Crone Store

Crone Store. , For years, the Crone store was the largest mercantile establishment in New Ulm. In 1857, Theodore Crone Sr. opened his general store at the corner of Broadway and Center Streets. Twelve years later, he erected this building, adding a substantial two-story addition on the north side in 1876. Crone played an important role in the city's economic growth as a founder of the Citizen's National Bank (1876). The family also owned the New Ulm Vinegar Works, Minnesota's largest vinegar factory, between 1885 and 1900. , Following Theodore Sr.'s death in 1891, three sons, Carl, Ferdinand, and Theodore Jr., took over the company, turning it into one of the largest retail stores in Minnesota outside the Twin Cities. Adolph Schulke bought the dry-goods business in 1926, although Carl F. Crone, grandson of the founder, continued to operate the clothing store. Schulke changed the appearance of the building, installing a "stroll front" with large plate glass windows for displaying "up-to-the-minute styles." , In 1946, Herbergers, a Saint Cloud department store, acquired the Crone buildings along with the Stuebe/Neumann block (1898) to the north.