180 So. 8th Street

Address: 180 South 8^th Street

Legal Description: Spears Subdivision Outlot 27, Lots 3-4

Building:

1872 State of Nebraska sold lots to E. R. Spear.

1875 E. R. Spear sold the property to James T. and M. W. Platt and they built a building on Lot 2 to be used for general merchandise.

1876 They built an addition to the north on Lots 3-4.

1876 M. W. Platt advertised his business in the Fillmore County Review. He was a manufacturer and dealer in copper, tin, sheet iron ware, eave- troughing, and tin roofing.

1877 J. T. Platt and Dr. Smith were partners, J. T. Platt & Co.

1879 J.T. Platt advertised general merchandise, dry goods and groceries at the southwest corner of the courthouse square.

1882 Mark Alexander, an early butcher, came to Geneva in 1882. In the Nebraska Signal, February 11, 1932, he described the stores he saw when he came to Geneva. In Lot 2, Smith & Platt had a general store in the building owned by James T. Platt.

1882 In November, G. W. Kessler refurnished and renovated the hotel. Boarding and lodging by the week $3.00. Southwest corner of the square.

1883 Jensen and Cooksey, Attorneys-At-Law, moved their office into the front room of the Platt House building lately occupied by Luther Eugene Stowell as a boarding house. An addition was built on the south for hotel use.

1883 In the spring of this year, J. T. Platt was advertising the Platt Store for sale or trade for stock of goods or for farmland in Fillmore County.

1883 J. M. Noyes, a coalyard,, had an office at Platt’s Store.

1884 Platt and Smith dissolved their partnership, but Platt continued with the store.

1884 Platt closed out the entire stock and retired.

1884 In September, his sale to close out his stock was held in the building formerly occupied by Conant on the north side of the square. (866 G)

1885 James T. Platt converted his store building into a hotel known as the Platt House. It was entirely rebuilt and fitted. It was not yet rented.

1885 The Platt Hotel, also known as the Stowell Hotel, was located on Lots 2-4 with two separate buildings.

1885 A masked ball was held at the Geneva House. Food was prepared by Mrs. Stowell.

1886 A firm from Syracuse rented the hotel. Platt built an addition connecting the two buildings.

1886 Proprietors of the Platt House were R. N. White, Coombs, and Ben LaShell.

1888 Proprietors of the Platt Hotel were Strong and Ward.

1887 The building to the north of the Platt Hotel was constructed in 1887. The buildings were connected by a small building between.

1887 Proprietors of the Platt House were R. N. White, Coombs, and Ben LaShell.

1890 Frank Strong sold the Platt House furnishings and left for Syracuse, Nebraska, where he took charge of a hotel. J. T. Platt had moved to Kansas, but returned to Geneva from Phillips County, Kansas. The crops failed, so he locked up his hardware store and returned to Geneva.

1890 In June, A. M. Baldwin rented the Platt House.

1890 Pardue ran the Platt House.

1890 The Platt House closed its doors again, and the furniture was sold at auction.

1892 G. W. Kessler refurbished the hotel.

1892 L. E. (Gene) Stowell rented the Platt House in March as a boarding house.

1892 The Sanborn Map showed the Stowell House here.

1892 In October, Frank Held, merchant tailor, was located in the Old Stowell building on the southwest corner of the square.

1894 L. E. Stowell papered and painted the dining room in his hotel.

1897 The Sanborn Map showed the Stowell House here.

1899 Gene Stowell bought the A. G. Camp residence and planned to go out of the hotel business at the end of the month. The Stowell House had been an institution of the town so long that it seemed strange to have the proprietor go out of business.

1899 J. H. Hakes rented the Stowell House and bought furniture from Mr. Stowell.

1900 Hakes auctioned all the furniture of the Hake Hotel.

1900 To settle the estate after the death of J. T. Platt, his son-in-law, Leroy Lohry, bought the farm. H. L. Smith bought the south part of the building, and C. A. Smith bought the original building and the north addition.

1902 The Sanborn Map showed the Stowell Hotel here.

1903 C. A. Smith put a new foundation under the Platt house and a new roof was put on it. He also repaired the interior and painted and papered.

