McGowan & Son’s National Soft Water Service, which later became McGowan Water Conditioning was started by Lyle “Mac” McGowan in 1955. Mac had worked for Mankato Culligan until he decided to live the American dream and start his own company.

In 1963 Mac passed away at a young age and left McGowan & Son’s National Soft Water Service to his wife, Betty, who put her oldest son, Jack, in the lead. Jack ran the business for his mother until 1968 when she decided to sell to businessmen from the Mankato area, Bellig and Schramski.

Jack moved his family to Missoula, MT and since water treatment was his trade, he started another McGowan Water Conditioning that still operates there today. A short time later, Jack sold the Missoula location and moved back to the Mankato area in the fall of 1969. Within those 400 days, the Mankato business had suffered and lost a lot of their accounts. Since water treatment wasn’t Bellig and Schramski’s trade and the business was in a tailspin, they sold it back to Jack.

Since buying his family business back in 1969, Jack was sole owner until his youngest son Michael decided to buy him out in 2006. Mike plans to continue the family tradition of McGowan Water into the foreseeable future, providing southern Minnesota with clean water for healthy living.