From "History of Wheeling City and Ohio County, West Virginia and 
Representative Citizens," by Hon. Gibson Lamb Cranmer, 1902. 

Typed by Laurie Birks Dean

pp. 500-502

F. W. BAUMER COMPANY.  A history of the successful career of the 
leading music house of the state.
	The foremost music house in this part of the Ohio Valley is 
that of the F. W. Baumer Company.  It stands to-day as one of the 
most substantial and enterprising concerns in this country. Its 
history dates back to 1880, when it was first launched by J. B. 
Wilson and F. W. Baumer, under the firm name of Wilson & Baumer, and 
after three years, by dissolution of the partnership (J. B. Wilson 
retiring), it was then the name became F. W. Baumer.  He continued to 
conduct the business until 1888, when the name of the company was 
again changed to F. W. Baumer & Company, by F. W. Baumer selling an 
interest in the business to J. W. Milligan, now of Bradford, 
Pennsylvania.  This partnership existed for six years, ending in 1894 
by J. W. Milligan retiring, and again leaving F. W. Baumer sole owner 
of the business, although he continued to conduct it under the name 
of F. W. Baumer & Company until 1897, when he organized a stock 
company and procured a charter under the name of the F. W. Baumer 
Company, which name and charter it still owns and under which it 
conducts business.
	In 1899 the capital stock was increased to $70,000, "all paid 
in," and the stock of F. W. Baumer was purchased by the present 
stockholders, and at the same time they purchased the stock of 
Milligan, Wilkin & Company, - a competing firm in the music business, 
- and consolidated the two interests under one management.  The 
company at this time (1899), at its reorganization, selected as its 
board of directors, which is also the present board, H. M. Russell, 
W. A. Milligan, Curtis P. Brown, Jere A. Miller, and Howard Hazlett; 
on organizing, the board of directors selected H. M. Russell as 
president, W. A. Milligan, vice-president and manager, and Curtis P. 
Brown, secretary and treasurer.
	The F. W. Baumer Company makes a specialty of fine high-grade 
pianos, and handle such instruments as the "Steinway," "Knabe," 
"Krakauer," "Stultz & Bauer," and others of national reputation as 
the best made.  With such a list of pianos and with the exceptional 
high reputation of the firm for honest and fair dealing, acquired 
through these many years of straightforward business methods, it is 
slight wonder that the F. W. Baumer Co. transacts the immense 
business in West Virginia and neighborhood states that it does.  What 
has been an important feature of the firm's success recently, has 
been the new method adopted of selling pianos on a strictly ONE PRICE 
SYSTEM, - a step that took courage to attempt, as it has heretofore 
been considered impracticable by music house, but it has been a 
tremendous success, as is proven by the immense business transacted 
by this method, - the sales being nearly doubled, showing 
conclusively the merit of the plan.
	As an instance of the progressiveness of the house, the firm 
some time ago had a piano built for it by a manufacturing firm after 
ideas of its own, and which the F. W. Baumer Co. has put on the 
market under the name of the "Conservatory."  This piano is built 
with a fine interior and rivals the best pianos on the market in this 
respect, but was incased in a plain but artistic case, permitting it 
to be made at a much lower cost than the ordinary highclass 
instrument.  Purchasers were thus enabled to secure a high-grade 
piano at a minimum cost.  As an evidence of the popularity achieved 
by the "Conservatory," it can be truthfully stated that the sales 
have been away beyond expectations, in fact being so large at times 
that the makers were unable to supply them as fast as desired.
	The F. W. Baumer Co. has during its career since 1880 shown 
marked enterprise and has at all times kept pace with the times and 
now is one of the most substantial business houses in the state.  
From a small beginning with three or four employees, it started the 
new century with about 30 employees, and a business that is a great 
source of profit to its stockholders.  It is safe to say that the 
firm will enjoy a continuation of the success it so rightly deserves 
by reason of honest business methods and courteous treatment of all.
	This may seem to the readers as a peculiar biography, but we 
give it to illustrate the great advancement of this part of the 
beautiful Ohio Valley, for as this house has advanced, so have many 
others, in this our ever hustling and busy Wheeling.