Author: Joe Engler

On the heels of the Roaring Twenties, the economy was in full gear and capitalism was at its finest. Cities were growing and businesses were booming. Enter the Strongcord Tire and Rubber Co who was incorporated in November 1919 specializing in making automobile tires and rubber goods. They company started off at fast and furious pace. Stocks were sold to help raise capital for the company. Almost immediately plans for a factory were announced and there was even an investor’s picnic. See the full page ad they placed in the May 7, 1920 Evansville Courier.

In Early 1920, a large tract of land at Columbia and Oak Hill was purchased, putting it close to the Southern RR and the Boonville traction line. Shown below is the proposed design for the Stroncord factory. Work started in June 1920, the foundation was done in July, with plans for it to be completed in Jan 1921.

But all the initial progress would soon fizzle out and investors got antsy. The factory building was still only partially erected, and there was no machinery of any kind on the premises. In July 1921, a lawsuit was filed against company claiming it had no funds to finance the venture. By late 1921, the court case went against Strongcord and the stocks became worthless. The defunct company went into receivership to try to recover some funds and was forced to sell the partially built factory in May 1922. It’s unclear if it was a scheme or the business model just didn’t pan out. Either way the building at 1701 E Columbia with “STRONGCORD” in the parapet represents a company that was a blip in Evansville’s history

In the 1940s, the site was purchased from the Mike Helfrich estate, one of the big losers in the Strongcord deal. The large parcel was divided and about 5.3 acres of the factory were sold to Goad family with the rest divided for lots for housing. Goad Equipment, who specialized in restaurant and store equipment and fixtures, enclosed part of the building that was still described as “unfinished”. They would operate here for several years with the old Strongcord property serving as its factory and warehouse.

In September 1989, Evansville Bolt & Nut, Inc, a new company that served as a wholesale distributor of threaded fasteners. took over the building. Now just known as EBN they still specialize in industrial supplies.

Next time you’re out near Oak Hill Cemetery, take a look to the right (south side). You’ll catch the short lived venture of the Strongcord Tire & Rubber Co, but its stamp on Evansville’s history still endures!

Sometime in the late 1870s, Philip C Helder built his large home on the edge of Rowleytown. Rowleytown was a small neighborhood northeast of downtown platted by an Evansville judge Nathan Rowley. Several of the roads have changed names as the area was eventually merged into the city limits. Helder was the one of the partners in Blemker, Tillman, & Co Excelsior Stove Works. The two-story brick home was located at 420 William St, what is now the corner of E Sycamore and Elliott St.

Around 1889, M C Brandon of Holt and Brandon Ice became the owner of the house, but by 1895 he
built new residence nearer downtown. The home passed through various owners for next several years, but the it was fairly well kept.

The Old Folks Home Association bought the house in 1921 and turned it into the Colored Old Folks Home. It was a home for “aged and needy colored people.” In 1924, a health clinic opened in the home to treat tuberculosis patients.

In 1929, the property came under the umbrella of what was later Welborn Hospital. Serving African American community, the Walker Annex was run by registered nurses with doctors from the hospital visiting as needed to perform surgeries. It was officially renamed the Welborn-Walker Annex in 1933 and then Welborn Annex in 1944 as the main hospital changed names.

The Welborn annex closed in 1953 in an effort to desegregate the hospital. The neighborhood was close in proximity to Baptistown and the home continued to cater to the African American population. It was the Bell’s Tourist Home (colored) in 1954 and continued as a hotel through at least 1962.

As the area became less residential and more industrial the property became run down. In the early 1980s, fixtures including chandeliers and mantels pilfered from property while it sat vacant. Efforts to save building began by Evansville NAACP for its historical significance to black community. The sketch below shows the plans to rehab the home for offices for Six Sons Construction Co.

Sadly before the plans could ever materialize the company backed out. The building, which was the last one on the block, caught fire overnight on April 7, 1984. It was badly damaged and torn down shortly afterward.

Old National–looking to the future–spurned the NeoClassical building it had built in 1916. Apparently a few decades is about their threshold for newness. In 1967 it began plans for a new bank next door on Main St. They had the old Lincoln Hotel and several other old buildings at the corner of 5th and Main demolished.

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With the site cleared, construction began in earnest in 1968. The Old National building was designed by architect and real estate developer Jack W. Kelley from Tulsa, OK. The 18-story skyscraper was the tallest building in Evansville, though it was officially eclipsed by the silos at Igleheart Bros mill on First Ave.

The bank would move into the new building once completed and the old building was planned to be demolished for enclosed parking. The final complex would take up an entire quarter block and was estimated at $5 million to build. Interesting side note: the tower did include a 13th floor, often skipped in other tall buildings because of the unlucky nature.

The structure took nearly two years to build, and we were lucky to obtain several construction photos from the Clements family. As a worker at Industrial Contractors, he captured a handful of images on July 11, 1968 for his employer. The gallery below shows the tower being erected when it was about three stories tall.

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The bank embodied a modernist architecture, but its unwelcoming lower levels had a flare toward brutalism. The monolithic structure failed to stimulate downtown business and in some ways portended the struggles of Main St in the late 90s. Old National Bank moved to its new riverfront building in 2004, and the 420 Building sat mostly vacant.

Tapped for redevelopment (shown above), the cost of renovations proved too costly. Ironically, the old 8-story bank was a more suitable size for Evansville. The new plans for redevelopment call for the pending demolition and several mixed-use buildings none higher than 6 stories.

You can say goodbye to the 420 building this Sunday with its implosion scheduled for 7am. The 5/3 Bank Building will then become the tallest building in town.

The Old Central High School had a gym in the older building, but the growing school needed more. With Reitz and Bosse having newer gymnasiums, Central wanted something that would showcase Bears athletics. As part of five-year building campaign, the school was promised a new facility.

Famous local architect Frank J. Schlotter was tasked to design the new gymnasium.
The style was English and Gothic architecture made of brick, concrete, and steel. The building covered a quarter city block at the southern corner of 6th St and Division St (later renamed Court St).  Eight huge steel trusses extended over the full width of the building allowing a clear view from any seat. They were supported by heavy steel columns built into the brick wall.
The fireproof gymnasium cost $150,000 and included maple flooring and the exterior had ornamental metal marquees.

The gymnasium seated 6800 and was the largest structure for athletic contests in the state. Because of its size, it virtually guaranteed Evansville a regional spot in the state tournament, putting Evansville basketball on the map. Plus, the three public entrances were double sets of outer and inner doors that allowed the building to be filled or emptied in minutes!

The ticketing office was located to the left of the main entrance on Vine St as was the ladies room and check room “for coats and wraps.” The men’s room was to the right. The original scoreboards were designed in school shops as ones on the market where either inefficient or too expensive.

The “ultra-modern” gymnasium was dedicated on December 10, 1927. IHSAA chairman A. L. Trester was the main speaker for “Dedication night,” and the ceremony was broadcast on WGBF radio. Afterwards, Central opened its 1927-28 basketball season with a game against Linton H.S. It is also worth noting “East and West Highs” (Bosse and Reitz) got permission to use the building for larger events.

The 1937 Flood reached several landmarks downtown including Old Central. They gym was partially flooded as shown below.
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Central stayed in the downtown area until the early 1970s. When the new Central High School was built on First Ave, the old school was vacated. The brick building, including the enormous tower, was demolished in 1973 leaving the gym as the only remaining structure from the downtown complex.

In 1979 the YMCA expanded from its original building and incorporated the gym into its facilities. It was also used regularly for ISUE (now USI) basketball games.

When the new YMCA officially opened the September of 2019, the old building which included the 1927 gym was vacated. With the newer facilities, there are more modern amenities but the YMCA has lost a lot of its historical context. We may be biased but the best part about the new YMCA is the excellent view of the old building from the second story workout room.

As for the future of the old gym, the YMCA doesn’t have any final plans for it at this time. We talked with Marketing and Annual Campaign director, Lisa Verkamp who confirmed they are using the old gym for some special events like the U of E Coaches Luncheon, the Futures Worth Fighting For Boxing Show, and the November Battle of the Paddle pickle ball tournament. Encouragingly, the YMCA is exploring all options including keeping it for programs, finding a partner organization to share it, or possibly selling the property. Lisa was cognizant of the historical importance of the building so even though the YMCA doesn’t have an answer to what they are going to with it, they are looking for a solution.

Old Central Gym http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=oldcentralgym

Old Central http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=oldcentral

I love it when we get a reader sending us an old photo especially with a challenge like this one.
A descendant of William H. Ferguson contacted me with this amazing photo of what could only be described as a mansion and claimed that it was of his house in Evansville. I didn’t recognize but dug in to the history books to see if it indeed was ours.

William Ferguson was a railroad contractor who traveled all over. In November 1889 he drew up plans for a new home on the prestigious Washington Ave. The palatial home was estimated at $25,000 and once completed would be “one of the finest homes in Southern Indiana.”

Unfortunately Ferguson was never able to live in the ornate home. He died in his hotel in Chicago while traveling for work on September 2, 1890. The home was under roof but still had work left to do. But once it was complete, wow! What a house!

