In 1874, Daniel Gerber, born 1820- died 1890, moved his family from Douglas, Michigan, to Fremont Center. He had owned a tannery in Douglas, but the forest fires in 1871 made tanning bark in that area scarce. Daniel Gerber and his three sons Joseph, William and J Andrew Gerber purchased an existing tannery in Fremont Center and named it D. Gerber and Sons, Sheridan Tannery. The tannery remained under family ownership until 1907, when it was sold to the Michigan Tanning and Extract Company.

By 1884, beside the Tannery there were several other mills in the Fremont area, the stave mill of James Gibson, the saw mills of James H. Darling & Cook, Merchant & Hungerford, James Gibson, Kornelius Mulder and Hiram Jones, the handle factory of Hiram Jones, the heading mill of Paleman S. Castle and the shingle mills of Richard A. Ryerson, James Gibson and Paleman S. Castle

The Castle shingle and heading mills were located on land now belonging to Gerber Products Co. This same year Richard N. Lloyd and Walter F. Pumfrey built a planning mills adjacent to the Castle mill. This property where the Castle and Lloyd & Pumfrey mills were located was taken over by the Fremont Furniture Co. in 1890. George Burns and Koyl had a mill on part of this land. Koyl later sold to Walter Pumfrey and the mill was known as Burns and Pumfrey, in 1893 this mill became George Burns and Son. In 1906 the mill was torn down to make room for Fremont Canning Company new building.

One of Daniel Gerber’s sons who joined his father at the tannery was Joseph Gerber, born 1845 - died 1917. In 1890, Joseph and a group of Fremont men formed the Fremont Furniture Company which was organized with local capital. Joseph Gerber was president and Harlan J. Dudley secretary. They converted the old Pumfrey mill into a factory. The first order consisted of 3,700 beds from a firm in Burlington, Iowa. In 1893, W. N. Towner, Superintendent, said the building was too small as the plant was doing a business of $50,000 a year. In 1896 the firm reorganized as the Fremont Manufacturing Co. The Company could not complete with the cities having more favorable shipping facilities and it soon closed. The Fremont Manufacturing Co. was still listed in the 1900 Atlas as a mill at Fremont. The venture was apparently unsuccessful as Frank Gerber born 1873 - died 1952, a son of Joseph Gerber, reported some years later that he invested $100 in the Company and received $1.25 when the Company was liquidated.

In 1895, the D Gerber Wholesales Grocery Company was formed, which was five years after the death of Daniel Gerber. This was located on the south side of West Main St. on part of the Tannery property. The Wholesales Grocery building later became The J. F. Hillyard Bean Elevator.

In early March 1901 the directors of the Fremont Canning Co. were George E. Hilton, President, A. O. White, Secretary - Treasurer; H. B. Babbitt, superintendent; Joseph Gerber; Frank H. Smith; Martin Rozema; Walter F. Reber; Joseph J. Klooster; and Wilkes Stuart.

The first recorded minutes of a meeting of the Fremont Canning Company dated March 26 1901, in the office of Harlan J. Dudley in Fremont. Those present were G. E. Alton, J. Andrew Gerber, Joseph Gerber, A. O. Hoyt, J. J. Klooster, Walter F. Reber, Martin Rozema, Frank H. Smith and Wilkes Stuart. The Fremont Canning had purchased the building of the defunct Fremont Manufacturing Company for $1,900. At this meeting, A. O. White tendered his resignation and A. O. Hoyt was then elected secretary and treasurer.

By 1923 the Fremont Canning Company was a "Modern Brick Plant" which stood out as a leader among Michigan canning concerns, having shipped out approximately 500,000 cases of goods in 1922. The total business amounted to one and one-quarter million dollars, according to Frank Gerber, who was the president of the concern. The plant which had 65,000 feet of floor space; was in operation the year round, employing from 175 to 250 people, depending on the season and yields of fruits and vegetables. In 1923 they were pushing pork and beans, and red kidney beans.

The officers of the Fremont Canning Company that year were; Frank Gerber, president; J. Andrew Gerber, vice president; Henry A. McCarty, secretary and William A. Mee, treasurer.

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