Peaper Brothers
Indianapolis, IN

The proud history of Peaper Brothers, Inc. began more than 130 years ago when
William Pieper and Henrietta Wegherst traveled from their homes in Germany to begin new
lives in the United States. Though William and Henrietta were both German immigrants, their
lives did not cross the same path until they met in Indianapolis where they were later married
on August 17, 1877. Shortly thereafter, William established a garden business that produced
vegetables in hotbeds on 5 or 6 acres on what is now known as Pleasant Run Boulevard. In
1909, William and Henrietta purchased 26 acres on Bluff Road and, along with their two sons
Fred and Chris, relocated the business to that location where it still operates today. Fred and
Chris Peaper formed Peaper Brothers and constructed glass greenhouses and expanded their
crops to include tomatoes and lettuce. This next generation joined forces with other local
vegetable growers and were the first business to sign up as members of the Marion County
Greenhouse Association.
Many crops later and after the end of World War II, Fred’s son, Herb, and Chris’ sons,
Fred and Paul, united together to continue as the third generation of Peaper Brothers. These
three took the business to a new level when they began the mass-production of the root
vegetable that has become synonymous with the name Peaper Brothers, the purple-top
turnip. The outcome of their hard work and innovative ideassuch as row cropping and the
use of root cellars was an increased demand for Peaper Brothers turnips. This success led to
further expansion in the form of a new cold storage system and warehouse packing facility.
After many fruitful years together, medical problems befell the partners in the form of
a heart ailment for Herb and a massive and debilitating stroke for Paul. Fred was unable to
solely continue the day-to-day operation of Peaper Brothers and Paul’s son, Paul, and his son-
in-law, Ron Kocher, stepped in to fill the void. The fourth generation partnership formed by
Paul and Ron allowed Peaper Brothers to continue to flourish. They incorporated Peaper
Brothers in 1987 and over the past 20 years have expanded their market beyond turnips to
produce crops to meet the ever-changing needs of the consumer such as a variety of peppers,
kale, and squash. The fifth generation has now joined Peaper Brothers by way of Ron's son,
Mike.

5941 W. 82nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46278
317-872-0101 piazzaproduce.com

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