His widow lived in the massive residence for some time. In late 1892 / early 1893 it was purchased by Colonel Jordan Giles, a broker who also had a large interest in coal mines around Sturgis, Ky. Giles entertained people there at least for a short while. On December 5, 1893 a massive fire broke out and destroyed the home.

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Initially it was thought that Giles perished in the fire, but that was not the case. The fire was likely caused by live coal on the floor or in a flue. Additionally a frozen water plug caused a delay in fighting the flames. The home was a total loss, but was insured for $12,000. The real loss however was the contents including all of his furnishings and a personal library valued at $10,000. Some law suites emerged trying to settle out the insurance claims so the ruins stood for years as you can see in this fire insurance map from 1895. Col. Giles would move to Kentucky and died later around 1900.

The footprint of the building shown above is an almost perfect match of the building in the old photograph. And so we can conclude that this mystery is solved. Such an amazing building that had a short run in the city’s history.

As a side note, right after the turn of the century, Henry Stockfleth built another grand home on this site at 273 Washington Ave. It stood for over 100 years before being demolished in 2010.
http://historicevansville.com/site.php?id=washington273

Vogel & Sons, located on Market St near what is now the Lloyd, was one of Evansville’s oldest bottling companies. It was originally founded in Henderson, Ky. as Vogel & Brown bottling works. The company relocated to Evansville in 1898 to a bottling factory on Second Ave just a few blocks away from the location shown below.

The company officially became J Vogel & Sons around 1905. In 1914 they purchased the old Chas. Wunderlich & Sons mineral water bottling facility and relocated to the building shown in the picture above.

1927 Vogel & Sons advertisement

The company prospered for several years. They expanded in 1953 to the corner of Ohio St where the RR spur that now connects Berry Plastics crosses.

Lloyd Expressway area pre-construction 1981.  Vogel’s campus is highlighted in the blue box.  Willard Library is shown in the bottom center for reference of location

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The company was sold in 1965 out of the Vogel family, claiming to be the oldest soft drink bottling company in Indiana. However, it closed soon after.

The buildings stood into the 1980s though it’s not certain if they were occupied. They were ultimately razed when the Lloyd Expressway construction began. You can see the Vogel campus in blue with Willard Library in the bottom center for reference.

The Vogel & Sons may no longer be part of Evansville’s beverage choices but the images above show the loads of collectibles you can still find in antique stores.

The old funeral home on 5th St is being razed, so let’s take a look back at its long history

Joseph Schaefer got into the undertaking business in the late 1870s. His operation was located at 11 Lower 5th St between Ingle St and what is now Court St, and he lived next door. After years of success, he expanded in the back around 1890. His son, Edward, joined his business closer to 1900 and the business officially became Schaefer & Son.

The business continued to grow, and around 1918 the old building was torn down and a new one was built on the same spot. The stone front structure spanned 3 lots and was addressed 11-15 Lower 5th (later 311-315 NW 5th). At some point the back was enlarged too.

Joseph died in 1929 and Edward became the president and ran the funeral home until his death in 1947. The business stayed in the family under the care of the daughter Mrs. Aurelia Heim.

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In 1971 the funeral home joined with another owner to become the Schaefer-Dorsey Funeral Home. It was severely remodeled with a new portico facing Court St. The neighboring buildings were razed around the same time.

The business fell on hard times and closed. The Small Business Association (SBA) acquired property but had trouble getting anything going.

c1980 the Evansville Housing Authority located here and had been at this location until recently. The EHA relocated, and the building is being razed for the new YMCA expansion.

The Vanderburgh County Historical Society Annual Meeting and luncheon will be at 12:45 PM on Saturday, November 4, 2017 in the GAR room of the Sailors and Soldiers’ Memorial Coliseum at 300 Court St, Evansville, IN 47708

Our featured speaker is Dr. James MacLeod whose program is titled “In Honor of Those Who Served”; American Memorials of the First World War . The First World War was one of the most significant events of the last 200 years, killing 18 million people and wounding a further 23 million. In many ways it shaped the modern world. It is marked by tens of thousands of memorials around the world, and some of the most dramatic of these are in the Midwest of the United States. In this illustrated lecture, Dr MacLeod will discuss the history of war memorialization and examine some of the most remarkable of America’s war memorials.

