Aerial view from the south village limits of New Brighton was taken by MacGillis & Gibbs Company, a pole yard company, which is seen in the lower half of the photo. Notable buildings include the First Congregational Church, New Brighton Elementary School, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and the New Brighton Village Hall.
MacGillis & Gibbs Company employees in 1925 with their horses. Much of the early heavy work was done by horses and hard-working men. MacGillis & Gibbs Company and Bell Lumber and Pole provided employment and added to the economy of the community for many years.
MacGillis & Gibbs Company employees with their horses as they transport telephone poles. The company specialized in the treatment, production and distribution of telephone poles from 1919 and employed many New Brighton men. The firm treated telephone poles and lumber with chemicals to preserve the wood, which ultimately contaminated the soil and made its way into groundwater. In 1984 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared both MacGillis & Gibbs Company site and an adjacent pole company, Bell Lumber and Pole, as a Superfund site. The cleanup continued until 1993.
MacGillis & Gibbs Company workers with their horses as they transport telephone poles. The company specialized in the treatment, production and distribution of telephone poles beginning in 1919. The company employed many New Brighton men.