A Piece of Dixon History: The sudden death of George Page

DIXON – In parts 1 and 2, we learned of the meteoric rise of George Page, a homegrown local boy who built a global business empire that included the world’s largest condensed milk factory here in Dixon. In today’s installment, you’ll read the rest of the story.

Even though George always planned to live at his Hazelwood estate in Dixon, it never happened. On April 20, 1899, 62-year-old George Ham Page died suddenly in Cham, Switzerland, of “severe pneumonia followed by neuralgia of the heart which caused his death after severe suffering.” As the Telegraph then wrote, “Inexorable death never took from this community a better friend.”

At the time of his death, he had “many thousand” employees, producing “over six million dollars worth of goods annually” (about $230 million in today’s money). His 11 large factories included four in England, two in Switzerland, two in Norway, one in Germany and two in the United States.

Not buried in Switzerland

In Page’s obituary in the Telegraph, the editor lauded Page’s love of America and the Dixon area. “It was this noble, patriotic impulse that brought him back here to the scenes of his boyhood to beautify the country and give employment and prosperity to this people.”

Although George had lived in Switzerland since 1866, his body was shipped back to the U.S. from Switzerland for a funeral ceremony and burial here. In a citywide display of respect, more than 150 Dixon businesses closed from noon to 3 p.m. during the funeral on May 13, 1899.

There was no question as to where he would be buried. In 1898, George had already purchased a large monument at the Palmyra Cemetery next to the Sugar Grove Church/School. The monument cost more than $1,700 or about $65,000 in today’s dollars. Many of his family members would also be buried there, including his partner-brothers, Charles, David and William, who all worked with him in Switzerland.

After George died

After George died, the Page condensed milk empire slowly faded. That story is quite extensive, but I’ll just mention the key events.

George’s brother, David S. Page, succeeded him as general manager of the global firm in 1899. In 1902, the company management sold its U.S. plants to the Borden Company, the original inventor of condensed milk. The Dixon factory, then still the largest condensed milk factory in the world, became Borden’s factory, and it didn’t close until 1968.

George’s widow, Adelheid, returned to Switzerland after his death and led the remainder of the global Anglo-Swiss company to a merger with Nestlé in 1905. Notably, she bought the St. Andreas Castle in Cham, Switzerland, and lived happily ever after as a beloved philanthropist and supporter of charitable causes before she died in 1925 at age 72.

Page Drive and Page Park

Following the sale of the Dixon plant to Borden in 1902, its manager, William B. Page, left Dixon and soon died in New York in 1906. His son, Walter (b. 1880), however, who grew up in Dixon from 1888 to 1902, eventually became a vice president with the Borden company in New York.

In the 1930s Walter had some discussions with Dixon’s Ed Vaile, a close friend and a long-time member of the Dixon park board. In December 1933, during the depths of the Depression, Page donated to the city five acres behind Borden’s plant along with 1,000 feet of river frontage from the railroad bridge to the “Loveland ditch.”

In honor and recognition of the Page family, Dixon Mayor George C. Dixon and members of the park board then officially named the area “Page Park” and declared its scenic riverside drive as “Page Drive.” The park project included shelters, stone fireplaces, a lagoon, a bridge and trails, along with $10,000 in funding from the Civil Works Administration. Years later, baseball diamonds would be placed there, in “Borden Field.”

Note: The “Elks Page Park” off Lowell Park Road is on property originally owned by Thomas S. Page, who was from England. There appears to be no direct relation between Thomas Page and George Page.

Leaving his mark

George Page certainly left his mark on Dixon and Palmyra. He experienced a level of business success that few other locals, if any, have ever achieved.

When his historical marker was dedicated on Palmyra Road in 1909, attorney A. C. Bardwell spoke of the effect that this area had on George’s development.

“Here (in Palmyra) was laid the stable foundations of a community of splendid men and women, actuated by determined purpose and high aspirations, the pillars on which the republic was built and on which its endurance must be secured.” Bardwell said. “The men and women that have gone out from this community to make their places in the world of affairs are … evidence of the virtues and kind of manhood and womanhood that were nurtured here.”

May he rest in peace, George Page of Palmyra (1836-1899).

- Dixon native Tom Wadsworth is a writer, speaker and occasional historian. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament.