866 G Street

Address: 866 G Street

Legal Description: West ½ of Lot 78

Building:

1878 Adam Cox built and ran a new meat market on Court Street. The deed book shows that a mechanics lien was filed against him at Lot 78 W½. He must have been leasing the property from the State of Nebraska. John Cox and John Coffin ran a restaurant here.

1879 W. L. Bean purchased lot 78 from the State of Nebraska.

1880 David H. Conant purchased the West ½ of Lot 78 from W. L. Bean.

1882 David Conant was running a general store at this location.

1883 In July, V. A. Jones moved the old building occupied by the New York Store to make room for the building which Mr. Conant wanted to build.

1883 H. Conant was the proprietor of the New York Cash Store. D. H. Conant’s office was also located in the store, as he was an attorney and a real estate agent.

1883 W. S. Crawford ran a harness shop here through 1884.

1884 The New York Cash Store advertisement says, “North side of square, two doors east of Geneva Exchange Bank.”

1884 In April, D. & H. Conant plastered and fitted up their old store, which was to the rear of the new store. The Conants used it as a residence.

1884 In September, Mr. H. Conant and Mrs. and Mrs. D. H. Conant closed out their stock of goods and sold the building to J. L. Platt. They moved to California.

1884 In September, the building occupied by the Conant store was fitted up for the Platt stock of goods.

1884 Also in September, J. T. Platt sold his goods at an auction in the Conant building.

1885 Mrs. Brown had a millinery store here.

1886 In March, Mohrman moved to Geneva from Syracuse and opened here.

1887 In August, Mohrman moved to 974 G.

1887 Parker & Son opened a stock of groceries. In June, Parker & Son burned their first kiln of brick.

1888 In February, W. H. Parker & Son sold their stock of groceries to Keeler & Russell.

1888 In March, Keeler bought out the interest of his partner.

1892 The Sanborn Maps showed a grocery store here.

1893 In May, the Pioneer, Grocery and Queensware Store of Geneva, F. A. Keeler, proprietor.

1895 In February, F. A. Keeler closed out all goods outside of staples because of hard times.

1895 In June, F. A. Keeler place a “new fangled sign” in front of his place of business.

1895 In September, F. A. Keeler rented the room Newton Hitch left. The new store was at 974 G--one block east of the old stand.

1895 In October, F. A. Keeler moved to 974 G. “Look for my triangle sign in front of store one block east from the old stand.”

1896 Burleigh moved his stock of boots and shoes into the Platt building formerly occupied by F. A. Keeler.

1897 The Sanborn Maps showed a store selling boots and shoes.

1899 Frank Hranac bought the West ½ of Lot 78 from J. T. Platt.

1899 Frank Hranac, a harness maker, moved his business here from the Fillmore Hotel. It remained at this location through 1913.

1899 Burleigh Shoes remained in the building. Mr. Burleigh put his stock of boots and shoes on one side of the room while the Bohemian harness shop and hardware store occupied the other side..

1900 In July, J. S. Burleigh left with a carload of cattle for Cherry county. The family joined him to live there on a ranch. Mr. Burleigh’s brother, F. N. Burleigh of Friend, was to be manager of the shoe store for one year.

1901 In October, F. N. Burleigh was looking for a new location for his shoe store as the lease was to expire in a few weeks.

1901 In November, F. N. Burleigh moved the shoe store to 824 G in the Isabel Block formerly occupied by Mr. Reeve's "Right Place."

1901 In November, the Hranac Bros. were able to show their stock to much better advantage since the shoe store moved.

1902 In August, the Sanborn Maps showed a harness maker here.

1907 Hranac Bros. completed a new warehouse in the back of their shop.

1909 The Sanborn Maps showed a harness maker here with a warehouse close to the alley.

1912 According to the obituary of Edward Taborsky (died January 12, 1959), he and his family moved here from Dodge, Nebraska. Mr. Taborsky became a partner of Charles and Frank Hranac in the hardware business.

1913 Edward Taborsky purchased the interest of Frank Hranac in the harness shop of Hranac brothers.

1913 In January, Hranac & Taborsky made some big improvements in the interior of the store. They did tinning, plumbing, repaired and oiled harness and collars.

1914 John Hitch purchased the property from Frank Hranac, business unknown, and was located here through 1915.

1915 In April, the partnership between Charles Hranac and Edward Taborsky was dissolved by mutual consent. Mr. Taborsky bought the interest of his partner Mr. Hranac on account of ill health. The hardware and harness business was continued by E. Taborsky as the sole owner at the old stand.

1915 In May, E. Taborsky moved his hardware, harness and plumbing supply business to the building formerly occupied by Butler & Vawter in the east block at 954 G.

1916 In May, Harvey Hitch sold to W. G. Carson the structure known as the Hranac building. Mr. Carson tore it down and used the lumber to construct an outbuilding on his farm. It was the last frame building in the business section of Court street.

1918 John Harvey Hitch sold the West ½ of Lot 78 to Frank Bentley.

1922 The Sanborn Map showed this as an empty lot on the south and the warehouse close to the alley.

1923 Frank Bentley sold the West ½ of Lot 78 to Frank Hitch. Mr. Hitch broke ground for the erection of a new brick business block.

1923 Hitch & Swails moved here from 848 G Street.

1928 Frank Hitch sold his interest in Hitch and Swails to L. O. Swails. The business moved one door east (872 G) and was known as Swails Service Store.

1928 J. B. Byars Co. opened a chain store in Geneva. The manager was G. R. Lockard.

1929 J. C. Penney, Co. absorbed J. B. Byars Co. The personnel remained the same.

1932 The manager was Eugene McIlmoyle from Hemingford.

1933 The Sanborn Maps showed a store here. The warehouse was gone.

1935 The manager was Sterling Harris.

1954 The manager was Robert Walstrom from Valley City, ND.

1960 The manager was Phil Kline.

1965 The manager was Clyde Lambertz of Leavenworth, KS.

1969 The manager was Jim Baer of Pittsburgh, KS.

1974 The manager was Ron Hulke of New Ulm, MN.

1976 The manager was Dennis Bivens of Jamestown ND.

1978 The manager was Ken Clark.

1981 The manager was Elizabeth Schaub.

1984 The manager was Mamie Salmon.

1985 The J. C. Penney Company began closing their smaller stores and the Geneva store was one of those closed.

1986 Occupants unknown.

2019 Geneva TV & Appliance was owned and operated by Gary and Carol Reinsch.

This was ongoing as of last posting.