The exact page text, read by your browser's voice.
1865 – 1917
Before it was motored, the town was fully horsed. The 1875 atlas directory for Liberty Township lists wagon makers T. D. Nelson, Hiram Rowan, and Jacob Ritchie; carriage painting by William W. Hamilton; and blacksmiths H. C. Baker, John N. Fetzer, John Keesy, and E. T. Lee. Polk's 1880–81 gazetteer adds George R. Flood, harness; wagonmakers Jacob Ritchie, Hiram Rowan, and A. Warster; and blacksmiths B. F. Berger and Lee. The nomination's record fills the named courses: Elijah Lee established his blacksmith shop in 1865, "also built wagons," and operated into the 1900s, fronting Harrison Street behind 140 North Main; George R. Flood established his harness business in 1871 and "kept a full stock of harnesses and whips"; a farm implement warehouse stood at the rear of the east Main Street block in 1909; and in 1909 "the Hotel Grant and a livery were located at the northwest corner of Center and Main Streets," with a concrete-block livery built about 1905 standing on the lot at 103 West Center — "gone by 1917 and was later replaced by a Ford auto sales and garage." The wagon works' own course belongs to the businesses leg; here the trade ground prints at the size it bears on what replaced it: the corner that held the livery held the Ford house next.