Cass County, Indiana - Chapter 30: Logansport's Present Business Firms, 1913

It may seem unnecessary and even foolish, in an historical work to write about present business conditions of our city, as some say that everybody knows that, but the ** Rubbish of today becomes the priceless jewels of tomorrow.'' Trivial, passing events, may be of no consequence or of interest to us at this time, but twenty-five years hence we may read with pleasure and possibly profit, many common, passing events that are chronicled in our daily papers and we think them too trivial to preserve until it is too late. Even if we of today do not take interest in current events, our children and future generations will, and they will appreciate a write-up of Logansport's present business interests as we of today read with pleasure about trials and difficulties of the pioneer eighty-five years ago that were common-place events to them. It is said that history repeats itself. In early days our merchants carried all kinds of goods, but later business began to specialize, and we have stores carrying but one line of goods. Today we find there is a tendency to revert to the old method of handling many and diverse articles and we have the great department stores, where you can purchase almost any article needed in the household, under the same roof.

Wiler & Wise, in a large four-story brick building at 412-14 Broadway, and Seybold Bros, in a similar building at 319-21 Market street, operate such department stores, where you can purchase silks for the parlor, books for the library, tinware for the kitchen, soothing syrup for the baby, curry combs for the stable; and these stores, with their 16-foot ceilings, large plate glass fronts, with elevators to carry goods and patrons to the different departments, compare favorably witji similar stores in our metropolitan cities and is certainly a great change from the log store room of Cyrus Taber and Dr. H. Todd, Logansport's first merchants in 1828.

Other large dry -goods stores are as follows: John M. Waters, at No. 323-25 Fourth street; Schmitt-Kloepfer Co., 329-31 Market street; Stewart Dry Goods Co., 313-15 Fourth street ; M. R. Frazee, 418 Broadway. In addition to these large dry goods firms a number of smaller stores may be found in the east end, west, north and south sides to accommodate the local trade in these sections. Rothchilds Bros, operate a large clothing store at 320-22 Market street; Wm. Grace & Co., clothing, at 316 Market street ; Helvie & Sellers, clothing, at 424 Broadway; Eli Greensfielder, clothing, at 315 Market street; Otto Kraus, clothing and shoes, at 409-11 Broadway; The A. Grube Co., Ready-towear store, at 425-27 Broadway; Dewenter & Co., men's furnishing goods, at 303 Fourth street; Murdock & Wise, men's furnishing goods, at 404 Broadway; J. W. Rogers, men's and ladies' ready-to-wear garments and shoes, No. 500-2 Broadway.

In the grocery line may be found: J. H. Foley & Co., at 426-28 Broadway, carrying a very extensive stock; Clancy Bros., 510 Broadway ; Frank Hall, 608 Broadway ; Boerger Bros., 415 Broadway ; E. L. Ray, 402 Market; Stuart & Bury, 309 Market; Chas. Castle, Sixth and North; McCaffrey Bros., Sixth and Broadway and 410 Market streets. All carry an equally good stock of standard groceries with about sixty other groceries operating in every part of the city to accommodate the local trade.

Hardware stores are conducted by I. N. Crawford, 430 Broadway; Flanegin Hardware Co., 310 Market street; Rice Hardware Co., 415 Market Street ; S. W. Ulery & Son, 323 Market street, besides numerous other firms handling special lines of hardware.

Harry Tritt, 431 Broadway; Homer Closson, 506 Broadway; Red Cross Pharmacy, 408 Broadway; Lee Turman, 528 Broadway; W. H. Porter, 330 Market street; Geo. Hoffman, 321 Fourth street; Busjahn & Schneider, 308 Fourth street. In addition to these there are six other drug stores in the outskirts of the city for local accommodations.

