The Echoes

 

This beautiful mansion was built in 1896 for George P. Braun and was named The Echoes. Mr. Braun’s company was one of the U.S. pioneers in the manufacture of oleomargarine. His company later became know as Good Luck Margarine.

In 1913, the property was sold to Amariah G. Cox and renamed Pleasant Hill. Mr. Cox was the owner of Zeno Manufacturing Company, which produced chewing gum for a limited market. One of his customers was a struggling soap salesman named William Wrigley Jr. who was toying with the use of gum as a premium with the purchase of soap and baking powder.

Mr. Wrigley soon saw the potential of selling gum without the other products, and gave up the soap business. It wasn’t long before the two men joined forces to create the William Wrigley, Jr. Chewing Gum Company. The rest of the story is business history. An interesting note is that Mr. Cox’s granddaughter, Helen Atwater, married William Wrigley’s son, P. K. Wrigley in 1927.