824 G Street

Address: 824 G Street

Legal Description: East ½ of Lot 74

Building: Luke / Isabel Building / Brayton/ Pierce

1872 Vacant lot.

1876 State of Nebraska sold Lot 74 to C. H. Bane.

1880 C. H. Bane and wife sold the East ½ of Lot 74 to Phelps Sturdevant.

1883 In September, the Misses Fisher moved to their new room two doors east of the post office in a small frame building on this lot.

1883 In December, Mrs. J. H. Luke purchased the millinery shop.

1883 Josiah Luke purchased the East ½ of Lot 74 from Phelps Sturdevant and wife.

1885 A new firm consisting of J. D. Hamilton, J. H. Luke, T. Wilkins and M. V. King entered the real estate business.

1886 Mrs. J. H. Luke sold her millinery shop to Ella Hafer and Fannie Smith.

1887 Josiah Luke erected a brick building on the East ½ of Lot 74. It was known as the Luke Block and later as the Isabel building.

1888 E. M. Billings had a restaurant here through 1889, although no documentation has been located to support this.

1890 E. M. Billings and G. F. Lods purchased the East ½ of Lot 74 from Josiah H. Luke and wife. Later G. F. Lods sold his share to Addie M. Billings.

1890 In March, J. H. (John Harvey) Hitch rented the Luke Block and opened a furniture business and sold exclusive flour, buggies and carts.

1891 In February, C. W. Von Doran purchased the Hitch stock of furniture.

1891 He enlarged the store to better show their furniture.

1891 In September, the firm of VonDorn & Co. was dissolved. Mr. VonDorn continued the business at the same location.

1892 In March, C. W. VonDorn moved to his old home in Iowa.

1892 In April, Lou Dittmar of Grafton moved to Geneva and ran a furniture and undertaking business.

1892 In October, the Sanborn Maps showed a furniture store here.

1893 E. M. Billings and wife sold the property to John A. Larkin.

1893 In August, Lou Dittmar sold his business in Geneva and he and his family traveled to Washington.

1893 In August, E. A. Atkins opened a new stock of furniture in the room formerly occupied by Louis Dittmar. Mr. Atkins received a new and complete undertaking outfit.

1893 In August, the two-story brick building that housed A. E. Atkins & Co., furniture dealer and undertaker were partially destroyed in a fire.

1893 In November, Frank Held, merchant tailor, had a shop in the basement of the Larkin block.

1894 In June, A. E. Atkins & Co. purchased a fine funeral car. It cost $800.

1894 In August, a fire that broke out at 848 G Street destroyed three buildings and the shell of the neighboring Fisher building. This building and the Fisher building were owned by Geneva National Bank and were unoccupied. Contracts had been let to begin repairing the two buildings.

1894 In November, A. E. Atkins & Co. moved their furniture stock to the Ward room, but still retained possession of this location.

1895 John A. Larkin sold the property to J. B. Sexton.

1895 In March, Walt Huston sold seed corn and potatoes at the old Luke building two doors east of Barnett’s hardware store.

1895 In August, Frank Held was in the basement under Cooksey’s drug store.

1895 In September, W. H. Cooksey, druggist, was located in the Luke Building, West End. He also sold paint, wallpaper and school supplies.

1896 In August, Frank Held moved his tailoring business to the basement under Cooksey’s Drug Store.

1896 In December, Walt Huston & Co. opened a grocery store in the west half of Cooksey’s drug store building. Mr. Cooksey continued his drug business on the east side of the room.

1896 A week later Walt Huston sold his interest in the new grocery store to his partner, W. H. Cooksey.

1897 J. B. Sexton sold the property to P. B. Brayton and wife.

1897 In May, W. H. Cooksey rented a room at Burress and moved his stock there. “Mr. Cooksey seems to think that the outlook for business is better there than here.”

1897 In May, the Sanborn Maps showed this to be a store.

1898 In August, the Hitch store added a stock of dry goods. Numerous changes were made in the Hitch store preparatory to putting in a stock of dry goods.

1898 In August, Frank Held returned from Des Moines to his old stand to do tailoring.

1899 In June, P. B. Brayton named his brick building “The Isabel” in honor of his wife Alice Isabel Brayton. A large sign on the front proclaimed this fact. Other improvements were made.

1899 In August, about fifteen young couples arranged a social dance Saturday evening in the Isabel Block. The party broke up at midnight and all reported a very pleasant time.

1899 In September, C. S. Trotter gave another dance on a Friday evening in the Isabel building. Town boys furnished the music.

1899 In September, G. D. Mathewson prepared to put in a general stock of goods in the Isabel building. The building was repaired and shelved and a new sidewalk put down in front of it.

1899 In October, the Isabel Department Store was here. They sold boots, shoes, groceries, and notions.

1900 In March, the stock of goods of the Isabel Department Store was traded to the Hazard Clothing Company of Hebron and was moved to that city.

1900 In March, P. B. Brayton gave the Isabel building, formerly occupied by G. D. Mathewson, a thorough overhauling. A stairway was built on the back accessing the second floor. The ground floor was lowered eighteen inches, making the entrance level with the sidewalk. The large glass front was moved out flush with the face of the building.

1900 In May, P. B. Brayton rented the Isabel building to H. L. Reeve & Son of Talmage, NE who planned to open a general store the next week. The store was managed by C. B. Reeve.

1900 “The Right Place,” a general merchandise store owned by H. L. Reeve & Sons, was located here.

1901 In April, H. L. Reeve purchased lot 75 which was just east of this location and erected a new one-story, double front building, and moved there.