Within the past ten yeaxs automobiles have come into general use and we have several dealers with large garages to accommodate the rapidly increasing traflSc, to wit:

Arthur E. Dunn, garage, 617-23 Broadway ; Pope, garage, 126 Sixth street; Ireland & Metzger, garage, 107-15 Sixth street; Fisher Oarage, Market and Sixth streets. Garages are also operated at 116 and 124 Sixth street, and on Sycamore str^et.

The Arnold Motor Co. occupy a double room at 211-13 Sixth street; Walter Lewis, 523 Broadway ; and numerous other houses handle bicycles and motor goods.

J. M. Elliott, west side of Third street on Eel river ; Daniel Gillispie, 209-13 Market street; John Jackson, 112-14 Sixth street; W. Kendall

& Co., 420 Fourth street; O'Donnell Bros., 419-23 Third street; Murdock Feed Barns, 517-21 North street; Dykeman Feed Barns, 217-21 Broadway, with several smaller establishments in different localities.

Chas. F. Ranch, 420 Broadway, is the oldest shoe dealer in the city, being successor to Walker & T. S. Mitchell, who opened a shoe store in this same room nearly sixty years ago. There are ten other shoe stores in the city.

In point of service, B. Z. Lewis is the oldest jeweler now engaged in the business. He is located at 523 Broadway; J. D. Taylor is located at 304 Fourth street; Ben Martin, 310 Fourth street; and Hal B. Smith & Co., at 416 Broadway, with four others not here enumerated.

This company had its beginning in 1865, when Shroyer & Hicks bought out W. H. Murphy. In 1866-7, D. C. Elliott became a member of the firm and in 1871 A. L. Pogue bought out Hicks and the firm was known as Elliott, Pogue & Shroyer. In 1875 J. T. Elliott bought out Pogue and the title of the firm was Elliott, Shroyer & Co. At the death of D. C. Elliott in 1889, A. R. Shroyer sold put to Mrs. D. C. Elliott and the following year she purchased J. T. Elliott's interest and the latter bought the wholesale business of John Lux at 310-14 Broadway, but a year later the two firms were consolidated and run under the name of J. T. Elliott Co., which operated until 1908, when the firm was reorganized under the present name of J. T. Elliott Grocery Co., with J. T. Elliott as president and manager. The company is incorporated with $100,000 paid up capital and is doing a prosperous business, second to none in northern Indiana. The firm is located at 310-12-14 Broadway.

Byer Bros. & Co. operate a large wholesale establishment, comer of Elm and Canal streets and ship butter, eggs and poultry to the eastern markets.

G. Carusa in 1910 erected a large brick building on the comer of Fifth and Railroad streets and has an extensive wholesale trade in fruits and vegetables and D. A. Elder carries on a similar business at 514 North street.

Bishop Elevator Co. operate a large grain elevator located on North Sixth street and Vandalia railroad ; Dennis Uhl & Co. 's mill and elevator at the mouth of Eel river on the west side; Chas. L. Richardson buys grain at the old Israel Johnson warehouse on the east side of Fifth street, south of High and C. W. McCormick runs an elevator at the south end of the Eighteenth street bridge. Joseph Taylor & Sons, the oldest wholesale leather, harness, saddlery and hardware supply house in this section of the state, are patronized by all northern Indiana and adjoining states. They occupy a large three-story building at 521-2-^ Market street and extending south to Erie avenue. There are two large 5 & 10 cent stores operated by Woolworth & Co., 422 Broadway and Jacob Reed, 317 Afarket street.

Other business houses are: C. W. Graves, books, stationery and music, 417 Broadway; E. Neflf & Co., books, stationery and music, 410 Broadway; John Alber, queensware, 414 Market street; Isaac Oppenheimer, china, toys and millinery, 307 Fourth street; F. Kinney, fish, poultry and meat market, Sixth and North; Young & Custer, dealers in buggies and harness, 318 Market street. Only a few of the principal business houses are enumerated here, in order to mark or locate prominent business blocks for future reference. There are, however, hundreds of other business firms, many of which are equally meritorious, but for obvious reasons impossible ol individual enumeration.

