Warsaw endured a year without freshly baked goods until Conrad Nagel opened his bakery at 412 Main St. in 1860. The two-term Warsaw mayor also supplied the army with bread. In 1924, Thomas Russell sold his bakery in Keokuk and bought back the bakery in Warsaw, which he previously sold to P.R. Rohner in 1922. Rohner’s bakery expanded when Mrs. Thomas Russell opened the Warsaw Coffee Shoppe in 1917. With the opening of the Warsaw Mercantile in 2025, and the continued offerings of muffins, breads, cookies, gluten-free items and homemade frozen pies, the 412 Main St. location has had the longest run of selling baked goods in Warsaw history.
From humble beginnings taking orders out of a bakery wagon, Robert Hoffman established the Hoffman Bakery & Confectionary, also known as the City Bakery, on Main Street, between Third and Fourth streets, in 1881. According to an article in the Warsaw Bulletin on May 7, 1881, Hoffman stated “he will always keep everything pertaining to a first-class bakery, and in addition, it is his purpose to keep and eating house and ice cream saloon.”
Henry Martens operated his bakery, selling mainly confections (candy) from 1889 – 1911. Upon moving back to Keokuk, he sold the building to Edward Spangler; Spangler baked cakes, rolls and buns.
A Mr. Britton of Quincy, a baker and confectioner, opened a bakery in Dr. Warner’s building on the corner of Main and Fourth. He then sold his business.
In 1909, Albert Colson established a bakery and restaurant, moving to the Shafer building on the side of Main Street in 1910. The business was later sold to T. J. Buttels, who installed an oven and other essentials necessary for a first- class bakery.
O.O. Tanner purchased the building from Buttels of Colson Bakery in 1911 and opened his own later that year.
Diane Heisler’s grandfather, James Golliher, lost his job when the shoe factory closed in 1930, and opened a bakery to support his family later that year.
Leasing the John Myers building, Jack Stucker and Lester Longenecker opened a bakery in the early 1930s. In 1936, the proof box, which was heated by a kerosene stove and where bread was put to rise, exploded, causing a fire to break out and damage the building. According to the Warsaw Bulletin of January 31, 1936, Longenecker estimated the damage at about $100. He and Stucker then moved to the Bott building, later occupied by the Heller Bakery.
Charles Milroy Heller operated the Heller Bakery at the Bott Building, 322-324 Main St., from 1934 – 1936. He also opened a bakery in what was known as the Russell Bakery before he moved in 1936.
Part 3 will cover more modern bakeries in Warsaw’s history.