890 G Street

Address: 890 G Street

Legal Description: West Side of Lot 80

Building: Bigelow/Fraternity Temple/Geneva State Bank

1872 Vacant lot.

1878 James H. Bigelow purchased Lot 80 from the State of Nebraska.

1880 A large frame building was located here and occupied by the Geneva National/First National Bank and some other businesses.

1883 C. J. Hall operated The City Bakery and a restaurant here from January until April.

1883 In July, Charles Heath of Effingham, Illinois opened a harness manufacturing and repair business here.

1883 In November, Charles Heath purchased the Bigelow property west of the courthouse square and moved there--128 So. 8th.

1884 In January, Mrs. Brown opened a large stock of millinery and ladies furnishings in the building two doors east of Mozee Bros. store

1884 In February, Mr. Bigelow laid a new walk in front of his property next to the Review office..

1884 In March, Mrs. Brown moved her millinery store to 872 G.

1884 In March, R. M. Day and M. V. King sold real estate and made loans to farmers.

1884 In June, Mrs. Brown moved her millinery back to this location.

1884 In December, Marcus and Ben Alexander rented the Bigelow building two doors east of the Review office and opened with a fresh stock of meat.

1885 G. W. Smith, J. Fisher, and W. V. Fifield purchased all of Lot 80 from J. H. Bigelow and wife.

1891 Work commenced on the brick block building being built for the First National Bank, Odd Fellow and Knights of Pythias. It was built at a cost of $26,000.00. The material was St. Louis pressed brick and Wisconsin red limestone. The new opera house in the Fraternity Temple was opened with a home talent production of “Kathleen Mavourneen.”

1891 David Griffiths purchased the south 100’ of the West ½ of Lot 80 from the First National Bank of Geneva.

1892 In February, J. M. Burke, dealing in hardware and harnesses, occupied the L-shaped room which was 100’ long x 24’ wide on the west side running north and east.

1892 In April, a freight elevator was built into the building for the accommodation of Mr. Burke.

1892 In October, the Sanborn Maps showed a hardware store on the main floor, offices on the second floor, and a hall on the third floor.

1893 Creditors closed the hardware store of J. M. Burke.

1893 In July, a deputy U. S. marshal climbed over the transom and took possession of the Burke hardware stock.

1894 In February, J. M. Fillebrown & Co. Hardware--J. M. Fillebrown and C. A. Smith-- bought the Burke hardware stock.

1894 In July, F. B. Donisthorpe, R. J. Sloan, J. D. Carson, and C. E. Summers were summoned to Omaha to appear before Judge Dundy and fined for contempt of court. The men had taken possession of the Burke hardware the previous fall while it was in possession of the United States marshal. They were each fined $1.00 and costs.

1894 In November, the partnership of J. M. Fillebrown & Co. was dissolved. The business was to be continued under the firm name H. L. Smith & Co.

1895 Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Burke moved to Des Moines, Iowa.

1895 In September, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Fillebrown left Geneva with a team and wagon headed for Oklahoma where they had a claim.

1895 In November, H. L. Smith & Co. sold their hardware stock to Mr. Benton Canon of Grand Junction, Colorado. Once the inventory of the stock was completed, it was moved to Grand Junction.

1896 In March, C. M. Barnett moved his stock of hardware into the old J. M. Burke stand in the Fraternity Temple building at 890 G Street. It was one of the two largest and most conveniently located rooms in the city and was especially desirable from every point of view. Only the hardware stock was moved to the new room, the implement stock was still at the old stand at 806 G.

1897 In March, the Sanborn Maps showed a hardware store and a tin shop on the main floor, offices on the second floor and a hall on the third floor.

1901 In October, C. M. Barnett traded his hardware store to C. S. Meredith of Lincoln in exchange for land near Waverly.

Note: In 1905, Capt. C. M. Barnett traded all his property in Geneva and Grafton to Dr. Greene M. Smith of Beatrice for a stock of hardware and the building in Beatrice.

1902 The Sanborn Maps showed a hardware store and a tin shop on the main floor, offices on the second floor and a hall on the third floor.

1903 In August, C. S. Meredith traded his hardware stock to E. D. Lee of Carlton in exchange for a farm near Bruning.

1903 In October, C. S. Meredith was again in possession of the hardware store. Mr. Lee traded the stock for a Lincoln residence and Mr. Meredith secured the stock from the man who owned the residence. They operated as C. S. Meredith & Son.