We might say, however, that every possible and useful business or industry is represented in Logansport and some that are not very useful or desirable. We have a hospital and two sanitariums, where people may be brought into the world and with our Home for the Friendless, Orphanage and Asylum, they can be humanely and kindly cared for and finally painlessly piloted over the dark river by the forty **-^sculapians*' that reside in our city. During their sojourn in our fair city, they can take their meals at our thirteen restaurants, put up at any one of our hotels of which the **Barnett," northeast comer of Second and Market, the **Murdock'' at 417-19 Broadway, are as fine hostleries as any in the state and the **Dunn'' and Johnson hotels are close seconds. Our citizens can purchase fuel of fourteen coal dealers; confections from any of the 15 candy stores; supply their tables from 64 groceries; secure their meats from 25 butcher shops. They can be supplied with evening suits at 16 tailor shops and female head-gear from any of our 10 millinery parlors; have their photos taken at four picture galleries ; purchase a home of our 27 real estate agents ; acknowledge the deed before 73 notaries and have the deed examined by any one of our 40 lawyers. They can get a plan of their house sketched by our three architects; the house constructed by scores of contractors and builders; the plumbing let to any one of our nine shops and *' Billy Greenwood'' or *'Geo. Turner" will clean up the premises ready for occupancy.

They can spend the evening at the Nelson Theatre, adjoining the Bamett hotel or at the Broadway Theatre, corner of Third street, which have some high class entertainments or attend our four moving picture shows, which are open afternoon and evening. On the way home they can get a cigar at 15 cigar stores and take a *'nip" at any one of the 63 saloons and finally on Sunday they can get forgiveness at any one of our 22 churches and if all this causes them to wail and gnash their teeth they can wind up at any of our 15 dentists and have their fangs extracted; stop at any one of our 40 barber shops and get a shave and be taken in ease and comfort to their home in an automobile from any one of our 6 garages.

Aldine flats, 218-20 Broadway; Barnes flats, 516-18 Market street; Beaumont flats, southwest corner of Second and Market streets; Bell block, 313-15 Pearl street; Ben Hur hall, third floor, northeast corner Fourth and Broadway; City oflSces, northwest corner Third and Broadway ; City National Bank building, southwest corner Fourth and Broad- way ; Crawford block, northwest corner Fifth and Broadway ; Douglass block, northeast comer Fifth and Broadway ; D. D. Pratt building, 206 Fourth Street; Eagles' hall, 209-11 Sixth street; Elks' hall, northwest corner Fifth and North streets; Elliott block, southwest corner Pearl and Broadway ; Ferguson building, 320-22 Market street ; G. A. R. hall, 3241/2-3261/^ Market street; Haney block. Pearl street and 409-11 Broadway; High School building, northwest comer Seventh and Broadway; I. 0. 0. F. hall, southeast corner Fifth and North; Red Men's hall, 310^/^-314^^ Broadway; Keystone block, northwest corner Sixth and Broadway; Knights of Columbus club room, 607 Market street; Kreuzberger hall, southwest comer Third and Market streets; K. of P. Castle hall, southeast comer Fifth and Market streets; Magee block, 317-25 Fourth street; Masonic Temple, northeast corner Fourth and North; McCaflPrey block, northeast corner Sixth and Broadway; Opera House block, southwest corner Third and Broadway; PostoflSce, Market and Sixth; Public Library, 616 Broadway; Reporter building, 525-27 Broadway; St. Bridget's hall, southeast corner Linden and Wilkinson; St. Jacob's hall, northwest corner Sixth and Market; St. Joseph's hall, northwest corner Second and Market; St. Vincent hall, southeast corner Eighth and Spencer; Smith block, 310-14 Broadway; Stettlnger building and hall, 509-15 Broadway; Winfield block, northeast comer Fourth and Broadway; Bee Hive building, 412-14 Broadway; Nelson Theatre, 212-14 Market.