The J.E. Greilick Factory

The J.E. Greilick Factory. Historic Traverse City. , From any perspective this location marks the most historic industrial site in the Grand Traverse region. Here the Greilick family produced the woodwork, both interior and exterior, that finished the majority of the Victorian homes in the area along with all the woodwork for early Northern Michigan Asylum buildings. Years later on this site, the Parsons Company would develop "numerical control of machine tools" an accomplishment recognized worldwide as the beginning of the second industrial age., Godfrey Greilick, an Austrian contractor and builder, arrived in Traverse City in 1856 along with seven sons. A short time later he established a commercial sawmill a mile north of this site on the bay. This mill was later operated by the sons as Greilick Brothers., In 1867 with the assistance of Hannah, Lay and Company, the oldest son of Godfrey Greilick, Joseph E., established a millwork factory in the original water-powered mill of the Boardmans to supply finished woodwork to homes in the area. He specialized in the manufacture of window sash, doors, blinds, interior trim, frames, store fronts, and flooring. In 1879 a large modern plant was built by the firm on this site which was eventually expanded to include seven buildings on a five acre site. In 1884 the business won the contract to furnish all the material in their line for the Northern Michigan Asylum., Following the death of Joseph E. Greilick in 1892, the business was incorporated as the J.E. Greilick Company with Clarence, Ernest, and Mrs. J.E. Greilick as stockholders. Within a decade the firm had over a hundred employees and had added store fixtures, kitchen cupboards, and bookcases to the product line. The firm became the Greilick Manufacturing Company in 1915 specializing in upholstered chairs and library tables before closing during the Great Depression.