Does MPHS have photographs: Yes
Address: Wille Street and Northwest Highway
Is building standing: No
What is at site: Northwest Highway
When was business founded: 1880
Is business still operating: No. Closed 1902.
Who owned business: William Wille
Interesting stories, facts, history:
Founded in 1880 the Wille Cheese Factory operated for over twenty years at the corner of Northwest Highway and Wille Street. William Wille would buy milk from local farmers, turn the milk into cheese and butter and then take wagon loads of cheese and butter to Chicago for sale. In a 1977 interview, William’s son, Adolph, remembered going to Chicago with his father in the spring when the roads were muddy. He recounted how the wagon would get stuck in the mud and the cheese and butter would have to be taken off, the wagon freed and then all the cargo reloaded. After years of doing this, William Wille, got tired of the hassle and closed the factory in 1902. The building was demolished in 1928 when Northwest Highway was widened.