The “Then” photo, circa 1865, is of the three-story brick building at 127 N. Main St., the southeast corner of North Main and East Court streets in Urbana. The entrance to the building is not recessed; it is next to the sidewalk. The first floor of the building housed Lowry Drug Store. The people in front of the store include men with whiskers in top hats looking like Abraham Lincoln.

The second floor has a sign for Aetna Insurance Co., Charles B. Morgan, agent. Two men are leaning from open windows.

The third floor has a sign for W. L. Albright (photographer?). The print on it is indistinct. Harmony Lodge No. 8 F&AM met on the third floor of this building starting in 1838.

The circa 1910 “Then” photo (#A2284) is of the Egenberger Building at 114-116 S. Main St., Urbana. The Egenberger Bakery & Restaurant was on the first floor. The third floor was the meeting place of Harmony Lodge No. 8 F&AM from 1882 until moving to its current location at 222 N. Main St. in 1916. When the lodge first moved to this building in 1882 it was called the Houston Building.

On June 24, 1898, the Houston Building burned; the lodge rooms and second floor office rooms were gutted. The lodge financed the rebuilding of the second and third floors. At that time Masonic symbols were added above the third-floor windows. There are visible today.
The Champaign County Historical Society gratefully acknowledges information provided by Robert Pollock.

Now – This is a 2019 photo of the same location. Automobiles now travel the paved street versus horse and buggies in 1910. 

The Champaign County Historical Museum is a not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum, 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.

The circa 1935 “Then” photo (#0468) is of the birthplace of John Quincy Adams Ward, 335 College St., Urbana (southwest corner of South High and College streets). He was the grandson of Col. William Ward, founder of Urbana. John Quincy Adams Ward was regarded as the Dean of American Sculpture. His sculpture the “The Indian Hunter” was the first American sculpture to be displayed on a permanent basis in Central Park, New York City.

This house built in the 1820s was later occupied by the following families: C.H. Marvin, C. 1940-1950; Corwin Barnhart, C .1950-1960; Richard Rademacher C. 1960-1980. Phillip and Sarah Kerns are the current residents. Note that the house has a tile roof and front and side porches.
A circa 1948 photo (#1717) shows that the front porch had been removed.

Then – This is a circa 1930 photo (#0183) of the Bunnell Monument Works at 113 E. Church St., reported to be oldest continuous business in Urbana. It was founded in 1868 by D.M. Bunnell. The building was built the same year. The business was acquired by John Enright in the late 1940s. At that time the name of the business was changed to Urbana Monument Company.

Now – This is a 2019 photo of the Urbana Monument Co. at 113 E. Church St.

Photos courtesy of the Champaign County Historical Museum, a not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum, 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.

The “Then” photo, circa 1930 (#0408), shows the Urbana Furniture Company complex located at the corner of South Oakland and Beach streets. It formerly was the Barlow & Kent Company, furniture manufacturer. Barlow & Kent Co. was established at Plain City in 1881 and moved to Urbana in 1889. The complex consisted of two factory buildings, an office building and an oil house, with a total area in excess of 30,000 square feet.

Barlow & Kent Co. produced wardrobes, desks, tables and cupboards. E.W. Barlow, owner, was from Kent, Arkansas. In 1910 the company had a lumber company in Kent and 1,200 acres of hardwood timberland in the area. Barlow & Kent Co. ran into financial difficulty in 1915 and was re-organized under new management as the Urbana Furniture Company, which manufactured Happi-Tymes nursery furniture.

Source: Champaign Democrat Centennial Edition June 15, 1905, page 21.

The “Then” circa 1910 photo (#2163) shows the White-Valentine Co. at the northwest corner of Gwynne and North Russell streets. The photo was taken from across Gwynne Street in a north-easterly direction. The company consisted of a complex of buildings, including the large three-story building in this photo.

This building was used for cleaning, sorting and sizing brooms. The third story was for labeling and packing brooms in preparation for shipping. The building closed in 1925.

