Note: The Icon acquired a manuscript titled “A Brief History of Bluffton’s Industrial Developments.” This publication was prepared by the classes in Marketing and Small Business Administration from Bluffton College, under the director of Dr. Howard Raid. Publication date is May 1959. We’ve updated some current addresses so viewers may identify locations.

Gottshall Pretzel Factory
1911-1914
Howard Gottshall, owner

The Gottshall Pretzel Factory was a Bluffton Main Street business from 1911 to 1914.

It was located what is today the west side (near the alley) of the Citizens National Bank parking lot, between the bank and post office. At the time this story was written by Bluffton College business students in 1959, that building would have been identified as the Gerber Photography Studio.

Howard Gottshall and a Mr. Henry, Gottschall’s baker, both worked full time in the business.

However, pretzels didn’t sell as well in Bluffton as they had in Pennsylvania, where Gottshall was from.

In 1914 Gottshall moved his pretzel business to Toledo and operated it there for several years, later closing it and taking up another vocation.

Story references: Mrs. Howard Gottshall
Interviewers: Robert E. Steiner and Charles L. Hostetler