Who We Are
Our History
Brockfeld's Painting Crew
Brockfeld’s was founded in Truesdale, Missouri in 1883 by Johann Rudolph Brockfeld. J.R. had been born in 1856 in Gutersloh, Westphalia, Kingdom of Prussia. He served in the 16th (reserve) Regiment of the Prussian Army from 1870-82 and was mobilized for the Franco-Prussian War (1870-72). He also apprenticed himself to become a master grainer, stainer, and marbler. Graining is the art of making an inexpensive wood such as pine look like an expensive wood such as cherry or walnut. Marbling is the art of making wood look like stone. In October 1882 his military service was over and he emigrated to the United States in the Spring of 1883.
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J.R. started his business in a rented store located on the south side of Booneslick Road across the street from, and slightly to the east of the present location. This location is presently occupied by Warren County Concrete. He offered paint, wallpaper, and supplies at retail and also offered contracting services for interior and exterior painting, wallpaper hanging, and, of course, graining, staining, and marbling. In the 1920’s the store was moved to its present location at 727 East Booneslick.
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Three of his four sons worked in the family business (Rudolf, Paul, and Victor Sr.) with Paul Ewald Brockfeld (also known as Paul A. Brockfeld due to a typographical error) eventually taking over the family business. Paul was drafted for World War One in the United States Army and served overseas in Italy, France, and the Army of Occupation in Germany from 1917 to 1919. In addition to working in the family business, Paul was a renowned hunter, fisher and trapper.
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Paul also trained hunting dogs and operated Brockfeld Kennels. After his father’s death in 1930 he steered the business in a new direction. He was already purchasing paint and wallpaper from the major hardware chains in St Louis. In those days the hardware chains were also major suppliers of firearms and ammunition. He added firearms and ammunition to the existing business. After the passage of the National Firearms Act in 1934, Paul received one of the very first Federal Firearms Licenses (FFL’s) in an era when an FFL was not required to sell guns and ammunition.
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David Brockfeld (Paul’s son) took over the business in 1958. David had trained in the family business, served in the United States Navy in the Korean War (service that would continue in the Reserves until 1972), and received an Education Degree from the University of Missouri. David trained as a gunsmith and added gun repair and the building of custom hunting rifles to the business model.
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Two of David’s sons followed him into the family business. Both learned the trade from their father at an early age. Paul E. Brockfeld assumed ownership in 2013. After graduating from Mizzou with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Paul spent 25 years, both active and reserve, in the Navy retiring as a Commander in 2011. Paul heads retail sales, does general gunsmithing and builds custom rifles. Karl Brockfeld is also a Mizzou graduate holding both bachelor and masters degrees. He works as lead gunsmith, sales manager, and is in charge of manufacturing operations.
On January 5, 2016 the business was nearly destroyed when two individuals set fire to the building. The workshop (which had been the retail area prior to 1976 and was originally constructed prior to World War I) was damaged to the point where it had to be torn down. The rest of the building suffered extensive smoke and heat damage. The insurance claim and reconstruction took over a year. Brockfeld’s re-opened in April 2017 with a grand re-opening in May 2017.
Today Brockfeld’s is a licensed Type 07 firearms manufacturer offering firearms, ammunition (the largest selection of hard to find ammo in the area) and accessories at retail. We buy, sell and trade new and used firearms. We also offer firearms repair, custom firearms manufacturing, custom gunsmithing, and custom reloading.
Come by and see us.
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