The words ‘company town’ bring to mind mean-spirited, penny-pinching bosses bereft of benevolence. Therefore, it’s unfair to use that term to describe Kohler, Wisconsin, despite the fact this is clearly a town that the Kohler family built and still runs, though with a velvet glove instead of an iron fist.

Kohler is now a diversified, multi-national business. Yet many still associate the firm with its white porcelain sinks, toilets and urinals that used to be emblazoned with branding that read, simply, Kohler of Kohler.

Indeed, Kohler—the town just west of Sheboygan—is home not only to the company’s sprawling factories but to streets lined with homes built for workers and, most notably, for a former dormitory. Constructed in 1918 to house newly-arrived immigrants, The American Club is now a five-star resort and the crown jewel of the company’s Hospitality Group.

Since 1981, the red brick building has been a place at which guests are surrounded not only by the family history, but also by some of their most amazing wares—from showers for which the temperature and sprays are digitally controlled to a toilet that helps prevent men from committing the cardinal sin of leaving up the toilet seat.

Such modern marvels of plumbing come from a company that began making farm implements in the 1870s. The transition to bathroom necessities began in 1883, when founder John Michael Kohler sprinkled some enamel onto a cast-iron hog trough and added legs, thereby creating his first bathtub. It was an instant success.

Today, the Hospitality Group operates the American Club plus two other neighboring hotels: the Carriage House and the Inn on Woodlake. A world-class spa, a collection of restaurants and shops and two golf courses—one of them in a striking setting on the shores of Lake Michigan—round out the Group’s holdings in Wisconsin. (The company also owns and operates the Old Course Golf Resort & Spa in St. Andrews, Scotland.)

While the latest plumbing creations are evident throughout the expansive properties, the largest concentration of them is at the Kohler Waters Spa, situated beneath the Carriage House.

“Kohler Company has been in the water business for more than 135 years, so it’s very natural…for the focus to be about water and hydrotherapy and the therapeutic benefits of water,” notes Linda Machtig, the spa’s marketing manager.

The centerpiece is a large soaking pool with a soothing waterfall. The surrounding treatment rooms feature custom Vichy showers that allow therapists to preprogram temperature and water flow so that hands never leave a client’s body. There are also oversized tubs featuring built-in, stress-relieving light and sound systems.

For guests in one very special room at The American Club, many of Kohler’s finest hydrotherapy products can be experienced without ever leaving the inner sanctum.

With rates starting at $1,000 a night, the Eau de Vie (Water of Life) Suite is by no means cheap, but luxury comes with a price. A centerpiece of the spacious, open-plan suite is an eight-foot-long tub that fills from a faucet in the ceiling. Adjacent, a high-tech shower provides what designers describe as a “choreographed showering experience.”

“That’s a beautiful showcase of Kohler products,” spokesman Todd Weber says of the suite.

Soon, it will be equipped with what’s probably the company’s most talked-about invention in recent years: the Numi toilet, a squat, box-like wonder.

“Think of a smart phone. This is a smart toilet,” Weber points out. “As you approach it, the cover will raise. If you’re a gentleman and you wave your foot to the side…it will raise the seat. If you do that again, the seat will go down.”

The toilet’s also equipped with a foot warmer and a nightlight. But it’s the seat-lowering feature that women in particular will appreciate.

“It’s a peacekeeper,” he says with a chuckle.

Weber also points to the Immersion Suites at the Carriage House as another setting for in-room spa experiences. With whirlpools and digital thermostat showers with water tiles, the suites are—according to the spokesman—“where people can celebrate and relax in a water treatment.”

Despite all its modern features, the American Club retains its original, inviting exterior. Walter Kohler, Sr.—the son of the company founder, himself an immigrant from Austria—wanted his workers to feel welcome in their new homeland. A fervent nationalist, Kohler also wanted them to appreciate America’s many blessings.

U.S. flags were proudly displayed through the building. In the dining hall—now the upscale Wisconsin Room restaurant—two giant Old Glory banners adorned the walls. At mealtimes, a gramophone piped out rousing, patriotic marches.

“The tables fairly groan under the loads of wholesome food, and the men can eat as much as they wish,” a reporter wrote shortly after the dormitory opened. “There is only one rule in the dining room; that is to clean the plate. The manager wants nothing wasted.”

Walter Kohler, Sr. strongly encouraged his employees to learn English and become citizens.

“In Sheboygan, there was a day called Americanization Day,” noted Shirley Seefeldt, a tour guide at the Kohler Design Center, a combination museum and showroom. “Any employee that was ready and wanted to become a citizen, our company transported them into Sheboygan, fed them and gave them a day’s wages.”

Speaking at the American Club’s dedication in June of 1918, Walter Kohler, Sr. explained that he wanted to instill in his foreign-born employees “a love for their adopted country.” As a result of his influence, hundreds of employees were naturalized in the years that followed.

Related Stories
Anderson Takes Reins at Kohler
Trump Intends to Buy Doral Resort & Spa
Disney World Turns Golf Courses Over to Arnold Palmer Group