admin ARTHUR SCHOELLKOPF, one of the ablest of the strong group of industrial leaders who have developed the resources of Niagara Falls, though his business enterprises chiefly belong to the Cataract City, is nevertheless by birth, family connections and social ties so much identified with Buffalo that the latter city may well lay a claim to him. Mr. Schoellkopf is a member of the family whose name is synonymous with industrial progress in Western New York. His father, Jacob F. Schoellkopf, was not only one of the greatest manufacturers, financiers and directors of corporate interests in Buffalo, but was a pioneer in the utilization of the hydraulic power of Niagara Falls, and the sons of the elder Schoellkopf have worthily maintained and greatly amplified the immense industries committed to their charge. A bare list of the enterprises in which he is a leading factor would show a surprisingly varied field of activities, and in whatever he has undertaken he has been successful. He is pre-eminently an able, broadminded and public-spirited man, and holds an undisputed place among the foremost citizens of Western New York.
Arthur Schoellkopf was born in Buffalo on the 13th of June, 1856. The rudimentary education of Arthur Schoellkopf was received in private schools in his native city. As a youth, he was sent to Germany, where for four years he pursued his studies at the Academy at Kirchheim, in the province of Wuertemberg. In 1869 he returned to Buffalo, where he became a student at St. Joseph’s College, later taking a course at Bryant & Stratton’s Business College.
His education being completed, in 1873 Mr. Schoellkopf entered the North Buffalo and Frontier Mills, operated by Thornton & Chester, and afterward by Schoellkopf & Matthews. Here he remained for the next four years, gaining a comprehensive knowledge of the milling business, and in 1877 becoming part owner of the Niagara Flouring Mill at Niagara Falls. This mill having a daily capacity of 2,000 barrels, is among the most important in this section of the State. Mr. Schoellkopf is now President of the Niagara Falls Milling Co., which includes the Central Mill with the Niagara Flouring Mill, with a combined output of 4,000 barrels daily.
In 1878 Mr. Schoellkopf and his father organized the Niagara Falls Hydraulic Power and Manufacturing Company, of which Jacob F. Schoellkopf was made President and Arthur Schoellkopf Secretary, Treasurer and General Manager. Formed to develop the
Hydraulic Canal and to furnish water power for other mills in the locality, the establishment of this company marked an era in the industrial progress of Niagara Falls.
A striking illustration of Mr. Schoellkopf’s enterprise and initiative is found in the fact that he built the first street railway at Niagara Falls, personally managed it for seven years and put it on a paying basis. The road, known as the Niagara Falls and Suspension Bridge Street Railway, was finished July 4, 1883, and Mr. Schoellkopf continued its manager till 1890, when he disposed of his interest.
Arthur Schoellkopf and his father were the founders of the Brush Electric Light Company of Niagara Falls, and the former is prominently connected with many enterprises aside from those of a strictly industrial character. He is President of the Power City Bank, a Director of the Bank of Niagara, President of the Cliff Paper Company, stockholder. Director and President of the International Hotel Company, which owns the handsome International Hotel and Theatre near Prospect Park.
In politics Mr. Schoellkopf is a Republican. He has repeatedly been called to responsible official positions and in public life is characterized by sound common sense and sterling citizenship rather than by close adherence to political lines of conduct. When the municipality was a village he was one of its first Sewer Commissioners. In March, 1896, he was elected Mayor.
Mr. Schoellkopf is a member of Niagara Frontier Lodge No. 132, P. & A. M., Knights Templar and of Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Buffalo. He was also exalted Euler of Lodge No. 346, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to the Niagara Palls Chamber of Commerce, the Ellicott Club of Buffalo, and a member and Trustee of the First Presbyterian Church of Niagara Falls.
October 13th, 1880, Mr. Schoellkopf was united in marriage to Miss Jessie Gluck, a daughter of Alva Gluck of Niagara Falls.
SOURCE: Memorial and Family History of Erie County New York; Volume I