Our Past Is Present April 26, 2018

April 26, 2018

            This is “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.

            From time to time in some of our future broadcasts, we will be highlighting some of the beautiful historic houses in Geary County.  Today’s historic house is located at 404 North Adams and is currently owned by Gery and Patti Schoenrock.  The information comes from an article written for the Republic newspaper in 1979 written by Cheryl Troup. The house is located on Block 45, Lots 18, 19 and 20. The property was originally acquired by a mayor’s deed, dated 1860, which conveyed the land to Daniel and Angeline Mitchell.  Mitchell was an early day surveyor and draughtsman (pronounced draftsman).  Three years later he deeded the three lots to William Stickney of St. Louis for $300.  However in 1866, the lots were deeded back to Mitchell for the same price.  In 1872, James Streeter became the owner of the property until his death in 1886.  At that time the property included a house that was located on lots 15-20.

            The north lots, without the house, were deeded to A.B. Jellison in 1929.  Lots 18-20, which are the lots on which the Schoenrock house is located, were deeded by John C. Lee to H.P. Powers in 1920 for $2,125.  Powers mortgaged it to George White for $8,000 for what appears to have been a construction loan since the house was built at that time.  J.J. Cole of Cole’s Department Store, who was a single man, bought the property in 1933 from A.D. and Maude Jellison.  In 1938 Cole deeded it to Mae Wood, who was his sister.  She lived there with her five grandchildren and their mother, Rosemary. 

            Dr. Mary Devin, retired Superintendent of USD 475 Schools and the late Gary Devin lived in the house until 1975 when Stanley Abel, former Personnel Director for USD 475 Geary County Schools and Grace Abel purchased the house.  The Shoenrock’s purchased the house from the Abels in 1977.  The house is a yellow brick with a red tile roof built in 1920 by Hale and Lulu Powers at a cost of $25,000. 

            Take a drive to 404 North Adams and see the beauty of this house that transferred ownership several times, but still maintains its charm as one of the beautiful historic houses in Geary County.

            And… thanks for reading “Our Past Is Present” from the Geary County Historical Society.