The Second Floor That Vanished: History of 111 & 113 South Main Street
by Rachael Hartman, Whitley County Historical Museum curator
In January, Where are We Wednesday took a closer look at 101-109 Main Street, where before the buildings we see today were built there had been a large fire that had destroyed the structures. Right next to this section is the building at 111 Main Street.
In many older photos, you will notice this building used to have a second floor, but today it is a single story. It begs the question – whatever happened to this building?
The “Washburn Block Fire” took place in 1911. At that time, this building was already made of brick. Because it was made of this stronger material than the wood structures it sat next to, it was able to survive the fire.
The story goes, though, at some point after 1911 a resident who was staying in an apartment on the second floor of this building fell asleep with a lit cigar. This, unfortunately, started another fire, and rather than attempt to replace or repair, it was decided to convert this building into a single-story structure.
The first building listed at this address is from 1897, when it was occupied by the Jontz, Lancaster & Co. Dry Goods. In 1908, Jacob Flox opened a dry goods store, and Flox would quickly become a treasured member of the community.
He was born in St. Joseph County Sept. 6, 1884, and he grew up in South Bend. He learned how to operate a store from his father Moses, whose store he was affiliated with in Rochester. He came to Columbia City in September of 1908 and immediately set a storefront at 111 Main Street. He retained his store there for the next 12 years.
After that, he purchased an interest in the Clugston dry goods store, and relocated to the corner of Van Buren and Chauncey Streets. His business partner was George Harrison, who had joined the Clugston business in 1888. This business was one of the oldest of its kind in the city, having been started in 1876. Harrison would sell his interest to Jacob’s brother Louis in 1925. At that time, the store was renamed the Flox Department store. Louis would pass away in 1941.
Jacob was one of the leading retailers of the community, operating a storefront in the city for 49 years. Additionally, Jacob Flox was a basketball coach for the local high school from 1910-1911, and was an active member of Archduth Vehsolom temple in Fort Wayne, Columbia City Masonic Lodge 189, BPOE Lodge 1417, the Chamber of Commerce and was a former president of the Old Settlers Day association. Jacob Flox passed away in 1957 at the age of 72.
Other businesses that have called this Main Street location home are Western Auto Associate Store, Joe Yontz Café, Main Hardware, The Smart Shop, Sarge’s Restaurant, Old Settlers Inn, Haisley’s Restaurant and Pub and Oliverz Restaurant. Today, it is the home of The Square and Olivia hinen, State Farm.
Thank you to Rachael Hartman for her outstanding research and writing of the article and the @Whitley County Historical Museum for sharing photos from its collection.
𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒆: 𝑨𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝑯𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚
Both of these pilasters are both parts of the same 135-year old building, but only half of it still stands!
These two brick and stone pilasters—essentially decorative flat columns—are at 111/113 South Main Street. Now home to The Square and Olivia Hinen, State Farm, this building had two stories, with multiple pilasters and a large cornice typical of being a Victorian building built in 1890.
Photo by Nathan Bilger.
A fire destroyed the second floor around 1950, and instead of demolishing the whole building, the first floor was kept along with these two vestiges of the original building. A new stone façade was applied only a couple of years ago, covering the plain brick used after the fire.
Thank you to Nathan Bilger for providing the recent photos and valuable insights into the architectural history.
For more Columbia City History, check out the Windows into History series at the Columbia City Connect’s website: Windows into History Archives – Columbia City Connect
