Anton Tibbe brought electricity to Washington in 1893. This building, the third plant was built in 1904 and went on-line in December 1915 with much fanfare. The building housed two 75 horsepower generators. Just down the block is one of Washington's most well-known industries. Washington, Missouri has long been known as the "Corn Cob Pipe Capital of the World." It was the Missouri Meerschaum Company, still the world's oldest and largest manufacturer of the cool, sweet-smelling corn cob pipes, that began the tradition for which Washington became famous.
In 1869 Henry Tibbe, a Dutch immigrant woodworker, first began production of the corn cob pipe. Legend has it that a local farmer whittled a pipe out of corn cob and liked it so much he asked Henry Tibbe to try turning some on his lathe. The farmer was well-pleased with his pipes so Henry made a few more and put them for sale in his shop. They proved to be such a fast selling item that soon Tibbe spent more time making pipes for his customers than working with wood. Soon Tibbe went into full time production of corn cob pipes. In 1907, the H. Tibbe & Son Co. became the Missouri Meerschaum Company.
The word Meerschaum is taken from a German word that means "sea foam". It is a Turkish clay used in high grade pipes. Tibbe likened his light, porous pipes and their cool smoke to that of the more expensive meerschaum pipes and coined the name "Missouri Meerschaum" for his pipes. Tibbe and a chemist friend devised an innovative system of applying a plaster-based substance to the outside of the corn cob bowls. In 1878, Tibbe patented this process.
A nationwide distribution system was established for the sale of his pipes. Other pipe firms also developed; by 1925 there were as many as a dozen corn cob pipe companies in Franklin County, most of them in Washington. Today, Missouri Meerschaum stands alone as the first and only surviving piece of the living history.
The factory is located on the corner of Front and Cedar streets overlooking the Missouri River and one block from the Amtrak station. The three story brick building that houses the factory dates to the 1880's.
Now that you have found this cache, locate the first number of the street address and plug in for letter B in the finale cache "I Didn't Know That."