1904 For rent, sale or trade, West Side Inn, ex-Stowell House, newly fitted up.--C. A. Smith

1904 C. A. Smith rented his hotel building on the west side to C. W. Foukle of York.

1904 The Platt House was known as the West Side Inn, formerly the Stowell, Platt and Smith Hotel.

1905 D. B. Lincoln moved into the Platt House and conducted a boarding house here.

1907 The Lincoln Hotel was set to close.

1908 W. C. Shupbach, leased and furnished the Park Hotel.

1908 W. C. Shupbach sold his lease on the Park Hotel to Mrs. D. B. Lincoln.

1908 A real estate ad in the Nebraska Signal, stated the Lincoln Hotel was for sale or rent.

1909 The Sanborn Map showed the building as a boarding house.

1909 C. A. Smith advertised this property as a 16 room hotel or rooming house for sale or rent.

1912 The sidewalk along the west end of the courthouse square was completed and a crossing was laid from the south end to the Renico Hotel.

1913 The name of the Renico Hotel on the west side of the square was changed to the Gilmore Hotel. Mrs. Hannah Gilmore succeeded Mrs. Renico as landlady.

1918 The furniture from the Gilmore Hotel was for sale.

1919 C. A. Smith planned to tear down the Gilmore Hotel. It had stood idle for some time and due to its old age, was in a poor state of repair.

1920 J. J. Lightbody tore down the old building on the west side of the square formerly used as a hotel.

DATE M. G. Bennett

1922 The Sanborn Map showed these lots to be vacant.

1929 In January, Mrs. M. E. Barker bought the ice plant on lots 5 and 6 at a sheriff’s sale.

1930 In October, O. C. Bedford bought the lots and built a warehouse 50’ x 150’ on lots 3 and 4 that had been taken over by the city for non- payment of paving taxes. Barker and Heath also ran a produce and ice business in the building to the north on lots 5 and 6. The rear of the building was adjacent to the NW tracks and a spur was built to allow loading from the dock. The owners of Bedford Produce and Barker and Heath Ice Plant erected a stucco structure 16’ x 60’ between their buildings where a frame structure had been torn down. The new space was used for storage and a garage. Two sons, Percy and Mervin Bedford were associated with their father in the business.

1933 The Sanborn Map showed a produce store here.

1936 In January, Mervin Bedford started an implement dealership for International Harvester and had his headquarters in the produce house until a suitable location was found.

1936 In February, O. C. Bedford was granted a wholesale license for the sale of malt beverages.

1936 In September, the Bedford Implement Co. moved to the garage building occupied by Holdridge’s Ford garage at 128 So. 8th.

1937 In July, O. C. Bedford died.

1937 In October, the Bedford Produce building on the corner was completely destroyed by a fire of unknown origin.

1938 In April, the Bedford Produce Company was incorporated.

1938 In June, the Bedford Produce Co, built a new building on the same site. The company handled wholesale produce, eggs, cream and poultry, cold storage, jobbing of soft drinks, sugar and similar merchandise. Percy Bedford was president and general manager of the company. He had been associated with his father, O. C. Bedford for many years.

1938 In August, the equipment for the cold storage rooms was installed. There were two large rooms that were kept cool--one for eggs and one for beer.

1938 In August, they applied for permission to transfer their license to this location.

1943 The Sanborn Maps showed a produce station here.

1946 Bedford’s had become a distribution center for Pabst Beer. When Robert Cellar returned home from the service, he was hired to drive the truck for Percy Bedford. The territory ran from Swanton to Red Cloud and included Hastings.

1951 Robert Cellar took over the business and named it R. J. Cellar Distributing Company.

1954 Robert Cellar began the Purina Feed business which provided feed for all livestock. He also sold Hills Hy-Line baby chicks. The business was named Cellar Feed and Farm Supply. He had a mobile mill which could be taken to the farmsteads. In 1968 he added the Dekalb seed corn business. Bob employed 3-4 people. Later Bob gave up the Purina Feed business and became a Wayne Feed franchise. He retired in 1983 and sold the franchise to Vaden Myers who purchased the equipment and inventory.

1982 Brian Cellar, son of Robert J. Cellar, began B C Electric in the same location. He operated the business here until 1988.

1989 Joann Cellar, daughter-in-law of Robert and Dorothy Cellar, began an upholstery business in part of the building. She later added a machine quilting operation to her business.

1992 Joann added a consignment shop to her upholstery business.

2004 In April Mary Ann Vanstrom bought the quilting business and occupied the front part of the building. Her business was named Mary Ann’s Makins.

2009 Jeff and Kelly Thomsen bought the building for their trucking operation.

2014 Jeff Thomsen sold the building to Kelly Schneider.

2014 Kelly Schneider sold the building to Albert Stanley Linde.

This was ongoing as of the last posting.