August Ferdinand Krumrei, a Muskogee contractor whose extensive patronage is at once proof of his skill and of his ability, was born in Germany, October 17, 1862, and acquired his education in the schools of his native land. He there remained to the age of twenty years, when in September, 1882, he bade adieu to friends and family and crossed the Atlantic to the new world, making his way first to Ann Arbor, Michigan. He had previously acquainted himself with the trade of masonry and carpentering and he became identified with building construction in that city, working for others for a period of ten years and then starting out independently as a contractor in 1892. He left Michigan, however, four years before that time, going to Albany, Oregon, in 1888. There he established business and remained for thirteen years, or until. 1901. At that time he returned to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he continued to reside until October, 1906, when he began contracting in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
In 1913 he incorporated his business under the name of the A. F. Krumrei Construction Company, of which he is the President. Even a partial recital of the buildings which he has constructed serves to show the prominent position which he occupies among the contractors of the city. He erected the Bass building, the LaRue Hotel, the Albany building, the Zufall building, the St. Clair building, school buildings at Webbers Falls, Morris and Vian, Oklahoma, and several consolidated schools in McIntosh County. He has likewise erected large apartment houses in Tulsa and Muskogee and there stand at various points throughout the state large and substantial structures which he has erected. He has enjoyed a very extensive patronage in eastern Oklahoma and he has been the builder of many Indian schools and dormitories. He thoroughly understands every phase of the building trade and the great scientific principles which underlie his work and the results which he has accomplished have been highly satisfactory to his patrons and have constituted a most gratifying source of prosperity for himself.
On the 7th of October, 1886, Mr. Krumrei was married to Miss Augusta Bulow, a native of Germany, and they have become the parents of four children: Lula E., Walter E., Edward A. and Charles L. When leisure permits Mr. Krumrei greatly enjoys a fishing or hunting trip. Fraternally he is a Mason who has taken the degrees of the York Rite, including those of the Knights Templar commandery, and he is likewise a member of the Mystic Shrine. Coming to the new world in young manhood, he has never had occasion to regret his determination to try his fortune in America. On the contrary, he has found here the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress He has found that in this country industry and enterprise bring their rewards unhampered by caste or class, and steadily working his way upward, he has become recognized as one of the prominent contractors of Muskogee and is also numbered among its valued and representative citizens.