Farms dotted the terrain of Schaumburg Township from the late 1840s and well into the 1960s. Most of those farms centered around a herd of dairy cows that required milking twice a day. The farmers then had to deliver that milk to the local creamery. This was where the cream was separated from the whole milk, allowing for the production of butter and cheeses.
There were at least three creameries that operated in Schaumburg Township at various times: the Wilkening Creamery on east Schaumburg Road, the Buttery on Roselle Road that was just south of Schaumburg Road and the Nebel Creamery on the northwest corner of the intersection of Higgins and Roselle, where Walgreen’s is today. Pictured below is a plat of survey for what was left of the Fred Nebel property in 1938.
Fred married Mary Scharringhausen in November, 1889 at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Schaumburg.
Shortly after their marriage, young Fred Nebel began operating in a building on the corner of Higgins and Roselle Roads. It is unknown whether he built the house that eventually contained the creamery and a store, or whether he and Mary moved into an already existing building. In any case, it also acted as a residence for his expanding family. Fred and his wife Mary would eventually have eight children: Albert, Alma, George, Edwin, Fred Jr., Leonard, Raymond and Alvin. The building is pictured on moving blocks in this photo from 1938 when it was moved to the Fred Wille farm.
According to family members, the creamery was located in the basement of the building and was a profitable business. In an article from the July 8, 1938 issue of the DuPage County Register, “as much as 10,000 pounds of milk were received each morning by Mr. Nebel, whose butter achieved a reputation for quality.” In addition, Marilyn Lind states in her book, Genesis Of A Township, that “several times a year he (Fred Nebel) would ship cases of cheese into Chicago from the Roselle rail office.”
If we track the Nebel family through the various censuses, Fred is listed in 1900 as a cheesemaker, along with Herman Scharringhausen who resided in the house with the Nebels. Herman was also listed as a servant and was, in fact, a brother to Mary Nebel. Their sister, Lydia, also resided with the Nebels and eventually married Herman Nebel.
In the 1910 census both Fred and his oldest son, Albert, are listed as buttermakers, and Mary is listed as a saleswoman in the grocery. This compliments the 1938 article that states “the farmer brought his milk to Nebel, and took home from the Nebel store the groceries that he needed. At the end of the month a balance would be struck and if Mr. Nebel owed the farmer any money, a check was forthcoming. If it was the other way, the farmer just kept bringing the milk to settle the account.” The photo below is from the cover of an account book in the library’s Local History collection that is the Daily Milk Delivery Log to Fred Nebel of Nebel’s Corners. It covers the time period of 1890-1892.
Interestingly, the 1920 census has Fred listed as a farmer on a dairy farm. In fact, the Nebel property’s 60 acres extended along the western edge of Roselle Road from Golf to Bode and the largest portion of it was farmed. There was obviously plenty of work to do on Nebel’s Corners as an article from the July 28, 1922 issue of the Cook County Herald states that George Nebel and his young wife, Alma Rodewald would “make their home with the groom’s parents on Nebel’s Corner at present.” Whether it was farming, running the dairy or managing the store, multiple people were needed for the operation, especially since Mary died a year later in 1923.
The following year, in 1924, it was announced in the Daily Herald that the Arlington Dairy “has purchased the route of the Des Plaines dairy, also the Nebel dairy business and is erecting the bottling plant at 111 No. State road.” This arrangement did not last long because the Nebels reopened the creamery in January 1926 under the Nebel name.
By the 1930 census, Fred Nebel is listed as a grocer in the grocery store and Alma, his daughter, is listed as a saleslady in the grocery store. Alma and her husband, William Heide, who worked for the state highway department, lived with both Fred and their daughters, Elvira and Evelyn, on Nebel’s Corners. Evelyn is the younger one with the necklace and Elvira stands next to her at the food stand that the Nebels operated.
A year later, on October 4, 1931, Mr. Nebel died in a car accident at the age of 64. On his death certificate, he is listed as a buttermaker at a creamery. According to the oral history of Wayne Nebel, Mr. Nebel’s grandson, it was after Fred Nebel’s death that the farmland portion of the property was sold and the creamery part of the business was halted.
The business continued to operate under the guidance of Alma and William Heide until 1938 when the State of Illinois’ Highway Department began the process of widening Route 72/Higgins Road. The plan was to create a “super highway 200 feet wide with two parallel highways, each 20 feet wide.” The grocery store/food stand at Nebel’s Corners was directly in the path of the new road, and the entire parcel–both north and south of Higgins Road–was subsequently purchased by the state.
Schaumburg Township was fortunate to have the Fred and Mary Nebel family manage their corner for over 40 years. They created both a necessary creamery that gave the local farmers a place to have their milk processed, and a small grocery store that provided local residents with a nearby spot to pick up basic food items for their dinner table. It was unique for this area because it wasn’t just a dairy, but an early version of a convenience store too!
Jane Rozek
Local History Librarian
Schaumburg Township District Library
jrozek@stdl.org
Many thanks to Lori Freise, granddaughter of Elvira (Heide) Freise, for the photos of Nebel’s Corners and for providing so many details about the creamery.
Copies of the Wayne Nebel oral history are available in the library’s Local History collection and on the library’s Local History Digital Archive.
