Stroehmann's Bakery

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In 1916, Fred G. Stroehmann expanded his Wheeling bakery
 business by building a large baking plant in Huntington.
Courtesy of James E. Casto

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HUNTINGTON — If the conversation turns to Huntington bakeries,
 many people will mention Mootz Bakery, which went out of
 business in the mid-1960s, and Heiner’s (founded in
1905, it’s still baking bread every day)

But surely Stroehmann’s Vienna Bakery is mostly forgotten.

Fred G. Stroehmann opened his first small bakery in Wheeling in 1892
 and in 1911 built a large four-story baking plant. In his “History of
 West Virginia, Old and New,” author I.M. Callahan described
 Stroehmann’s new bakery as being “equipped with every
facility known to the baking art.”

Stroehmann was expansion minded and so in 1916 built a
 large baking plant in Huntington on the southeast
corner of 7th Avenue and 5th Street.

When the United States entered World War I, Stroehmann
began supplying bread to the U.S. Army’s training
camps. To meet the increased demand,
he opened a third bakery in Ashland.

In 1922, Stroehmann sold his three bakeries to the Continental Baking Co.
 However, his two sons didn’t want to see the family’s bread disappear
 and so bought a bakery in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, renaming it
 Stroehmann Brothers Bakery. Today, the Stroehmann
 brand is owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA (the
same big company that now owns
 Heiner’s in Huntington).

Continental Baking operated the former Stroehmann Bakery
in Huntington for a number of years. It was last listed
in the Huntington City Directory for 1941.

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Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on May 10, 2022.

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