Brunk's Parking Lot

Today, the corner of Main Street and Zinser Place is a parking lot. But throughout Washington’s long history, the corner has served different purposes for the town’s residents. In the old days, it was known as “Danforth’s Old Corner” and later “Hornish’s Corner.”

In 1844 Asa Danforth constructed the first building on the corner for his general store.  Called “The Big Store” by early Washingtonians, this dry goods store met the needs of the townspeople.

In 1848, the Prairie State Bank was started by Asa Danforth on the property in the rear.  The Prairie State Bank could print its own money, the only bank of the sort in Tazewell County at the time.  In 1857 there was a financial crisis, and the state bank notes were not accepted if there was no collateral to back them up.  In newspapers around the state, there were lists of banks that had been canceled, including the Prairie State Bank, which went out of business.

In 1858, Asa’s son Almon G. Danforth started the Danforth Bank at the same site, and it remained there until it moved to the south side of Main Street in the late 1800’s.

Also, around 1858-59, Martin Henry Hornish and later Cyrus William Hornish started running the dry goods store in the large building, which he did until about 1893, when the Andrews Brothers took it over.

The dry goods store eventually closed, and the aging building sat vacant for several years.

As early as 1903, there were calls for demolishing the building, but that did not occur until 1911.  A new smaller building was built on the south side of the lot, which is now part of what we know as Brunk’s.  The first business in that building in 1911 was Rhodes & Roberts Meat Market.

In 1912 the corner was purchased by a pair of Washington grease monkeys who had outgrown their old location.  From that purchase by R.H. Dingledine & W.A. Weeks came the Washington Garage, which was completed in 1913.

Dingledine & Weeks traded the garage in 1914 to the Corn Belt Land & Investment Company for land in Iowa. During this time, Charles Castle ran the garage. That didn’t last long, and the garage changed hands again, first to M.C. Martini and then to the Zimmerman brothers, who ran it for a few years.

Washington Garage as it looked in 1915

In 1917, H.E. Brickner took over the garage duties, and in 1919, Charles Zimmerman, one of the aforementioned Zimmerman brothers, took another turn.

Things settled in 1920 as it became Reed & Sons Garage, a moniker it would hold into the 1960s.  From 1970-2000, Washington Autobody was in business at 126 North Main St. until it was decided that the building was in too poor of a condition to remain standing, and city officials ordered it demolished.

126 North Main Street in 2022: