161 No. 9th Street

Address: 161 North 9^th Street

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

Building: Hammond Building

1892 The Sanborn maps showed this to be vacant

1897 The Sanborn maps showed this to be vacant.

1902 The Sanborn maps showed this to be vacant.

1904 Gregory Skinkle purchased the south 116’ of these lots for his Electric Light Plant, which was built to the north of this location.

1904 Work began on the Geneva Electric Power Plant. The Skinkle electric powerhouse was built equipped with a three-ton dynamo. M.C. Scott was employed as the engineer.

1905 F. H Halibrican was the superintendent of the Skinkle Electric Company. The current was turned on through the street lamps for the first time on January 22.

1907 Skinkle proposed pumping water with electricity. They installed a new 100-horse boiler. A new dynamo was installed.

1908 Chet Coleman was the engineer at the electric plant.

1909 The Sanborn maps showed the Geneva Electric Co.

1909 Full day electric service began May 1^st.

1910 Skinkle’s began furnishing steam heat for several businesses. They contracted to furnish steam heat for the courthouse.

1912 The work of digging the ditch on Court Street west from Center Street began.

1916 The city and the Electric Light Plant signed a contract for 24-hour electric light service.

1916 G. F. Skinkle sold the Geneva Electric Company to the Continental Electric Company of Cleveland, which owned plants at York and Aurora. The name was changed to Public Service Company.

1922 The original power plant was put on standby and replaced by power from other areas brought in over transmission lines.

1922 The Sanborn maps showed this location to be an electric plant.

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 & 64 to J. W. Hammond who planned to move his business to 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.

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 Company 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.

1992 The Geneva Chamber of Commerce was here with the address of 161 No. 9^th. Their former address was 160 No. 9^th in the NPPD building.

2006 The Chamber of Commerce became part of Revitalize Geneva and moved to the city office

2006 The room at this location was no longer used as 161 No. 9^th. It is part of the Cottonwood Title.

This was ongoing as of the last posting.