Address: 131 ½ North 9th Street
Legal Description: Part of the north half Lots 81 & 82
Building: Kessler and Bumgarner Building
Second Floor
1872 Vacant lot
1885 J. H. Fort & Co., real estate loans and insurance, was located on Center street with Billings and Donisthorpe.
1890 Kessler & Bumgarner erected this two-story brick building.
1891 Kessler & Bumgarner sold the building to E. M. and Addie Billings. The building was sometimes called the Billings Block.
1900 Frank & Hattie Edgecombe purchased the building.
1900 In November, Dr. G. D. Pendell of Yates City, Illinois rented rooms in the Signal building and began his practice of medicine here. Their residence was also located here.
1900 In December, Dr. Pendell got his X-ray machine in place and ready for use. It was later noted that it was the first X-ray machine in Geneva.
1900 In December, Dr. Pendell took over the practice of Dr. Plumb of Fairmont. Dr. Plumb whose specialty was diseases of the eye and fitting glasses, had been making regular trips to Geneva for several years.
1902 Dr. Pendell had an office over the Signal office.
1905 In March, Dr. Pendell’s wife died, leaving him with a three week old baby daughter.
1905 In September, Dr. Pendell leased his office to Dr. F. A. Bates, the new osteopathic practitioner who recently bought the practice of Dr. Jeter. Dr. Pendell left his daughter with her grandparents in Seward and he went to Los Angeles to take a course in osteopathy. He expected to return to Geneva in about nine months.
1907 In August, Dr. F. O. Bates moved his office from this location to rooms over the W. L. Spear hardware store at 854 G Street.
1910 The Fillmore County Telephone Company moved into new quarters over the Signal office. (They had been displaced because of the fire in the Citizens Bank.)
1910 John Barsby’s law office was located here.
1912 The Bell Telephone Co. sold its 22 southeastern Nebraska counties to the Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Co.
1913 The Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Co. purchased the Fillmore County Telephone Company.
1924 The Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Company building at 181 No. 9th was completed and the company moved into new quarters there.
1925 Occupants unknown through 1929
1929 W. R. Fulton, attorney, had offices here through 1931.
1932 E. J. Steinacher, attorney, had offices here through 1936.
1943 The offices were converted to apartment units to help with the crowded housing for service personnel stationed at the Fairmont Army Airfield.
2005 Family apartment units
This was ongoing as of the last posting.