155 No. 9th Street

Address: 155 North 9^th Street

Legal Description: North 48’ 8” of the South 68’ 8” of Lots 63 & 64

Building: Hammond Building

Note: This was the address of both Lauber Buick and the Eller Company. When Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) purchased the building and converted that area to offices, the post office assigned 155 No. 9^th to this location. Previously it was labeled as 147 No. 9^th.

1892 The Sanborn Maps showed a hotel with a harness shop in the north part and a restaurant in the south part.

1897 The Sanborn Maps showed a broom factory in the north part of the hotel building and broom storage in the south side.

1902 The Sanborn Maps showed this to be vacant.

1905 Gregory Skinkle purchased the south 116’ of these lots for his Electric Light Plant, which was built to the north of this location. This area was vacant through 1947.

1909 The Sanborn Maps showed this to be vacant.

1922 The Sanborn Maps showed this to be vacant.

1933 The Sanborn Maps showed this to be vacant.

1943 The Sanborn Maps showed this to be vacant.

1948 A new building, the Lauber-Hammond Business Building, was built for the Hammond Insurance Agency. Mr. Lauber sold the south 20’ of the south 68’ 8” of Lots 63 and 64 to J. W. Hammond who planned to move his business into the new office suite.

1949 Lauber Motors, a Buick franchise, and Lauber Seed Company, owned by Herb Lauber, opened for business. Lauber Seed Company was located on the Lauber farm northwest of Geneva and this location was the sales office.

1953 James V. Johnson purchased the Buick dealership from Herb Lauber. The business was renamed Johnson Buick.

1954 Lowell Eich and Albert Frycek bought the Buick agency from Jim Johnson. They changed the name to E & F Buick.

1956 Geneva Transfer operated out of this building. They operated mail routes.

1958 Lowell Eich bought out Albert Frycek and changed the company name to Eich Buick. The dealership moved to 1044 G Street.

1959 Laura Rollins purchased the building from Herb Lauber and moved her business, the Eller Company dry goods store, here from 890 G Street.

1990 The Eller Company had a close-out sale and Mrs. Rollins closed the business due to ill health. The Eller Co. had been in business in Geneva for 71 years.

1990 The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), whose building abutted the Eller Company on the north, purchased the Eller Building and remodeled the space into offices and a meeting room. They moved their offices from 884 G Street.

2003 Karen West opened her business, Cottonwood Title, a title and abstracting company, with the location of 155 N. 9^th.

2018 Karen West sold Cottonwood Title to Bixby Law Office with Paul Bixby as proprietor.

This business was ongoing as of the last posting.