Donald Smelz

Donald Smelz was born in 1926 to Carroll and Mary (Spence) Smelz.  In 1945, he married Mauna Graff in Peoria.  That is just the beginning for Washington.

In 1948, Smelz relocated his family and lumber business to Washington from Hopedale, Illinois, constructing his new shop on the old Homer Waughop sales pavilion property at what is now 902 Walnut, the current home of RP Lumber.

In 1954, Smelz became one of the main cogs in the most significant residential development announcement in city history.  Partnered initially with George Willhardt and Ted Waldeck, Smelz announced that a new 100-acre, 400-lot development called Devonshire Estates would commence.  Over time, the venture would be constructed and sold under Smelz's company, Countryside Developers.

Smelz built the Neptune Swim Club as an early feature of Devonshire Estates and battled with city officials regularly in his attempts to secure a liquor license for after-hour functions at the pool.  The inability to get a liquor license was one of the key reasons the pool was eventually sold to the Washington Park District in 1972.  Devonshire has continued to grow and, after 70 years, still isn't finished.  In total, almost 1,000 lots will comprise a completed Devonshire Estates.

In the 1970s, Smelz took on a new challenge.  Purchasing the entire south side of the square, Smelz looked to improve its appearance. 

He started in 1976 with a significant improvement of the western section, which was historically a cement block with little personality.  In 1976, this building held the South Side Barber Shop, dentist Dr. Howard Mueri the dentist, and Il Primo Pizza, which had just replaced Knit N Stitch.  In 1979 Smelz moved to the eastern building, which then held his Circle Four Realty (but had been a meat market under numerous names from 1882-1973) and the South Side Pub.

Don and Mauna continued Circle Four Realty into the mid-1990s. We lost Don on August 28, 2005, and he is buried in Glendale Cemetery.

Washington can be forever grateful for Don Smelz's vision and forethought in the Devonshire Estates subdivision, which changed Washington. We still enjoy his beautification efforts on the south side of the square today.