OLD HOUSES | PART 3

Tracing the history of the Abram Hall House at 302 Fulton Street reminded me that I had neglected my series on historic homes.

Part 1 examined several of the Queen Anne houses in southeast Princeton (bordered by Water Street on the north and Farmer Street on the west). Part II examined the houses on the north side of Water Street, termed by an early newspaper editor as “Ruffle Shirt Hill.”

Part III will discuss the remaining Queen Anne houses standing on the south side of West Water Street. I wrote about the Warnke house at 103 West Water Street in Part 1 of the Old Houses series, and today we will look at the houses built by J.H. “Henry” Manthey and John Koeser in 1894 and 1900, respectively.

The southeast corner of the intersection of Water and Clinton streets in Princeton was for many years the Manthey corner.

Martin Manthey, hailed as the first German to settle in Princeton (I suspect he was Polish) about 1855, sold insurance and over the years operated meat market, grocery store, and poultry and feed businesses in the 600 block of West Water Street.

221 West Water Street

Manthey and his wife, Appoline, purchased Lots 2 and 3 in Block V for $350 from Waldo and Julia Flint in September 1864 (Deeds, Volume 24, Page 478). They built a house on the west half of the property. In March 1894, Manthey sold the west half of the property for $800 (Deeds, Volume 52, Page 572) and the east half for $400 (Deeds, Volume 52, Page 118) to his son J.H. Manthey.

J.H. Manthey, more commonly known as Henry, who operated a dry goods business at 620 West Water Street (today PAWS, a pet supply store), built the house we see today at 221 West Water Street on the east half of the property.

Princeton Republic, March 22, 1894 – “Henry Manthey has broken ground for a new residence on the lot between Mr. Manthey’s and Mr. Mueller’s places on East Water Street. He will put up a fine residence.”

In November 1907, Henry Manthey sold to his brother Ador Manthey, who had a poultry and feed business at 616 West Water Street, for $2,400 (Deeds, Volume 69, Page 67). The property remained in the Manthey family’s hands until July 1937 when Anna Manthey sold to Lillie Zuehls for $3,700 (Deeds, Volume 95, Page 525). Zuehls owned the property when she passed away in 1954.

229 West Water Street

Manthey sold the west half of Lots 2 and 3, including the house that Martin Manthey built, to John Koeser for $1,150 in October 1899 (Deeds, Volume 58, Page 36). Koeser built the house we see today at 229 West Water Street.

Princeton Republic, Nov. 9, 1899 – “J.M. Koeser recently purchased of A.A. Manthey the house and lot on the corner of Water and Clinton streets, and A.A. Manthey has bought the house and lot adjoining on the south.”

Princeton Republic, March 1, 1900 – “John M. Koeser has let the contract for his new residence to Herman Gorr, he being the lowest bidder. Work will be commenced on the new building as soonas the frost is out of the ground.”

Princeton Republic, Aug. 23, 1900 – “J.M. Koeser moved into his new home this week.”

Koeser, a furniture dealer and funeral director, sold to Robert Smith for $3,400 in November 1904 (Deeds, Volume 65, Page 206).

Princeton Republic or Star, Nov. 16, 1904 – “J.M. Koeser has sold his house to Robert Smith and as part of the consideration received a conveyance of the house in which Mr. Smith now lives.”

The corner property passed through several hands until the Princeton Storage Corporation, which utilized the former brewery on Farmer Street for a cheese storage facility, sold it to Gustave G. Krueger in March 1948 (Deeds, Volume 116, Page 518).

Krueger was a longtime owner of a furniture store and funeral home in Princeton. He passed away in 1961.

305 West Water Street

It’s no longer there, but another Queen Anne stood on the southwest corner of Water and Clinton streets, today a vacant lot. I don’t know when it was razed.

The first house on the east half of the property, at the corner of Water and Clinton, was built for Dr. Isaac Thayer, one of the first physicians in Princeton, about 1850. Thayer sold the east half of Lots 1 and 4 in Block M to Jacob Collins for $750 in May 1851 (Deeds, Volume D, Page 298).

Other owners included John Pate and Martin “Pony” Tubbs, whom my loyal readers might remember built a tavern with no glass windows or solid doors around a large burr oak on the Fox River and utilized the branches for seating in the early 1850s.

Tubbs sold the Block M lot to another Princeton pioneer physician, Nathan T. Millard, for $300 in September 1851 (Deeds, Volume E, Page 443). Millard occupied the corner, and maintained an office there, for many years.

Princeton Republic, April 28, 1881 – “And now it is Dr. Millard’s turn to build a new residence – or, more properly speaking, he will soon erect a handsome and roomy addition on the front of his present residence.”

Princeton Republic, April 23. 1891 – “Dr. Millard brought the bees out of his apiary cellar Monday and the warmth of Tuesday was the signal for them to take possession of about every swelling maple bud in the village.”

Dr. Millard passed in April 1897. “Dr. Millard was one of our most estimable citizens,” his obituary noted. “He studied medicine during early manhood, and for years had a very large practice that extended over a wide extent of territory sparsely settled. Among his friends he often related his experiences in those early days, when he traversed the sparsely settled district without roads and forded streams before the day of bridges. For nearly fifty years he has been among the people.”

The Water Street property passed eventually to Francis H. “Frank” Millard, a carpenter, whom I believe, but am less than certain, built in 1898 the house that stood at 305 West Water for so many years.

Henry Warnke purchased the property for $1,625 in August 1938 (Deeds, Volume 103, Page 67). The Ellinson family owned the property until June 1970, when the estate sold to Carlton and Jean Richter for $9,000 (Deeds, Volume 231, Page 381).

If you spot any errors or have any suggestions, please let me know.

Thank you for reading and caring about local history.