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Description
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Three generations of the Mincke family held land on what is present-day Tyson Research Center. They appear on plat maps of present-day Tyson from 1870 until the federal government obtained the land in 1941. The Mincke family left a significant mark on the land, and the remains of the town and quarry cave from their limestone mining operation exist on Tyson’s property to this day. An 1870 plat map reports brothers George Ferdinand Mincke, Jr. (1829 – 1905), and Julius Henry Mincke, Sr. (1826 – 1887) as landholders at what is now Tyson. In 1877, they began operating a limestone quarry on their land at Tyson, establishing the small town of Mincke where the workers and their families lived. The mine ran until 1927, at which point the fifty-year lease expired and the mining company moved on. During and beyond the fifty-year lifetime of the Mincke Quarry, the land passed through different hands within the Mincke family. In 1893, a Jos. H. Mincke appears on a plat map. This is believed to be George F. Mincke’s daughter, Josephine, (1868 – 1966). Josephine, a schoolteacher, was also a secretary at the family company in St. Louis, Mincke Monolithic Products, which produced granite products such as headstones, lampposts, and retaining walls. Julius Henry Mincke’s son, Henry Julius Mincke (1866 – 1953), appears as a landholder on a 1909 plat map of the area that is now Tyson Research Center. Henry owned several farm and gravel properties on the Meramec River. In a 1930 plat map, Henry’s son, Julius Henry Mincke Jr. (1900 – 1982), is listed as the landholder.
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Bio
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George Ferdinand Mincke Sr. was born in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany in 1796 and moved with his wife and five children to the United States in 1834; a final daughter, Emma, was born in St. Louis in 1837.
In 1848, his sons George Ferdinand Mincke Jr. (1829 – 1905) and Julius Henry Mincke Sr. (1826 – 1887) moved out to California for the Gold Rush, but they returned to Missouri in 1850. After Julius served on the Union side in the Civil War, the brothers started a lumber business.1 An 1870 plat map reports the brothers as landholders at what is now Tyson. In 1877, they began operating a limestone quarry on their land at Tyson, establishing the small town of Mincke where the workers and their families lived. The mine ran until 1927, at which point the fifty-year lease expired and the mining company moved on.
The Minckes are the namesake of the present-day Mincke Hollow and Mincke Quarry Cave at Tyson, at the location where the mining operations took place.
During and beyond the fifty-year lifetime of the Mincke Quarry, the land passed through different hands within the Mincke family. In 1893, a “Jos. H. Mincke” appears on a plat map. This is believed to be George F. Mincke Jr.’s daughter, Josephine, who was born in 1868. A schoolteacher, Josehpine was also a secretary at the family company in St. Louis, Mincke Monolithic Products, which produced granite products such as headstones, lampposts, and retaining walls. She was one of the few female landholders in Tyson’s history.2 Josephine died in 1966 and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in North St. Louis, where there are two plots for members of the Mincke family.
Julius Henry Mincke’s son, Henry Julius Mincke (1866 – 1953), appears as a landholder on a 1909 plat map of the area that is now Tyson Research Center. Henry owned several farm and gravel properties on the Meramec River. In a 1930 plat map, Henry’s son, Julius Henry Mincke Jr. (1900 – 1982), is listed as the landholder.3
To date, no known records have been found indicating a history of enslavement associated with the Mincke family.