During the last quarter of the 19th century, Urbana was reported to be the largest manufacturer of brooms in the United States, employing over 200 people. Source: Urbana Ohio, Broom Capital of the Nation by Barbara Stickley Sour 1999.

The “Now” 2019 photo of the same location shows the building complex previously occupied by the Grimes Manufacturing Co. Warren Grimes had this building constructed early in WWII to accommodate his government contract to manufacture lights used on virtually all American aircraft. Grimes, now Honeywell, still produces aircraft lights and other products in its newer facility on state Route 55.

Submitted by the Champaign County Historical Museum, a not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum located at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays.

The circa 1937 “Then” photo (#A1964) is of the United Paperboard Co. Note the 1937 Ford automobile in the foreground. The Ohio Strawboard Co. was established in 1895 (Urbana and Champaign County Illustrated – Supplement to the Urbana Daily Citizen, Oct. 10, 1911). The facility was apparently heavily damaged by a tornado circa 1900 (#A2069). At that time straw was a primary ingredient in the finished product – boxboard.

Based upon Sanborn Fire Insurance maps in 1910, the plant was listed as the United Boxboard Company and by 1911 it had approximately 50 employees. It became known as the United Paperboard Co. in September 1924. Straw was no longer a component, although older workers continued to refer to the plant as “The Strawboard.”

Sometime later it became one of three American companies operating under the name United Board & Carton Co. The product was primarily “kraft,“ which was manufactured in a variety of sizes and colors. A specialty item was “cakebox,” which was coated with white Alabama clay. Employees worked “swing shifts” alternating weekly from days (7 a.m.-3 p.m.) to 2nd (3-11 p.m.) to “graveyard” (11 p.m.-7 a.m.). Workers were given little notice when the plant shut down around 1972.

The 2019 “Now” photo below is of Orbis Manufacturing, currently doing business in the same location, 200 Elm St.

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, the Champaign County Historical Society is noting the history of previous offices of the Chamber.

These circa 1937 photos (#0130, #0131) of the Four Gables Building located at the NW corner of Church and Main streets document before and after the sides of the building were covered with an imitation brick veneer.

Note in Photo 1 the start of the covering on the wall at the left and the presence of scaffolding on the front of the building. At the time of this photo the Interurban tracks had been removed from the middle of Main Street.

Photo 2 is after completion of the cladding. Note in both photos the gasoline pumps and the tank cart for dispensing motor oil. Canned motor oil probably was not generally available then. Note the air hose at the extreme left of the photos and the buckets for radiator water at the base of the pole upon which a thermometer has been mounted. The Chamber of Commerce offices were in this building in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, the Champaign County Historical Society is noting the history of some previous locations of its offices.

The “Then” circa 1935 photo (#0138, above) is of the building at 113 Miami St., Urbana. Note that Miami Street was bricked. The Urbana Banking Co., Urbana’s first private bank, was established at this location in 1814, probably in a log structure. The current two-story building is thought to have been erected circa 1820 by Dr. Adam Mosgrove. The bank closed in 1842. By 1892 it was used as the medical office and residence of Dr. and Mrs. William A. Mosgrove. In 1939 Dr. Vogt Wolf had his medical office on the street level. Dr. Steven Radar maintained his general practitioner’s office here from 1963 until 1990. Information source: Then and Now in Downtown Urbana, Ohio from 1805 by Barbara Stickley Sour. Note: if you can identify the bartender and/or beer vendors in this photo, please call the museum, 937-653-6721.

The 2015 “Now” photo also is of 113 Miami St. The Chamber of Commerce was in this building in 2001. Note that the location of the A & P Food Stores next door is now the location of Fusion 40-83 Restaurant.

The Champaign County Historical Museum is a not-for-profit organization that depends upon donations and dues to preserve, protect, archive and display the artifacts that tell the Champaign County story. The free public museum located at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana, is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Friday; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturdays.