Peter Staub
Encyclopedia
Peter Staub was a Swiss-born American businessman, politician, and diplomat. He immigrated to the United States in 1854, and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee
, in 1856, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. Staub served as mayor of Knoxville in the early 1870s and early 1880s, and built the city's first opera house
, Staub's Theatre, in 1872. Staub also aided Swiss immigration to the Southern Appalachia
n region, helping establish what is now the town of Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee
, in 1869. In 1885, President Grover Cleveland
appointed Staub U.S. Consul to Switzerland.
, and worked in this trade in France and Switzerland throughout the 1840s. Staub married Rosina Blum in 1847. While living in Switzerland, they had two children, both of whom died at a young age. In 1854, Staub and his wife moved to the United States, initially settling in New Jersey
.
Shortly after his arrival, Staub's health began to decline. Concluding he would benefit from a more mountainous environment, Staub decided to move to East Tennessee
, often adverstised during this period as the "Switzerland of America." In 1856, Staub opened a tailor shop on Gay Street
in Knoxville. During the Civil War
, Staub's house on the periphery of Knoxville was burned by the Union Army to prevent Confederate soldiers from using it for shelter. He rebuilt it, and his tailoring business thrived in the post-war years. He reinvested his profits in real estate in the Knoxville area.
.
One of the first major buildings designed by Knoxville architect Joseph Baumann
, Staub's Theatre measured 52 feet (15.8 m) by 128 feet (39 m) and included a 24 feet (7.3 m) main hall, private boxes
, a parquette, and a 25 feet (7.6 m) by 48 feet (14.6 m) stage. The theater opened on October 2, 1872, with a dedication by former congressman Thomas A. R. Nelson
and a performance of Sheridan Knowles
's William Tell by the Knoxville Histrionic Society. The play, based on the Swiss folk hero
, was selected in honor of Staub.
In subsequent decades, Staub's Theatre hosted performances by such diverse groups as Payson's English Opera Troupe, Boston's Mendelssohn Quintette Club
, the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, and the Firmin-Jack Comedy Club, as well as lectures and readings, and minstrel shows. In the early 1900s, Staub's began to host vaudeville acts and wrestling matches, reflecting Knoxville's influx of working class migrants.
west of Knoxville. Staub purchased a large tract of land along a remote section of the Plateau in Grundy County in 1869 that provided the core of the Swiss colony of Gruetli (now Gruetli-Laager). The land proved too wooded, barren, and remote, however, and the colony failed to develop as Staub had envisioned.
Staub was first elected mayor of Knoxville in 1874. During his first term, he expanded the city's fire department, and organized the city's public school system. Staub was elected again in 1881 and spent much of this second term helping the city develop a public waterworks.
In 1869, Staub was appointed consul for the Swiss government in Tennessee. In this capacity, he looked after Swiss interests in the state, including the Gruetli colony. President Rutherford B. Hayes
appointed Staub a commissioner for the United States at the Paris Exposition of 1878
. In 1885, President Cleveland appointed him United States Consul at St. Gallen, Switzerland.
, now stands at the site.
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, in 1856, where he lived for most of the remainder of his life. Staub served as mayor of Knoxville in the early 1870s and early 1880s, and built the city's first opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
, Staub's Theatre, in 1872. Staub also aided Swiss immigration to the Southern Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
n region, helping establish what is now the town of Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee
Gruetli-Laager, Tennessee
Gruetli-Laager is a city in Grundy County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,813 at the 2010 census. As its name implies, Gruetli-Laager consists of two communities— Gruetli and Laager— incorporated as a single city.-Geography:...
, in 1869. In 1885, President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
appointed Staub U.S. Consul to Switzerland.
Early life
Born in Switzerland, Staub was orphaned when he was eight years old. At age 13, he was apprenticed to a tailorTailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
, and worked in this trade in France and Switzerland throughout the 1840s. Staub married Rosina Blum in 1847. While living in Switzerland, they had two children, both of whom died at a young age. In 1854, Staub and his wife moved to the United States, initially settling in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Shortly after his arrival, Staub's health began to decline. Concluding he would benefit from a more mountainous environment, Staub decided to move to East Tennessee
East Tennessee
East Tennessee is a name given to approximately the eastern third of the U.S. state of Tennessee, one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee defined in state law. East Tennessee consists of 33 counties, 30 located within the Eastern Time Zone and three counties in the Central Time Zone, namely...
, often adverstised during this period as the "Switzerland of America." In 1856, Staub opened a tailor shop on Gay Street
Gay Street (Knoxville)
Gay Street is a street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, that traverses the heart of the city's downtown area. Since its development in the 1790s, Gay Street has served as the city's principal financial and commercial thoroughfare, and has played a primary role in the city's historical and cultural...
in Knoxville. During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Staub's house on the periphery of Knoxville was burned by the Union Army to prevent Confederate soldiers from using it for shelter. He rebuilt it, and his tailoring business thrived in the post-war years. He reinvested his profits in real estate in the Knoxville area.
Staub's Theatre
During the years following the Civil War, Knoxville gained a reputation for cultural backwardness that many of the city's residents found embarrassing. The Knoxville Whig and other newspapers called on the city's wealthy to fund construction of a respectable theater. In 1871, Staub announced he was building a three-story opera house at the corner of Gay and Cumberland, across the street from the Lamar House HotelBijou Theatre (Knoxville)
The Bijou Theatre is a theater located in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Built in 1909 as an addition to the Lamar House Hotel, the theater has at various times served as performance venue of both traditional theatre and vaudeville, a second-run moviehouse, a commencement stage for the city's...
.
One of the first major buildings designed by Knoxville architect Joseph Baumann
Baumann family (architects)
The Baumann family was a family of American architects who practiced in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the surrounding region, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It included Joseph F. Baumann , his brother, Albert B. Baumann, Sr. , and Albert's son, Albert B. Baumann, Jr....
, Staub's Theatre measured 52 feet (15.8 m) by 128 feet (39 m) and included a 24 feet (7.3 m) main hall, private boxes
Box (theatre)
In theater, a box is a small, separated seating area in the auditorium for a limited number of people.Boxes are typically placed immediately to the front, side and above the level of the stage. They are often separate rooms with an open viewing area which typically seat five people or fewer. ...
, a parquette, and a 25 feet (7.6 m) by 48 feet (14.6 m) stage. The theater opened on October 2, 1872, with a dedication by former congressman Thomas A. R. Nelson
Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson
Thomas Amos Rogers Nelson was an American attorney, politician, and judge, active primarily in East Tennessee during the mid-19th century. He represented Tennessee's 1st Congressional District in the 36th U.S. Congress , where he gained a reputation as a staunch pro-Union southerner...
and a performance of Sheridan Knowles
James Sheridan Knowles
James Sheridan Knowles , Irish dramatist and actor, was born in Cork.-Biography:His father was the lexicographer James Knowles , cousin of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. The family removed to London in 1793, and at the age of fourteen Knowles published a ballad entitled The Welsh Harper, which, set to...
's William Tell by the Knoxville Histrionic Society. The play, based on the Swiss folk hero
William Tell
William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th century Swiss chronicle....
, was selected in honor of Staub.
In subsequent decades, Staub's Theatre hosted performances by such diverse groups as Payson's English Opera Troupe, Boston's Mendelssohn Quintette Club
Mendelssohn Quintette Club
The Mendelssohn Quintette Club based in Boston, Massachusetts, was one of "the most active and most widely known chamber ensemble[s] in America" in the latter half of the 19th-century...
, the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, and the Firmin-Jack Comedy Club, as well as lectures and readings, and minstrel shows. In the early 1900s, Staub's began to host vaudeville acts and wrestling matches, reflecting Knoxville's influx of working class migrants.
Public life
During the late 1860s, Staub began working with a group called the Tennessee Clonisation Gesellschaft, which sought to establish colonies of Swiss immigrants atop the Cumberland PlateauCumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
west of Knoxville. Staub purchased a large tract of land along a remote section of the Plateau in Grundy County in 1869 that provided the core of the Swiss colony of Gruetli (now Gruetli-Laager). The land proved too wooded, barren, and remote, however, and the colony failed to develop as Staub had envisioned.
Staub was first elected mayor of Knoxville in 1874. During his first term, he expanded the city's fire department, and organized the city's public school system. Staub was elected again in 1881 and spent much of this second term helping the city develop a public waterworks.
In 1869, Staub was appointed consul for the Swiss government in Tennessee. In this capacity, he looked after Swiss interests in the state, including the Gruetli colony. President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
appointed Staub a commissioner for the United States at the Paris Exposition of 1878
Exposition Universelle (1878)
The third Paris World's Fair, called an Exposition Universelle in French, was held from 1 May through to 10 November 1878. It celebrated the recovery of France after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.-Construction:...
. In 1885, President Cleveland appointed him United States Consul at St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Death
Staub was injured in a carriage accident on May 18, 1904, and died the following day. He is interred in a family plot, crowned by a large marble obelisk, in Old Gray Cemetery. Staub's son, Fritz, continued to operate Staub's Theatre for several years. The theater later changed its name to the Lyric Theatre and continued to host performances until 1956, when it was demolished. Knoxville's tallest building, the First Tennessee PlazaFirst Tennessee Plaza
The First Tennessee Plaza, or Plaza Tower, is an office high-rise located at 800 Gay Street in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Completed in 1978, the 27-story structure is Knoxville's tallest building and an iconic part of the city's skyline...
, now stands at the site.