Main Street, Marion
Marion Town Historian
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Pictured first are two stores and an addition. At the time of the fire in 1902, the north store was owned and occupied by Mrs. Matilda Rice and the south store owned by John S. Rich and occupied by Horace Warner, who lived upstairs; Ed Snyder had a barber shop in the south wing and Dr. Woodmanse, a dentist, had an office over the Rice store.
This is one of the worst fires ever experienced in Marion.
According to the Marion Enterprise of 1890, the following had carried on business on the corner for the past 40 years: Boice & Austin, Hicks Durfee O. Lewis, Holling Dean, N. Lusk, Radder Freeman, W.C. Freeman, Freeman & Conklin, Merritt Peer.
The wing at the south was built by John Rich, and used as a post office by David Lown and Wallace Moon. The North store, since the Enterprise list has been occupied by George Warner, and the south by Peer & Lambright, Ed Down and Horace Warner.
After the fire Mrs. Rice built the double store, later owned by Jesse Hive and Clarence Collier, who at one time had a grocery store.
Later, Arthur Jeffery had an IGA Store. There have since been several pool rooms here. The fire house and Library are on the site of the south store.
History of Main street Business Places
(Written by Miss May Sherman)
I do not know who built the Marion Hotel, now the Ganze Hardware store, and before the Herbert White Hardware.
Some of the landlords are George Brown, Capt. John Lang, Garrett Vandervere, who came from Herkimer Co., in 1847, Ralph Chapman Cook, father of Ruth Cook. Ralph Chapman sold to George Sweezey in 1882. Edgar Luce son-in-law of George Sweezey followed him, and was succeeded, by Peter White and Peter Lybart.
On the south of the hotel is what was known as the Manley building. It is now owned by the Radder Estate where the Market Basket Store is now.
Mr. Manley had a tin shop in the north part, James B. Malcolm a drug store, and for years James Cambier had a grocery there. The south part was used by Dr. Halsted and Albertus Irish as a drug store; Perry Davis had a jewelry store till the time of his death.
On the second floor Sr. Albert Halsted had an office and also Dr. Metcalf and Dr. Atwood and Nancy Henion a millinery store. The next store was for years, a shoe store occupied by the Potters, and Charles Snitzel, among others. Upstairs Scott Curtis had his undertaking rooms and since 1913, it has been used as a post office and is owned by Dr. Ray Radder of Newark.
Next was the H.M. Winslow drug and grocery store. It was also the post office when Malcolm Winslow was postmaster. He made the upstairs into living rooms for his family; Mr. Winslow sold to Leslie Shoales, who has since carried on the business and owns the barber shop next door operated by Osborne Roper. For years this store was the original Heslor store and in it Albert West had a tin shop.
The next store has been used as a pool room and eating place. It was for years the grocery store of Anson Heslor, who was Marion's time piece.
At exactly 5 o'clock he put on his top hat and went to supper.
Over this store Henry Peckham had a harness shop.
Next is a building owned by Erminie White and used as a storage room by the Marion Hardware Inc. It was formerly known as the Pulver Block, Albert Pulver had a store here.
Following him Williams, Adams, and John Steel. It has been used as a pool room at various times. I think. Tremain & Austin had their undertaking business here.
The Marion Hardware is the next store. This was the site of Short's Bank which was located in their hardware store. This bank was robbed and the burglars dropped some of the money on the street. ( It was picked up by some lucky ones). Shorts sold to H. K. White who had a hardware store, followed by M.J. Merson who sold out to VanHolde, and Charles Lookup was also in the store. VanHolde sold to Crane & Luce. It is now a conducted by James Boekhout and Albert Dean.
Over these two stores were two public halls. Over the hardware were the: A.C.U.W., G.A.R., I.O.G.T. It is now used by the Post. Up these stairs was Macabee Hall. It was made into an apartment by Oliver Davis.
Where the Homer VanHall store is now located was originally the produce business of William Howell and later his son Adelbert Howell. And the buildings next south were built at the same time, the one by Howell and the other by Jacob & Marion Heslor. To make room for the stores a building was moved which is now the house owned by Mrs. Carrie Love. In the Howell Building, there have been several markets. Among these were the Alvah, Sherwood market, Austin & Stevens (run by Mrs. Nora Stevens) which was later occupied by Lester Nevil & Sons.
The Heslor store was a wholesale butter and egg store. Nelson Young was at one time connected with it. There was a distributing store at Worcester, Mass. It was later owned by John Howell, a grandson of William Howell. He built a mill in the rear and ran a GLF Business.
The building next door was also owned by him, and was for a time a very attractive tea room known as the 'Mary Ann' and conducted by Miss Leah Smith who later became Mrs. John Howell. The building was at one time owned by Rollo Curtis editor of the Marion Enterprise, a weekly paper first published in 1880. Years ago William Young lived there and had a meat market in the basement, the door of which was reached from the side drive. Later the Loomis family lived there and had a market upstairs, while the Enterprise was in the building, various people operated 7 a succession of photograph studios. The first one was Robert Hammond, followed by George Reeves, Carl Gurnee and William Ganze.
In these rooms also a cobbler named Fulkoski had a cobbler shop and he and his son Steve lived there for a time.
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