Dr James MacLeod, Professor of History, University of Evansville
Dr James MacLeod was educated at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, receiving an MA in 1988 and a PhD in 1993. Since 1994 he has been a member of the History Department at UE, where he teaches courses in European History and the two World Wars. Dr MacLeod is the author of Evansville in World War Two, which was published in 2015, and The Cartoons of Evansville’s Karl Kae Knecht, published in February 2017. In 2016 he wrote and co-produced a 2-part documentary on Evansville in World War II for WNIN entitled Evansville at War. In 2000, he published a book on 19^th-century British religion, The Second Disruption, and has also written over 20 other scholarly publications. He has won many awards for his teaching and scholarship, and was UE’s Outstanding Teacher in 2009. James is also an award-winning cartoonist and his editorial cartoons have appeared in the Evansville Courier and Press and the Henderson Gleaner, as well as many other outlets. He serves on the Boards of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society, the Southwestern Indiana Historical Society, and the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science.

The program is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited so  please tell us you are coming at info@vchshistory.org. The Bauerhaus luncheon detailed below costs $30 person and precedes Dr. MacLeod’s presentation.

VCHS Schedule for the Annual Dinner
12:30 to 12:45 — general meeting of the VCHS membership to elect Board members and officers
12:45 to 1:00 — Tom Lonnberg, Curator of History at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science and Joe Engler, site creator and webmaster of http://www.historicevansville.com/, will do a joint presentation on the background of the Coliseum and James Bethel Gresham. Gresham was a native of Evansville and is considered the first US soldier killed in WWI.
1:00 to 1:45 — Luncheon catered by Bauerhaus. Menu: country fried chicken, burgundy tenderloin beef tips, garlic smashed potatoes, country style green beans, tossed salad with dressing, dinner roll, and dessert (assortment of cheesecake), plus iced tea, coffee (regular and decaf), and lemonade.
The cost for the luncheon is $30 per person, payable by PayPal below or by sending a check for the cost of the lunch to VCHS, C/O Terry Hughes, 706 Sunset Avenue, Evansville, IN 47713.
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1:45  “Democracy’s Love Song” — — sung by Renee Rink (Hear her now for free; some day you will have to pay to hear her sing).
1:45 to 2:45 presentation by Dr. James MacLeod: “In Honor of Those Who Served”; American Memorials of the First World War
2:45 onward: Possible tour of the Coliseum conducted by Mark Acker.

Payment for the Luncheon at the Annual Meeting:
You may pay via the PayPal link below. The link should take you to a menu specific to the annual luncheon.

If you go to the PayPal sign in, sign in to your PayPal account and send money to info@vchshistory.org , $30 per person for lunch. Be sure to leave a comment about the VCHS Lunch and the number of persons.

If PayPal is too difficult, email thughes5109@gmail.com and and tell Terry how many reservations you would like. You can pay at the door on Saturday, November 4th.

Preservationist.  Visionary.  Madman.  Whatever you want to call Lucas Neuffer is fine with him, but the realtor with a passion for old houses now has a new project.  He finally procured the long vacant home of Henry E Cook (of the Cook’s Brewery fame) on Fulton Avenue.  He intends to return it to a single-family home, though surprisingly it was just a 2-bedroom house with a massive servants “wing” that could be repurposed to serve a larger family.  The two bedrooms by the way were likely a his and hers bedrooms that had dressing rooms, bathrooms, and closets connecting to them.

Built in 1899, the Cook mansion was on of three on the block. His was in the middle of the block.  His father, F W Cook, had the first house, built around 1877 on the corner of Iowa.  His brother’s (Charles Cook) was built one year prior in 1898 at the corner of Delaware.   That house was built of brick and had a turret.  By the early 1900s, Fulton Avenue was a home for business magnates, and this was one of the premier blocks in Evansville.

Fulton Avenue from Delaware.  View from about the front doors of Civic Theater looking south.  The three mansions really towered over nearby smaller homes.  Fulton School can be seen in the distance.

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Time was not kind to Fulton Avenue.  As it became a thoroughfare, residential buildings gave way to commercial and industrial ventures.  Many of these mansions were either turned into apartments, converted into another use (like the Lahr mansion became the club house of the Germania Maennerchor), or were simply demolished to make way for new buildings.

In recent years, there was an ordeal with trying to sell the house. It went to auction but the restoration never gained much momentum, and the home just deteriorated for nearly a decade. Several attempts to persuade the owners fell short, and many preservationists thought it was a lost cause. I asked Lucas what finally persuaded the sellers to relinquish the house. “Persistence” he said. “I kept bugging them until they said yes.” And sometimes that’s what it takes because in the end they wanted the same thing–to save the house.

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Follow Lucas at his Facebook page as he restores the mansion to its former grandeur. He has several photos posted there–better quality than my walkthrough tour–and keep an eye out for events/opportunities to help

https://www.facebook.com/cookmansionrestoration/