 Fisk and Pillsbury initially established themselves in business supplying hardware to the lumber industry, prospering enough by 1869 that Fisk could commission this house.With a third partner, the two men later founded the flour milling company of Pillsbury, Crocker, and Fisk.This was to be Fisk's primary livelihood for the rest of his life, though he also had business interests in the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste.