Hohulin Fence Co. a pioneer in ornamental, security fences

Hohulin Fence Co.'s sustaining presence as a fencing provider to central Illinois began with an immigrant taking a chance on a new product and his sons perfecting the creation and installation of that product in the early 1900s.

Sam, Tim and John Hohulin may have founded the business, but the seeds were planted by their father, Gottlieb Hohulin. A German immigrant who weaved jacquard fabrics, Gottlieb bought chain link fence from the recently immigrated Swiss inventor, Jacob Schneider. When the Hohulin sons needed more fence, they bought the chain link manufacturing machine sold to a farmer in Roanoke.

"The father wove linens and then the sons ended up weaving chain link fences," president Jim Schmidt said.

Nearly 75 years after the Hohulin sons founded the business, the inheritors of Hohulin Fence hit a crossroads. The sons that were in line to take over worked within the company but had no intention of running it.

"All were close in age, but they did not want to take over," Schmidt said.

The business was sold to a Chicago manufacturing group in 1972 but kept the family name and a member of the family to lead Hohulin - Schmidt, who married into the family.

Fencing for war

Pioneering in the fencing trade led Hohulin Fence to many places over the years. In World War I, military training bases wanted more protection and Hohulin was commissioned to build fences to surround these training bases.

It wasn't an extraordinary task for the enterprising Hohulin sons. The business obtained four patents in its early years and tinkered with all facets of fence manufacturing, such as steel posts for chain link, overhead sliding gates and gates opened by horseback.

The future

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Hohulin Fence Co. a pioneer in ornamental, security fences