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Evansville 1888

Evansville 1888. A glimpse into the city’s past 125 years ago Joe Engler HistoricEvansville.com. Evansville 1888. Prosperity of the Gilded Age after Civil War/Reconstruction Tremendous growth in population and size City limits were roughly St. Joseph Ave., Garvin St., and Morgan Ave.

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Evansville 1888

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  1. Evansville 1888 A glimpse into the city’s past 125 years ago Joe Engler HistoricEvansville.com

  2. Evansville 1888 • Prosperity of the Gilded Age after Civil War/Reconstruction • Tremendous growth in population and size • City limits were roughly St. Joseph Ave., Garvin St., and Morgan Ave. • Street cars provided easy access around town and the suburbs were expanding rapidly. • Dirt roads, first paved 1889 • Electricity and telephone were becoming more prevalent

  3. Evansville 1888 (cont’d) • Civic buildings • Court house (Main St. and 3rd St.); new one under construction • City Hall (3rd St. and Walnut St.) • Post Office (2nd St between Vine and Sycamore) • Railroads • Evansville & Terre Haute (E&TH), later Central & Eastern Illinois (C&EI) • Peoria Decatur & Evansville (PD&E), later Illinois Central (IC) • Louisville & Nashville (L&N) - built Henderson Bridge 1885 • Evansville Belt RR • Five daily papers • Corner saloons and grocery stores anchored city blocks • 40+ churches of many denominations • Schools were separated by color

  4. Big players in town • Banks • Old National Bank • Citizens National Bank (5/3) • National City Bank (Integra) • News/print • Evansville Courier • Evansville Journal • Keller-Crescent advertising • Smith & Butterfield • Other • Lensing Wholesale • Bernardin Bottle Cap Co. • John Ingle coal dealers • Igleheart Bros. flour mill • Strouse & Bros. fine clothing • Boetticher Kellogg & Co. hardware • Metal works/foundries • Heilman Plow Co. (later Vulcan Plow) • George L. Mesker and Co. • Orr Iron Co. • J. H. Roelker foundry • George Koch Sons metalworking • Breweries • F. W. Cook Brewing Co. • Fulton Ave. Brewery (Sterling) • Saw/planing mills • Jacob Meyers & Bro. planing mill • Rechtin Planing Mill • Helfrich Saw and Planing Mill • Furniture • Armstrong Bros. furniture • Karges Furniture • Evansville Furniture Co. • Schelosky & Co tables

  5. Lamasco • Separate town northwest of Evansville • Founded 1836 • First Ave. eastward to St. Joseph Ave., from river to Maryland St. • Named after founders Law, McCall, and Scott • Streets on cardinal directions, as opposed to downtown parallel to the river • Merged with Evansville in 1857

  6. Lamasco and the “North Side” • Growing North Side of town • Street cars went up Third and Second Avenues and turned west at Columbia Street • Fire station No. 8 built 1878 • St. Mary’s Hospital bought property across First Ave in 1885; didn’t build until 1894 • Elite homes along First and Fulton Avenues • Willard Library recently completed

  7. First Ave Taken from 1888 panoramic map • Willard Library • Crescent Furniture • Emanuel Lutheran, Trinity Lutheran, and First Ave. Presbyterian • Columbia School • Hose House No. 8 • Heilman Home / St. Vincent Day Care • Reis Home / Future St Anthony Site

  8. Willard Library • Begun 1877; opened 1885 • Donated by Willard Carpenter • Oldest library building in Indiana

  9. Reis Residence • Built 1872 for Anthony Reis • Tannery (leather) business located at Fifth and Michigan • Designed by Henry Mursinna same architect as Reitz Home • Occupied the entire block • Died 1884 and land donated by widow 1885 for a church • Became St. Anthony rectory c1910 after Mrs. Reis died

  10. Heilman Residence • Built 1869 for former Evansville mayor William Heilman • Heilman Plow and Heilman Machine Works (later Vulcan Plow) • 1931 becomes St. Vincent day care

  11. Boetticher Residence • Built c1877 for Edward Boetticher • Co-founder of Boetticher Kellogg • Converted to Owl’s Home in the 1920s • Razed last month

  12. Straub and Blomer Residences • Fred P. Straub c1872 • Hardware dealer on Main St • HR Connects office space • Frank Blomer c1874 • Blomer, Schulte, & Reitman furniture • Reich & Assoc insurance

  13. Other First Ave Mansions Other grand homes along First Ave built around the same time

  14. Crescent Furniture Co • Old furniture factory dates back to 1870s • NE corner of Franklin St. • Used as WPA headquarters c1940 • Razed 1968, strip mall now on old site

  15. Melzer Soap Works • Soap factory dates back to 1860s • Third Ave & Maryland St • Closed by 1940 • Later miscellaneous companies (laundry, filter plant, and body shop)

  16. Nearby churches • Trinity Lutheran 1841/1870 • Emanuel Lutheran 1856 • First Avenue Presbyterian 1875/1876

  17. Catholic Churches • Assumption (1836 – 1965) • Holy Trinity* (1851) • St. Mary* (1866) • St. Boniface* (1880) • Sacred Heart (1885) • St. Anthony* (1888) * - German speaking parish

  18. St. Anthony Catholic • Established 1888 • German-speaking • Split from Holy Trinity • Present church built 1894

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