1909 The Sanborn Maps showed this to be vacant.

1909 In November, Bank of Commerce opened for business here in new quarters in the Brayton building in the west block.

1910 In July, the Bank of Commerce consolidated with the Citizens State Bank at 906 G Street.

1910 In July, F. J. Thies of Holyoke, CO came and began a store handling tailored goods, gents furnishings, and a variety of other things.

1911 In January, F. J. Thies closed his variety store and moved it to Ohiowa.

1911 Josephine Brayton Butler inherited the East ½ of Lot 74, from the Brayton Estate.

1914 C. R. Shickley was granted a license to run a pool hall in the building on the east half of Lot 74.

1919 Clint Shickley had a pool and billiard hall here and sold it to Roland Winkler.

1920 In April, Geneva Odd Fellows Lodge purchased the Isabel building from Josephine Brayton Butler and moved their furnishings here from the third floor of the Geneva State Bank. The ground floor was used as commercial space, while the Odd Fellows occupied the second floor for their IOOF Lodge Hall. This deal wiped out the mortgage that had been standing against the third floor of the Odd Fellow temple ever since the erection of the first building by the I.O.O.F. and the K. of P. building association in conjunction with the bank.

1920 Calumet Café, R. F. Hanlin proprietor, moved his restaurant into his new location in the lower floor of the Odd Fellow building, replacing Winkler’s pool hall. Roland Winkler moved to Grand Island.

1922 R. F. Hanlin, who had conducted a restaurant for 15 years, sold to E. J. Delaney. P. J. Hafer purchased a one half interest in the café. The Hanlin family moved to Beatrice where Mr. Hanlin had purchased a restaurant.

1922 The Sanborn Maps showed this to be a restaurant.

1923 E. J. Delaney sold his interest in the Calumet Cafe to Mrs. Susie Bennett of York.

1924 In January, Mrs. Susie Bennett sold her interest in the Calumet Cafe to her partner P. J. Hafer.

1924 In November, P. J. Hafer sold the Calumet Café to William P. Hourigan Jr. of Omaha.

1926 In April, W. P. Hourigan, Jr. moved the Calumet Cafe fixtures and stock to Rising City where he planned to go into business. The room vacated by the Calumet Cafe was to be used by W. H. Menking as a display room for automobiles.

1926 In October, the Rebekahs used the room formerly occupied by the Calumet Cafe in the IOOF building for their chicken pie dinner and supper.

1927 The Brower Mattress Company was located in the Odd Fellows building.

1927 J. H. Eller & Co. leased the ground floor of the Odd Fellows building for five years. This building adjoined the Reeve building to the east.

1928 The Jones Market, B. C. Jones, owner, was located here until 1932.

1933 The Eller Co. opened a grocery store here. A door was cut between this building and the Reeve building on the east to allow customers to move from the grocery store to the Eller dry goods store located in the Reeve building.

1933 The Sanborn Maps showed a store here.

1940 Eller’s discontinued the grocery store.

1941 Bart Lepper operated Bart’s IGA Grocery here through 1942.

1942 This was vacant and used for displays of corn and sorghum for the Fall Festival in 1942.

1943 The Sanborn maps showed this to be a store.

1944 Cpl. Barb Lepper of Camp Pickett, Va., arrived home on an emergency furlough to remove his store fixtures from the building he occupied. The building was then used for storage by the Widick Transfer Co.

1948 Jacox Jewelry was located here. Earl Jacox had been the jeweler for the Elder Co. for many years before he opened his own store here in the front part of the ground floor of the Odd Fellow building.

1949 In February, Cartwright Radio Service was located below Jacox Jewelry.

1949 In August, the V. F. W. Hall was opened below the Jacox Jewelry.

1949 In October, Cartwright Radio Service moved to 878 G Street.

1953 Carlson Real Estate and Swanson Insurance Agency moved their offices from rooms over the Archer Barber Shop, to the ground floor of the Odd Fellow building that was recently vacated by Jacox Jewelry. Harry Carlson was the realtor and Wally Swanson ran the insurance agency.

1967 Wally Swanson built a new building at 125 South 10^th Street and moved his insurance office there. Harry Carlson moved his real estate agency to the basement of the Isabel building and closed out the office in 1973.

1974 Larsen Real Estate & Insurance, Herman Larsen owner and agent, opened his business here. He was also treasurer and local agent for the Fillmore Mutual Insurance Agency. The business continued until 1981 when Mr. Larsen was appointed Clerk Magistrate in the Fillmore County Court office.

1982 The State Farm Insurance Company opened an office here. The agent was Mark Hecox who remained until 1987.

1984 Attorney Richard Koehler, opened his law office here, sharing space with State Farm Insurance.

1984 While remodeling the IOOF Building, local contractor Daryl Strothkamp discovered the stained glass windows that had been covered by an awning. They were restored and repaired so they could remain part of the building.

1988 State Farm Insurance agency was taken over by Jeff Johnson. The office was moved to 1126 G Street.

1989 Richard (Dick) Schoenholz opened the Schoenholz Real Estate & Auction Service.

1990 Richard Koehler closed his law office and moved his practice to the Kansas City area.

2000 Contryman & Associates, CPA‘s maintained a branch of their office here.

2005 Tabitha Health Care moved from 854 G Street to office space here. In 2006 they closed the Geneva office.

2009 Jim Steider Agency was located here.

2012 Dick Schoenholz retired and sold his business to Lisa Stofer. She changed the name of the business to Copper Key Real Estate & Auction. Lisa built the East Side Event Center at 711 Metal Tech Drive, where their auctions were held. She maintained her office here until 2020.

2018 Jim Steider sold his insurance agency to the Jones Group. He continued selling insurance for them at this location.

2020 Joe Miller joined the Jones Group.

This was ongoing as of the last posting.