Address: 137 North 8th Street
Legal Description: Lots 6-8 of Stobbe’s Subdivision Lots 70 - 72
Building: North of Alley, Ed Mercer Barn
1872 Vacant lots.
1890 Ed Mercer operated a livery stable here.
1892 Sanborn Maps list a livery stable located here.
1894 J. W. Burt rented the Mercer barn and opened a livery business here. The barn was north of Barnett’s hardware store.
1897 Sanborn Maps list a livery stable located here.
1899 Joseph Owens and Peter D. Weis were in partnership in the livery business at the old Mercer barn on the west side. A few months later they bought the barn two doors north of the post office (135 No. 9th) and moved there.
1902 Sanborn Maps lists a livery stable that was used for implement storage.
1903 In October, Jay Weaver purchased the livery stable known as the old Ed Mercer barn which he had been occupying since a fire destroyed his livery stable on North 9th in August.
1905 R. E. Larimer, Veterinary Surgeon and Dentist, had an office at Weaver’s barn in January 1905.
1905 In June, Dinneen & Tracy purchased the livery business of Jay Weaver.
1905 In June, R. E. Larimer, Veterinary Surgeon and Dentist, had an office at Dinneen & Tracy’s barn.
1905 In August, Fred J. Schneider purchased the Weaver livery barn and the stock of Dinneen & Tracy. He moved to this location with his livery stock from his previous location at 130 North 8th Street. The business was called City Livery.
1905 In September, R. E. Larimer, Veterinary Surgeon and Dentist, had an office at Schneider’s livery barn.
1905 In October, Larimer and his wife left for Chicago where he was to take a postgraduate course in veterinary school.
1906 Fred J. Schneider sold his livery barn to Archie Drinkwalter of Strang. A. L. Drinkwalter purchased a $500.00, sixteen-horse REO automobile to add to his livery equipment.
1907 In April, Archie Drinkwalter sold the livery barn, located one half block north of Union Block to Dr. Royal Woods and managed by R. Hoover.
1907 In July Dr. Woods traded the Drinkwalter livery barn to William Jeffries of Palisade for 400 acres of improved land.
1908 In February, Tom Hamler purchased the livery stable.
1908 (In May, William Jefferies loaded a car of his race horses and sent them to McCook for the racing season. The horses had been quartered at the fairgrounds since Jeffries sold his livery barn.)
1908 In July, Tom Hamler sold the livery to Peter Weis and Everett Ingles.
1909 G. B. Roberts purchased the Geneva Livery Barn from Dr. Royal Woods and wife.
1911 Hourigan & Linnert operated the City Livery Barn here.
1912 In October, Harry Porter of the Star Livery purchased the Hourigan & Linnert livery stock and continued to operate both barns. (Hourigan and Linnert kept their automobile.)
1912 In October, the livery barn formerly occupied by Hourigan & Linnert was turned into a sale barn, auctioneer H. G. Porter.
1913 G. B. Roberts sold the property to Hillard Bell who operated it as a feed barn.
1921 Fire of unknown origin destroyed the Hillard Bell feed barn on Church Street.
1922 Vacant lot.
1937 Nichols Construction Company purchased the property and used it as an equipment parking area.
1960 Nichols Construction Company erected a new shop and office building here and moved its operation to this address.
1964 R & H, Inc. shared office space here through 1968. The incorporators were Robert and Howard Nichols. It was also involved in highway construction projects.
1973 L. J. Webb had his construction business located here until 1976.
1978 Nichols Construction Company moved its operation to North Highway 81 (13th Street).
1978 Floyd Olena purchased the property and moved his business, Olena’s Repair located at 124 North 8th Street to this location..
1978 Soil Conservation Service had an office on the south side of the building.
1989 Olena’s Repair relocated to 622 G Street and was renamed Olena’s Radiator & towing. Harold Olena joined his father in the business.
1989 Total Home Center, operated by Dennis Wheeler and Joseph N. Bixby opened here. Local contractors were used to remodel the building and the Geneva High School FBLA organization helped set up and display the merchandise.
1993 This was the last year that Total Home Center was listed in the telephone book.
1993 Tom Biegert & Richard Mueller bought the property.
1996 Geneva Floral, operated by Janet Mueller Bartak and Inez McPeck, relocated here from 818 G Street following a fire which destroyed the building alongside their business to the west. They also were agents for a dry cleaning business in York.
1998 Inez McPeck retired. Karen Allgood moved her business Silks-N-Such here and the name was changed to Geneva Floral/Silks-N-Such.
2001 Geneva Floral/Silks-N-Such added tuxedo rental to its business.
2004 Janet Bartak retired in late 2004 after being in business in Geneva for over 30 years.
2005 Geneva Floral, owned and operated by Karen Allgood Janda, relocated to 960 G Street to a building formerly occupied by Dan Petersen’s New Frontier Insurance Office.
2005 Advanced Bioenergy, LLC opened its office here in late summer. The company was building an ethanol plant just southwest of Fairmont.
2007 Advanced Bioenergy, LLC moved its office in April to the ethanol plant southwest of Fairmont.
2008 LIFE Office was located on the south side of the building. This agency assisted older individuals who were Medicaid eligible.
2008 Memories and Creations by Jody Friesen from Clay Center, was located in the north part of the building. Her store carried a variety of gift baskets, diaper cakes, gifts, costume rentals, scrapbooking and photography. The store opened in January and closed in May 2008.
2009 A & L Irrigation, LLC, a corporation operated by Alan Slepicka and Larry Wulf. Their business occupied the north side of the building. The south side of the building continued to be the LIFE Office.
This was ongoing as of the last posting.