Hogshire Building (formerly Montgomery Wards)
Lebanon, IN
Photo Credits
Interior photos by Derek Warren, Deputy Director of Planning for Lebanon.
Taken November 9th, 2020 the day demolition was set to begin.
Most of the first floor was heavily altered sometime in the 1980’s, so that level lost most of it’s Montgomery Ward character. The mezzanine between the first and second floors was also heavily altered at some point in time.
The basement had about 18” of water across the entire floor when these photos were taken on the first day of demolition.
The only basement pictures possible on this day were from the landing at the bottom of the stairs. Derek was able to get a bunch of second floor pictures and stair case pictures. Derek even went up to the roof top and got a few from there.
Exterior photos by Mike Hancock, taken on November 8th, 2020 the day before demolition began
Interior photos by Derek Warren, Deputy Director of Planning for Lebanon.
Taken November 9th, 2020 the day demolition was set to begin.
Most of the first floor was heavily altered sometime in the 1980’s, so that level lost most of it’s Montgomery Ward character. The mezzanine between the first and second floors was also heavily altered at some point in time.
The basement had about 18” of water across the entire floor when these photos were taken on the first day of demolition.
The only basement pictures possible on this day were from the landing at the bottom of the stairs. Derek was able to get a bunch of second floor pictures and stair case pictures. Derek even went up to the roof top and got a few from there.
Exterior photos by Mike Hancock, taken on November 8th, 2020 the day before demolition began
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Filed July 29, 2016
Historic name: Lebanon Courthouse Square Historic District
125 S. Meridian. Hogshire Building, c. 1915.
The building is a two-part, two-story corner building. Its walls are of brown-colored brick with stone trim. It has one wide storefront divided into two bays. The storefront has rows of metal and glass display windows and two recessed entries. The entry doors are metal and glass. There is a short wall below the display windows; it is covered with glazed tiles. A metal awning is above the display windows. The transom windows are covered with metal, these are in the wall above the awning. A wide display window and the awning wrap around the south corner of the first story. The storefront renovations were done in c. 1955. A staircase entry is located on the south wall of the building. The entry is flanked by pilasters with stone bases; a large stone stylized pediment tops the entry. The entry has been filled with brick. A faded store sign “Montgomery Ward” is painted on the west side of the south wall just above the transom. The second story windows are 1/1 wood with sills and lintels composed of brick. The lintels have stone blocks on each end. The façade has three openings for rows of 1/1 windows, but these are covered with wood. The south wall has six openings for pairs of 1/1 windows; three of these are covered with wood. A 1/1 window is located east of the first pair of windows on the south wall. The façade has three spandrels framed with rowlocks near the top of its wall. These have stone blocks at each corner of the framed spandrel. The middle spandrel contains a building stone with HOGSHIRE carved into it. The south wall has wide spandrels on each side near the top of the wall and three clerestory windows between them. The middle window is covered with wood and has a metal louver. The building was constructed in c. 1915 as a furniture store. By 1930, it became a Montgomery Wards company store. The Hogshire family retired from farming and lived in the building during the 1920s-1930s. James Allen Hogshire was a retail merchant who was a dealer in automobiles during the 1920s.
