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J.R. (Joseph Ray) Watkins, the itinerant Watkins liniment salesman, got his start in Stearns County. It is believed that he began manufacturing his product in the basement of his home in Maine Prairie Township, using herbs and roots he gathered from his farm. He peddled it among farmers in the area using a wheelbarrow. As sales increased he was able to purchase a horse and cart in St. Cloud for $500.
From its modest start in Stearns County, the J.R. Watkins Co. grew into a million-dollar business. The company sold the famous Watkins spices, extracts, beverage mixes, baking products, personal care products, medical remedies, cosmetics and perfumes, cleaning products, agricultural products for both cattle and swine, and, of course, his red liniment.
Duane Stanley, whose great-great-grandmother, Zelinda (Hagen) Wood, married B. U. Watkins in 1871, wrote a short history of the relationship of J. R. Watkins to his family and the area in 2005 for the Kimball Area Historical Society. Called "Watkins Products, born on Maine Prairie," Stanley writes that J. R. Watkins is "arguably Maine Prairie's most successful native son."
Although J.R. was born 7 miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, and his history usually begins in Plainview, in southeastern Minnesota, his sister, Julia (Watkins) Frost wrote in her family history, "Annals of Our Ancestors," that J. R. came to Maine Prairie in 1862 at age 21.
Stanley writes, "While living in his father's (B.U. Watkins) home on the west shore of Pearl Lake, J. R. mixed his first batches of Watkins Red Liniment — the foundation of the J. R. Watkins Medical Co. — in a barrel in the kitchen. Although it hardly appeared so at the time, this was the first step toward success and immense personal wealth."
He purchased his patent on the red liniment in 1868 when he moved to Plainview. A small shed served as his laboratory. People who do not know about his Stearns County connection believe J. R. began his business in Plainview.
In those days, traveling salesmen were an accepted method of bringing goods to the people around the country. Watkins used that unique method of salesmanship because it "allowed him to bypass the local pharmacists who resisted 'patent medicines' that usurped their role in mixing medicines directly for the customer," according to Stanley.
J.R. Watkins was so confident in the benefits of his liniment that he introduced the "Trial Mark" bottle in 1869. Through door-to-door sales, Watkins gave customers a risk-free way to try his products by adding a molded "trial mark" to each bottle, with a money-back guarantee. Customers who tried his product but left enough in the bottle to stay above the mark could get a full refund if they were not satisfied.
In 1885, Watkins relocated his headquarters to Winona because it was one of the largest cities and a major transportation hub of railroad and river traffic. It also had several sawmills and employed hundreds of men who could benefit from using Watkins liniment on their sore muscles after a hard day at the mills.
Between 1889 and 1914, Watkins constructed six manufacturing buildings behind the Winona Administration Building. In 1914, a prominent 10-story building, designed by George Washington Maher to complement the look of the Administration Building, was completed. Between 1937 and 1939, 250,000 visitors toured the Watkins manufacturing plant.
In "Images of America," John Goplen wrote: "The J.R. Watkins Company … grew from a one-man company into the world's largest direct selling company, an international corporation spanning North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England. Today the company is still in business selling the liniment that founder J. R. Watkins first bottled in 1868."
Goplen states that "For the first 50 years of the company's life, rural sales dominated the company's business. … The 'Watkins Men' not only sold quality products; they often brought news and local gossip to the farm families of rural America."
Watkins salesmen carried large black leather products cases with the Watkins label in gold lettering. The case opened up like a large tackle box with multiple shelves.
Watkins also believed in advertising, so he built one of the largest printing operations west of the Mississippi producing millions of pieces of literature ranging from advertising and company newspapers to calendars, cookbooks and almanacs advertising his products.
Watkins manufactured products that were sought by and sold to rural and city customers. By 1933, Watkins was the largest and oldest direct-selling company in the world, in every state of the United States.
To fill government contracts during World War II, Watkins produced dried eggs, powdered juice packets, vitamin tablets, hospital germicide, DDT and insecticide powder.
After WWII, the Watkins man was still the most important factor in the successful selling of Watkins products. It wasn't until the 1950s and 1960s that dramatic social change brought the demise of the once-familiar Watkins door-to-door salesmen.
More women were working outside the home. Watkins hired them to work in his research facility. But companies such as Avon, grocery stores and retail chain stores took customers away from the Watkins door-to-door sales people.
Watkins expanded to selling an agri-products line. His Watkins Research Farm was a national leader in feed research during the 1950s.
Goplen writes that the "Watkins Agri-Division showed strong sales during the late 1960s with many popular products such as Watkins MIN-VITE pre-mix of minerals and vitamins for both hogs and cattle. All products were tested at the Watkins Research Farm."
The Watkins Research Farm played an important role in Watkins' history for over 35 years, but by the end of 1971, Watkins decided to close the farm and sell the animals, equipment and property.
The Watkins company was an early pioneer of equal opportunities. Women and other workforce minorities, as sales persons, brought Watkins products into new households.
J.R. Watkins product labels continue to carry the founder's portrait even though J.R. died Dec. 21, 1911.
In 1978, the company filed for bankruptcy. In December of that year, entrepreneur Irwin Jacobs bought the remains of the business. Jacobs offered a new beginning for the company that has its roots in Stearns County.
A few years ago I visited the J.R. Watkins Museum in Winona. When I asked about Watkins' roots in Stearns County, I was told it was common knowledge that the connection was there, but Watkins himself never acknowledged that part of his life. They could not tell me why.
I have a bottle of Watkins lemon extract in my cupboard today.
This column is the opinion of Marilyn Salzl Brinkman. Write to her at Brinkman1943@gmail.com or St. Cloud Times, P.O. Box 768, St. Cloud, MN 56302.
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