The name Welshire is special to our founder Brent Welch since he grew up on Welshire Drive in La Crescent, MN, a town of 5,000 people nestled in the bluffs along the Mississippi River. La Crescent is the apple capital of Minnesota. The name Welshire was given to Brent’s father, Jack Welch by Brent’s grandmother, Tessie Welch. Tessie was a 4th grade teacher in La Crescent for 30 years.

She and her husband Ralph owned and operated an apple orchard and fruit farm during the Korean conflict. Their son, Jack was a paratrooper in the 105th airborne. After returning from the war, Jack had found that all of his parent’s apple trees had died on their farm! Of course, they were devastated and wondered what to do next. They prayed to God and discovered that the problem led them to an opportunity.

Ralph asked Jack what they should do and Jack replied, “La Crescent needs a housing development”. So Ralph decided to turn his farm into a housing development. Ralph’s wife Tessie suggested Welshire as the name for the new development. Welshire is a derivative of two words, “Wel” from their last name Welch and “shire” which is an old-English word meaning addition. So the Welch addition a/k/a Welshire was born. The street named Welshire was chosen by Jack, Ralph and Tessie Welch as a memorial of their family farm.

Founded in 1984, Welshire’s mission is to help clients achieve their goals through current financial strategies and a plan customized for them.