Filed July 29, 2016
Historic name: Lebanon Courthouse Square Historic District
125 S. Meridian. Hogshire Building, c. 1915.
The building is a two-part, two-story corner building. Its walls are of brown-colored brick with stone trim. It has one wide storefront divided into two bays. The storefront has rows of metal and glass display windows and two recessed entries. The entry doors are metal and glass. There is a short wall below the display windows; it is covered with glazed tiles. A metal awning is above the display windows. The transom windows are covered with metal, these are in the wall above the awning. A wide display window and the awning wrap around the south corner of the first story. The storefront renovations were done in c. 1955. A staircase entry is located on the south wall of the building. The entry is flanked by pilasters with stone bases; a large stone stylized pediment tops the entry. The entry has been filled with brick. A faded store sign “Montgomery Ward” is painted on the west side of the south wall just above the transom. The second story windows are 1/1 wood with sills and lintels composed of brick. The lintels have stone blocks on each end. The façade has three openings for rows of 1/1 windows, but these are covered with wood. The south wall has six openings for pairs of 1/1 windows; three of these are covered with wood. A 1/1 window is located east of the first pair of windows on the south wall. The façade has three spandrels framed with rowlocks near the top of its wall. These have stone blocks at each corner of the framed spandrel. The middle spandrel contains a building stone with HOGSHIRE carved into it. The south wall has wide spandrels on each side near the top of the wall and three clerestory windows between them. The middle window is covered with wood and has a metal louver. The building was constructed in c. 1915 as a furniture store. By 1930, it became a Montgomery Wards company store. The Hogshire family retired from farming and lived in the building during the 1920s-1930s. James Allen Hogshire was a retail merchant who was a dealer in automobiles during the 1920s.
Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of this page for the 2021 update to this story
UPDATE: 2021
Built in 1915 as a furniture store.
1929 it became Montgomery Wards
2020 it was demolished after sitting empty for many years.
The day of demolition, the deputy director of planning for Lebanon, Derek Warren, agrees to go inside one last time and take a bunch of photos for me on behalf of the Boone County historical Society, for historical reference. I also post those photos to a special page on my own Whitestown history website, despite not being a Whitestown store, because I had fond memories of school shopping there with my mom when I was little.
Demolition begins November 9, 2020 and the building is leveled over the next couple days.
End of story right? Wrong!
May 25, 2021 I receive an email from the contact page of my website from a lady in Massachusetts. Her grandfather had worked for Montgomery Wards doing buildouts of their stores.
Her grandfather left a photo collection that included photos from different stores, so she started researching and doing some detective work trying to identify the different locations he traveled. She noticed, in one of the sets, an exterior photo clearly shows a sign on the side of one building that says Lebanon Indiana. She does a google search for "Montgomery Wards Lebanon Indiana" and finds my website and the photos.
She makes contact, and tells me her grandfathers photo collection included pictures from the opening of our local Wards store in 1929!
We share information and she sends me the photos she found. Now we can add something to the story of this once proud building, and a piece of Boone County history makes it way home from Massachusetts after all these years with the help of digital age technology.
Recognize anybody?
End of story? Who knows!
Photos shared and used with permission of Kristen Fehlhaber. She also colorized 3 photos
#history
#technology
Built in 1915 as a furniture store.
1929 it became Montgomery Wards
2020 it was demolished after sitting empty for many years.
The day of demolition, the deputy director of planning for Lebanon, Derek Warren, agrees to go inside one last time and take a bunch of photos for me on behalf of the Boone County historical Society, for historical reference. I also post those photos to a special page on my own Whitestown history website, despite not being a Whitestown store, because I had fond memories of school shopping there with my mom when I was little.
Demolition begins November 9, 2020 and the building is leveled over the next couple days.
End of story right? Wrong!
May 25, 2021 I receive an email from the contact page of my website from a lady in Massachusetts. Her grandfather had worked for Montgomery Wards doing buildouts of their stores.
Her grandfather left a photo collection that included photos from different stores, so she started researching and doing some detective work trying to identify the different locations he traveled. She noticed, in one of the sets, an exterior photo clearly shows a sign on the side of one building that says Lebanon Indiana. She does a google search for "Montgomery Wards Lebanon Indiana" and finds my website and the photos.
She makes contact, and tells me her grandfathers photo collection included pictures from the opening of our local Wards store in 1929!
We share information and she sends me the photos she found. Now we can add something to the story of this once proud building, and a piece of Boone County history makes it way home from Massachusetts after all these years with the help of digital age technology.
Recognize anybody?
End of story? Who knows!
Photos shared and used with permission of Kristen Fehlhaber. She also colorized 3 photos
#history
#technology
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