Poppenhusen worked for a whalebone purchaser before immigrating to the United States in 1843 to start a whalebone processing plant in Brooklyn, New York, New York.[1] In 1852 Poppenhusen received a license from Charles Goodyear to produce hard rubber products[1] and subsequently moved the company to a small rural village in Queens.
College Point was founded in 1870 when Poppenhusen incorporated the neighborhoods of Flammersburg and Strattonport together. For his workers in the area, Poppenhusen built housing, the First Reformed Church, and numerous streets.
After Poppenhusen retired in 1871, his three sons lost much of his fortune, and he declared bankruptcy for over $4 million[4] (at least about $130 million — or perhaps as much as $1.9 billion — in 2024 dollars).[5]
Poppenhusen married Bertha Marie Henrietta Karker in May 1841.[6] They had four children: sons Adolph Conrad (1842–1882), Heinrich Conrad (1846–1847), Herman Christian (1847–1891) and Alfred (1850–1887), and daughter Marie (1849–1874).[6]
Conrad Poppenhusen died in College Point in 1883 and was memorialized by the community with a statue in Poppenhusen Park in 1884.[1] His remains were stored temporarily in nearby Flushing Cemetery and were then shipped months later to his native Germany where they were buried in Ohlsdorf Cemetery in Hamburg.[6]
The College Point branch of the Queens Library, built in 1904, bears his name. Additionally, streets in Hamburg and in College Point are named for him.[6]
^"Conrad Poppenhusen's Bankruptcy". The New York Times. August 4, 1878. Retrieved August 22, 2016. Conrad Poppenhusen was adjudged a bankrupt, on his own petition, Nov. 17, 1877, his debts amounting to $4,000,000
