MULGREW, Thomas James

MULGREW, Thomas James. (Dubuque, IA, May 8, 1867-Dubuque, IA, Aug. 24, 1954). President, Mulgrew Fuel Company. Soon after returning from Nevada in 1893, Mulgrew formed the Thomas J. Mulgrew Company, dealers in building material, wood, and coal. Needing additional operating capital, he formed a partnership with John Phillips that became the Mulgrew and Phillips Company. Mulgrew bought the Phillips interest in the company in 1900 and operated the firm under his own name. He expanded into the ICE business in the late 1890s and built an ice manufacturing plant in 1915.

The Thomas J. Mulgrew Company, incorporated in 1904, retained coal as an important part of the business, but added the oil business in 1906. He later expanded into roofing and building supplies along with petroleum products. Mulgrew established the Mulgrew-Boyce Company contracting business in 1906 and by 1910 was a partner in Mulgrew and Sons Company, contractors. He entered the coal-stripping business between 1931 and 1934 with additional yards being opened in Mason City and Waterloo where the company also operated a sand and gravel pit. Further diversification included his ownership of Iowa farm land and a large cotton plantation near Scott, Mississippi. This was also used as a winter home until the land was sold to an English syndicate in 1920.

From 1907 to 1913 Mulgrew served on the DUBUQUE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT school board including a term as its president in 1912. Appointed to two terms on the advisory board of the Inland Waterways Corporation, Mulgrew oversaw the development of the nine-foot channel in the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. He served ten years as a director of the Dubuque National Bank, director of the Dubuque Art Manufacturing Company, and president of the Tri-State Fair Association.