Today in Wheeling History: January 24—Edward Wagner, prominent Wheeling businessperson and president of the Edward Wagner Fireproof Storage Company, dies at his home, 54 Fifteenth Street, in his seventy‑third year (1929).
Edward Wagner was born September 15, 1856, in Clarington, Monroe County, Ohio, and later moved to Wheeling, where he built one of the city’s most significant commercial enterprises. In 1884, he began modestly, selling fruits, vegetables, and produce from his residence, but within a few years he shifted to Main Street locations and expanded into wholesale trade. By the 1890s, his firm, Edward Wagner Wholesale Grocers, specialized in wholesale cheese and grocers’ specialties and continued to grow in scale and reputation. Eventually, Wagner’s operation was described as the largest wholesale grocery business controlled by an individual in the United States, a remarkable distinction for a Wheeling-based concern. In 1914, a seven‑story, reinforced concrete warehouse—later known as the Wagner Building—was constructed for his company, reflecting both modern industrial design and the firm’s success. Wagner later became president of the Edward Wagner Fireproof Storage Company. After surviving influenza that developed into bronchial pneumonia, he died on January 24, 1929, at his home at 54 Fifteenth Street in Wheeling. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/bdkyy3z9) (https://tinyurl.com/efknpus5) (https://tinyurl.com/4ewajypn); Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/kwjhxtys), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/yc57pjb3)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Google Maps, Wheeling Intelligencer
Edward Wagner was born September 15, 1856, in Clarington, Monroe County, Ohio, and later moved to Wheeling, where he built one of the city’s most significant commercial enterprises. In 1884, he began modestly, selling fruits, vegetables, and produce from his residence, but within a few years he shifted to Main Street locations and expanded into wholesale trade. By the 1890s, his firm, Edward Wagner Wholesale Grocers, specialized in wholesale cheese and grocers’ specialties and continued to grow in scale and reputation. Eventually, Wagner’s operation was described as the largest wholesale grocery business controlled by an individual in the United States, a remarkable distinction for a Wheeling-based concern. In 1914, a seven‑story, reinforced concrete warehouse—later known as the Wagner Building—was constructed for his company, reflecting both modern industrial design and the firm’s success. Wagner later became president of the Edward Wagner Fireproof Storage Company. After surviving influenza that developed into bronchial pneumonia, he died on January 24, 1929, at his home at 54 Fifteenth Street in Wheeling. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/bdkyy3z9) (https://tinyurl.com/efknpus5) (https://tinyurl.com/4ewajypn); Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/kwjhxtys), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/yc57pjb3)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Google Maps, Wheeling Intelligencer
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