124 No. 10th Street

Address: 124 North 10th Street

Legal Description: North 72’ of Lot 88

 Building: Brown Block North, Annex #4

1872 Vacant lot

1882 T. J. (Jeff) Fleming ran a livery stable on the south ½ of this lot.

1885 Clint Spear bought the lot and livery stable.

1890 The Shumway Livery Barn was located here.

1891 Jennie Brown purchased the Shumway Livery Barn.

1898 In July, a fire started in the restaurant of Floyd Sandage and spread to the buggy and feed store of Walt Huston.

1900 Jennie Brown tore down the livery barn and built a large store building on the south ½ of lot 88.  She also built a single building divided into three separate rooms just south of the alley on the north ½ of lot 88.

Note:  A 24’ wide addition to the west side of these store fronts was done between 1902 and 1909 and removed between 1933 and 1943.  It was used for storage.

1900 C. A. Smith put in a partition between the confection and feed departments, papered and painted the front room.  He advertised that he would carry a complete line except cigars on account of the smoke.  He also advertised his location as near the northeast corner of the square, opposite the city scales and Brown Blocks.

1901 Younger’s Secondhand Store, C. A. Smith storage in the rear.

1902 The Sanborn map showed a grocery store.  C. A. Smith had a grocery here.

1909 The Sanborn map showed a grocery store.

1909 C. A. Smith enlarged his grocery using this space and the space to the south, once occupied by Gasper & Sons Bottling Works. 

1909 In October, C. A. Smith sold his fruit, feed and racket store business to William A. Pettijohn of Oxford.

1910 In March, Fred Camp bought the Pettijohn stock, formerly the C. A. Smith stock.  The stock was left at the old location in the Jennie Brown building.  Fred Camp also had a grocery store at 730 G Street at this time and planned to move the goods to that store.  The Pettijohn’s moved to Beaver Crossing.

1910 In April, the Brown Auto Co. was located here from 984 G. Manager, D. W. Geiselman.

1911 In March, the Brown Auto Co. moved to 701 G Street.

1911 The Geneva Bottling Works, owned by Tim and William Hourigan, moved their operation here from the building at 123 So. 10th.

1912 Tim and William Hourigan combined their Star Bottling Works with M. W. Dinneen’s Geneva Ice Cream Manufacturing Co.  The new company was Geneva Manufacturing and Supply, Co.

1913 Geneva Manufacturing and Supply, Co. built a new brick building and moved across the street and north of the alley at 129 No. 10th.  

1913 The Fillmore Blau-Gas Co. warehouse moved here and was managed by Harry Stowell.  

1915 Grafton Motor Co. was located here, George Pflug, manager.

1922 In August, the room was rented by the Geneva Co-operative Farm Products Co.

1922 In August, A. G. Greenwood of Utica took over the cream station of the Fairmont Creamery Co. which had been operated by Ralph Myers.

1923 Fairmont Creamery was located here, two doors north of its former location. C. B. Clift of McCook was the operator.

1930 A. J. Dixon, operator of the Fairmont Creamery moved his business into the building with East Side Produce at 115 So. 10th.

1930 Sole's Service Station was located at this address according to the telephone directory in 1930 and 1931.

1931 In May Helen McPeck, the new owner, announced the opening of the Mayfair Eating House which was located one-half block north of the hotel on the west side of the street.

1931 In September, Ralph Lohr  of Fairbury purchased the Mayfair Café from Helen McPeck.

1932 Ralph Lohr moved his restaurant two doors south to 116 No. 10th and changed the name to the O. K. Cafe.

1933 The Sanborn maps showed that a store was located here.

1937 Jesse Mason leased the building and opened the Geneva Cold Storage Plant here.

1949 Jess Mason sold the butcher shop to Jim Willy.

1968 Jim Willy sold the Geneva Locker to Marlin and Marian Domeier.

1987 The Domeier’s closed their business after almost nearly 20 years in business.  This event marked the end of an era as the locker’s closing ended the days of the independent butcher in Geneva.  

2005 Hilty’s used this space—owner Pat Hilty.

2012 Hilty’s closed.

2012 Building sat vacant

This was ongoing as of the last posting.