The History of Emmett Joseph Culligan in Porter, Minnesota
Did you know that the first Culligan Water softener was built in Porter, Minnesota?
Emmett J. Culligan is the founder and inventor of the Culligan Water Softening Company, now known as Culligan International. Mr. Culligan spent his life during the early 1900's living on his estate on the Northeast side of Porter, during which time the town was experiencing great development. The Culligan Manor stood as a great landmark in Porter, known as one of the grandest homes of its time. Unfortunately Porter lost this landmark during one of the worst blizzards of the horrid winter of 1969, when the house burned to the ground, as firemen could do nothing to get through the monstrous snow drifts to extinguish the inferno.
Porter's Culligan Addition
In September 1917, prior to departing the Porter area, Emmett J. Culligan subdivided the portions of his estate that are within Porter city limits into 13 tracts of land of approximately 40 acres each. This action created Porter's Culligan Addition which includes the agriculture land north of the railroad which surrounds the west, north and east sides of the other plats within the city of Porter.
Porter Memories: The Culligan Family in Porter.
Early in the 1900's when Porter was establishing itself and prospering quickly a new face arrived in town. A face that belonged to a man, who's name would soon become world renown. The origins and many personal details are not clear about what brought Emmett Culligan to Porter. His story began in Yankton, South Dakota, and as a young man he made his way to Porter and established an estate that included over 1,000 acres of crop farming, a large apple orchard, and livestock.
History shares that The Culligan Estate consumed nearly all of the undeveloped agricultural land within the Porter city limits that surrounds the developed Porter proper, as well as several acreages beyond the city limits. The ag land extends for one-half to a mile beyond Porter-proper to the west, north and east. The estate included several homes, Culligan Manor being the main house, and two servant houses to the east of the mansion.
When Culligan left Porter he sub-divided and sold his estate, including the main home, servant homes and farm sites. Nearly all of his former property remains agricultural land making up several farms to the east, north and west of Porter proper.
Culligan manor was sold many times and was considered, for its time, a prime example of a luxury home in Western Minnesota. In the period that followed the Culligans, the home at time was subdivided into apartments housing several families, but was later utilized again as a single-family home. The home was home to the Lakness family when it burned to the ground. The fire department could do nothing more than watch from a couple blocks away as they were unable to break through high snow drifts during a very harsh blizzard in the winter of 1969. By morning, all that remained was the basement and the homes tall chimney. The fire was linked to a faulty electrical wire in the kitchen, the house had never been rewired since it was built, It was one of the first houses to be fully wired and contain switches and fuses. No one was injured in the fire.
Culligan Mansion, Porter, Minnesota
This picture is believed to have been taken before 1915. You may notice that it sits in the corner of town; the area is still undeveloped, but two houses have stood on the same site since the mansion burned. Until the mid 2010's the foundation still remained, with the sidewalk leading up to it. Several sidewalks and curbs siding drive and pathways also existed.
The Parlor
This is the parlor inside the house. In the back, you can see the den. This is the only known picture remaining of the mansion's interior after the fire in 1969. The home was filled with fine furnishings, some believed to have been imported from Europe. Finely finished hardwood flooring and overseas rugs are said to have been ordered from afar and shipped to Mr. Culligan by rail to complete the rooms throughout the home.
Those familiar with the home recall that going through the doorway in the bottom right corner of the photo would lead you to the sitting room, where a stately fireplace and grandfather clock stood, and where an open staircase of solid, deep-stained wood with a carpeted runner descended from the second and third floors. Off the right side of the den was the dining room, lit by a beautiful chandelier and furnished with a table that seated twelve. The room off the dining room was the kitchen, which housed the servants' back door and the back stairwell. The back stairwell also led to the second and third floors, as well as the basement. Residents familiar with the home in its later years recall the many "antique" fixtures throughout, presumed to be original to the time it was built.
The Birth of Culligan Water
Emmett Culligan began his research on water treatment at his Porter estate, prototyping the first Culligan water softener there. Mr. Culligan worked with the local blacksmith at the time, Adolph Westby, who built several prototypes of a water-filtering device to remove the hardness from the local well water, which was very high in mineral content. After achieving success through several prototypes, Culligan offered Westby the opportunity to go into business with him, manufacturing and selling the product they had developed together. Mr. Westby declined. Many people in town recall their parents and grandparents telling them about "the man who made water good" and then moved on to start a business from it. Many unusual filtering machines were found in an outbuilding that was once part of the estate, a discovery made in the 1960s when a shed was torn down.
Information on this page was compiled in 1999 through interviews with current and past citizens of the Porter community, including Norma Johnson, Curtis Knutson, and Ervin Esping.
"Hey Culligan Man!"
By Florence Anderson, The Canby News - September 6, 2000 - Inside Story Page 3B.
The years between 1920 and 1930 have been called a “Parade of Progress.” During that time, many of the old ways changed dramatically dew to new inventions. Horse-drawn buggies gave way to motorized vehicles and the radio was a new fad, which became a popular form of entertainment.
It was about this time that Emmett J. Culligan came to Porter and his invention would bring about another great change. He had been born in a small brick house in Yankton, South Dakota, on March 5, 1893. He grew up in South Dakota and Sioux City, Iowa.
After attending college for two years he worked and sold land in South Dakota. He served briefly in World War I. In the 1920’s he began working for a water-softening firm. After moving to Porter, he worked on his invention and when it was all worked out, he took it to the town blacksmith, Adolph Westby.
Westby welded all the pieces together and the result was the first Culligan Water Softener. Culligan asked him to go into a partnership with him on this invention but Westby declined, thus losing the opportunity of a lifetime!
From 1924 to 1928 he operated his own water-softening business. In the middle of the depression he conceived of marketing soft water on a service basis through franchised dealers. He started his new business in Northbrook, Illinois using $50 to establish credit. He gave soft water service instead of selling water softeners to homeowners.
“Hey Culligan Man!” became a well-known phrase and his water softeners were used in many of the homes in this area.
The house Culligan lived in while in Porter was built by Ole Olson. When Culligan left, he sold it to William Rogers. Herman Thompson was the next owner who lived there for some years and then it was sold to Orris Lakness, manager of the elevator.
In addition to the house, the Culligan Estate included a farm on the north edge of Porter where his hired man lived. Culligan owned a lot of land and hired extra workers during harvest and other busy seasons. Information is sketchy about those early days but Palmer Evjen remembers that his grandfather was one of those workers.
The big square house stood in the middle of a block (on what is now North Sunrise) with a large orchard along the north side. The house lived up to its name “Culligan Manor” with its beautiful woodwork and furniture. The house burned on a blizzardy winter night in 1969. The fire burned quickly and in the morning only the tall chimney was left standing to mark the spot where the house had been.
By the start of World War II, the Culligan Zeolite Company had 150 dealers (zeolite is a natural greensand used to remove hard minerals from water). In 1952, the company changed its name to Culligan Inc., and in 1970, it became the Culligan International Company.
The Culligan name has become internationally famous. Today there are more than 1,000 franchised dealers in the United States and 85 more licensees throughout the world. The business grosses more than $150 million annually and provides employment for more than 20,000 families.
Culligan announced his retirement in 1965. He retired to San Bernardino, California, and died in 1970.