November 21, 1979
Picture #1 – The corner of Main and Perry streets where The Fostoria Times once stood.
Picture #2 – W.D. Dauterman’s law office building and McDonald’s Gulf station
Picture #3 – The Cadwallader building; Dr. G.R. Williams, DDS building; and the old Poe homestead
Picture #4 – An interior view of the Turner Grocery
Picture #5 – The corner of Main and Perry streets nearly 100 years ago
Resuming last week’s story about North Main Street, today we look at the west side of the street, starting at what was known years ago as “Times Square”. It got that name because The Fostoria Daily Times building straddled the triangular piece of land where Perry and Main streets met, and face the area formed by the convergence of Sandusky, Perry and Main: “The Square”. Photos NO. 1,2,3 provide a panoramic view of the area I write about today.
Photo No. 1 shows “the point” as it is today, occupied by Standard Oil. Photo No. 4 shows the building at “the point” before Roscoe Carle established The Fostoria Daily Times as occupants. Both The times and the marble works occupied only part of the building. As far as the Main Street side of the building was concerned, there were several other business establishments there, which are listed later in this article, including Lillian Lee Millinery Shop. Mrs. Lee was the mother of John Lee, 700 N. Main St., and Tom Lee, deceased. Mrs. Lee later remarried and became Mrs. H.J. Sommers. Some of the girls that worked for Mrs. Lee were: Geogia Forrest, Lillian Mock, Mrs. Eston, Clara Gifford, Hilda Beck and Clara Emison, according to John Lee. Earlier than 1915 The Times building, there was a movie house, known as the Fostoria Family Theatre, owned by Messers O’Toole and Stein.
LANDMARK TORN DOWN
The Times building was demolished sometime after The Review bought and consolidated The Times into The Review Times.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate any photos showing the frame buildings which were located adjacent and north of The Times building, extending to the property where McDonald’s Gulf is now.
Photo No. 2 shows W.D. Dauterman’s new law office building, next to the Sohio station.
G.D. “Mac” McDonald has had something to do with the area where his Gulf station is now for the last 44 years and he remembers many of the changes that have taken place in that area of Main Street. George Stahl had a Shell station there until 1935, when “Mac” leased it, and he has been there ever since.
VERSATILE BUILDING
Next to the Gulf station is a building which has been there since about the turn of the century, and has been used for many purposes: machine shop, garage, car dealerships, furniture store, theater, teen center, and presently The Church of Christ in Christian Union. The listing which follows will show others.
Proceeding north is the Cadwallader building, shown in Photo No. 3. It too has stood there for many years and has been used for variety of businesses and residences. Presently it is occupied by a new cosmetics business. Fashion Two Twenty at 325, owned by Betty L. Jones, who will offer retail sales as well as a branch training center. Next to it is The Open Door at 327, then Nancy Lou’s Coiffures at 329, and Two Guys Barber Shop at 333.
To the right of the Cadwallader building in Photo No. 3 is the office building of Dr. G.R. Williams, D.D.S. That building was erected in 1967, after fine frame house occupying that site was demolished. The last occupant of the house I remember was N.E. Keefer, realtor; his daughter Guesta had her Sherwood Music School there also.
In the extreme right of Photo No. 3 can be seen the old Poe house, over 100 years old, where Mr. and Mrs. Luther Poe lived for many years and raised their family of four girls and two boys. The house belonged to Mrs. Poe’s parents and she was raised there.
Now, test your memroy for the west side of that part of Main
START WITH 1915
231 – The Fostoria Times (At this point the numbering system jumped to “300”)
301 – Lillian Lee Millinery Shop
305 – A.O. Jenkins Plumbing, Heating and Lighting
309 – D.C. Johnson Optician
311 – T.L. Lee – Barber
315 – H.C. Jennings Piano Tuner
317 – North Main street Graage (owned by Harry Nestlerode)
325 – R.E. Park – Dentist
BY 1930
301 – No directory listing
303 – Dunlop Tire and Rubber Co. – H.J. Losey, Mgr.
305 – William Lee Millinery Shop
309 – Fostoria Union Dairy Cream Station
317 – Shell Filling Station
319 – Fostoria Furnitur – Otto and C.S. Kuhlman
335 – Residence N.E. Keefer, Also Sherwood Music School
BY 1951
301 – Standard Oil Station
311 – W.E. Kinney Used Car Lot
317 – McDonald’s Shell Station
319 – Carr Furniture Display Room
329 – Prescott House Cleaning Service
333 – Ernie Duffield Music Center
At various times there were other inhabitants of the houses or apartments that existed on both sides of North Main Street in the area covered by this story, not mentioned previously.
The names I have discovered are: Laura B. Samsel, Sylvester Jacklin, Marion Eckert, Mary Calmes, Edmund Gardner, Ollie Medley family, Ethel Hoffman, Alice Fouty, Charles Munger, Richard Kelley, S.L. Ghaster, Orval Wright, Marie Frankenberg, Hattie Drenner, and perhaps others listed in directories in other years.
Don Dillon opened his Pontiac dealership, the first in Fostoria, in the building at “319” where the church is now. Bob Witmore was Dillon’s Service Manager.