1904 In February, C. S. Meredith & Son traded their hardware stock to H. M. Sutfin in exchange for the hotel at Tobias, which was managed by M. C. Eberstein.

1904 In March, H. M. Sutfin traded the hardware stock to C. A. Nevins of Burchard.

1904 In May, the remainder of the old Barnett hardware stock was closed out at auction. C. A. Nevins returned to Burchard.

1904 In September, Charley Hyde and Elmer Waite rented the south room formerly occupied by Meredith’s hardware. A partition was built in the center. The Hyde & Co. news stand occupied the east side. Waite’s barbershop occupied the west side. Behind them, the full width of the building was used for the Geneva Suitatorium. Hyde moved here from 130 No. 9th. Mr. Jessie was the manager.

1904 On October 25, a fire broke out in the Benson & Hensley Café located in a frame building to the west of the Fraternity Temple in the early morning hours. The fire was so intense that it broke out the café windows and those in the Fraternity Temple building to the east. The café and Fraternity Temple building were destroyed.

1904 Hyde & Co. relocated in what was the location of the Suitorium opposite the post office. The new location of the Suitorium was E. R. Waite’s barber shop in the Camp building at 8th and G.

1905 Charles Heagney received the contract to build a new building on this site. The Geneva State Bank/Heagney was built. Work on the bank building had been completed up to the top of the second floor. In September, it was decided to make a three-story building instead of a two-story one. The third story would be used by the I. O. O. F. Lodge. Some work had to be torn out and rebuilt so that the architectural beauty of the building might not be marred. The Geneva State Bank owned the first floor and basement. Heagney retained ownership of the second floor offices.

1906 The Stiefer Ice Cream Parlor owned by Peter J. Stiefer opened in the Heagney Building, first door west of Geneva State Bank located in the same building. It was the first Ice Cream and Candy Kitchen in Geneva.

1909 The Sanborn Maps showed a confectionery here.

1917 The Stiefer Ice Cream Parlor was purchased by F. W. Carlson. The name was changed to The Carlson Café.

1921 In June, F. W. Carlson, proprietor of The Carlson Café, sold the business to J .C. Bradley and B. A. Tice. They changed the name to The Meridian Café.

1922 In March, the Meridian Café was purchased by W. P. Hourigan and Bert Lynn.

1922 In May, the Sanborn Maps showed a restaurant here.

1922 In June, Fred Langseth purchased the interest of Bert Lynn. Mr. Hourigan retained his interest.

1924 W. P. Hourigan sold his interest in the Meridian Café to Fred Langseth.

1927 J. L. Sornson of Sutton bought the Central Cafe in the east block and a ½ interest along with Fred Langseth in the Meridian Cafe. The Central Cafe was closed that weekend and a consolidated cafe was opened the following Monday at the Meridian Cafe.

1929 In February, Sornson sold his interest in the Meridian Cafe to Fred Langseth.

1929 In December, Glen Shively purchased the Meridian Cafe from Fred Langseth.

1931 In January, Glen Shively sold The Meridian Cafe to Lloyd Kniess of York.

1932 Lloyd Kniess sold The Meridian Café to J. L. Hughes who changed the name to the New Central Café.

1933 Merritt Colson purchased the Central Café and changed the name to Colson’s Central Café.

1933 In July, the Sanborn Maps showed a store here.

1938 Colson’s Central Café closed at the end of the year and went out of business.

1939 Vacant building used for church bazaars and rummage sales.

1941 A modern storefront was installed in the former café room in the Geneva State Bank building. It was the new home of J. H. Eller and Company. The Eller Store, a general merchandise store moved here from 830 G Street. Lura Gregory Rollins, who had worked for the Eller chain of stores for many years, purchased this store and one in Belleville, Kansas.

1943 The Sanborn Maps showed a store here.

1959 The Eller Store moved to 167 North 9^th Street, which was the former Lauber building. It had been vacated a few months earlier by Eich Buick Company.

1960 Geneva State Bank renovated the basement of the bank and combined the space that was formerly occupied by The Eller store with the bank building.

Note: When the Geneva State Bank took over this space, the address 890 G was no longer used. This space was then considered part of 896 G Street.