spectrum that included education, athletics, military service and patronage of church and civic endeavors. A native of Norway, Thompson was born in 1828 and came to the United States in 1850.

After a brief time in Whitewater, he came to Beloit to ply his trade, which was blacksmithing. In 1860 Thompson established and owned a factory he called the Plow and Wagon Works, which manufactured a line of farm implements that included walking plows, cultivators, wagons and other machinery. The first Thompson factory was destroyed by fire in 1874, but the business continued until 1880.

The plant was located on Third Street between West Grand and St. Lawrence Avenues. Its third floor was rented by the Masonic Lodge. In 1886, the indomitable Thompson, together with three sons, established a new factory called the J. Thompson & Sons Manufacturing Company. Its expanded line included Norwegian-designed plows, riding and walking culti-vators and sulky plows. The Thompson plant was outgrown and in 1901 another, larger factory named “The Engine Works” was built in South Beloit. Gas engines made there were popular and the business prospered.

Thompson retired in 1902 and turned the operation over to his sons. Again, in 1904, disaster struck the Thompson enterprise. Turtle Creek flooded and oil floating from the shop reached a stove, resulting in a fire that destroyed the plant and claimed the life of a night watchman. The plant was rebuilt but remained in business only until 1915. Meanwhile, in December 1904, fire broke out in the woodshop of the downtown Beloit factory, virtually destroying it. Still, the business continued until 1918, when much of the factory space was sold to Beloit Iron Works. Some remaining land was held by the family, which some sold in 1955 as a site for the new Beloit State Bank on West Grand Avenue.

In 1962, the family moved into a fine, new home on Bluff Street. That house later was converted to apartments and in 1966 was sold to the Second Congregational Church. John and Martha Thompson had seven children. A son drowned in the Rock River in 1886. The others, Oscar T., Edmund T., Edward, Alfred, Josephine and Cora, all went on to make their marks, some here and others elsewhere.

Oscar was an industrialist and authored a book, “Old Home Town,” still a source of information on Beloit’s early industrial history. Alfred, a graduate of Beloit College, was a prominent citizen of Beloit and during the Great Depression directed WPA projects here. Oscar T. was added to the Hall of Fame roster in 1966. The Thompson family was instrumental in organizing the Atonement Lutheran Church. Descendants of John Thompson went on to become teachers, nurses, librarians, industrialists, military officers, church leaders and business people, all very involved in civic affairs. John C. Thompson died on July 24, 1914.