| The Union Block is a testimonial to the
resiliency of West Branch businessmen in responding to a crisis
in the midst of an era of economic prosperity. An early morning
fire on August 30, 1895, that began in the back of J.T. Butler's
Old Reliable Meat Market destroyed most of what was then known
as "the old South Side Block." Despite the best efforts
of the volunteers of the Rescue Hook and Ladder and Engine Company,
the fire gutted or heavily damaged the line of wood-frame commercial
buildings between Crook's Hotel and the local post office. The
big loser in the fire was J.T. Butler, whose butcher shop sustained
damage estimated at $1,400. Damage to the tiny shop to the east,
where H.C. Wenman sold pumps and windmills, was estimated at
$150. The fire also claimed the office of Dr. L.J. Leech, who
estimated his losses at $700. In all, the fire caused $2,855
damage, with only $950 of that amount insured. If there was a winner in this disaster, it was the town itself, which considered the "old South Side Block" as something of an eyesore. Curiously, this prophetic item appeared in The West Branch Times on August 15, 1895, two weeks before the blaze: "The improvement rage has finally struck the southside of upper Main Street, a new wood awning has been built over the front entrance of Crook's Hotel. Time brings change, before the rage ends who knows but some of the old rattletrap buildings on that side may have given place to new ones." Within three weeks of the fire-like a dream come true-there was word around town of plans of erect a two-story brick business block as soon as the rubble could be cleared from the fire site. J.T. Butler and Dr. L.J. Leech agreed to jointly finance construction of the new building. "The front is composed of pressed brick, glass and steel cornice, making a very fine appearance," The Times reported on January 9, 1896. "The first story of the Union Block is divided into two business rooms with a hall and stairway in between. The west half is owned by J.T. Butler and will be occupied by the meat market, the second story for the Modern Woodmen Lodge room. The east half belongs to Dr. Leech and has not been let." When the dust settled, the new building had cost $4,300, less than half the $9,000 being spent around the corner on North Downey Street by Charles A. Macomber, who was busy constructing his Opera Block. The two buildings were the most ambitious of the downtown building projects under-taken in 1895, a year when, by one estimate, $50,100 worth of improvements were made within the community. J.T. Butler, who within a month of the fire had sold a half-interest in his meat market to Fred Albin, moved into the Union Block's west business room on February 13, 1896. "The room is large and light, the front being of plate glass wherein is displayed from a broad shelf all the canned and botteled (sic) goods and other sundries that go to make up a complete stock in a first class meat shop," The West Branch Times reported on February 20, 1896. "The rooms are divided near the center by a refrigerator 13x8 and 12 feet high, with plate glass windows and mirrors and a capacity of 4 tons of ice. In front of this stands a marble top counter 16 feet long. Everything is new and clean; and while it is an establishment any large city might well be proud of, we think like the proprietors it is none too good for West Branch." Within the next week, members of the Burr Oak Camp No.2869 of the Modern Woodmen of America Lodge gathered in their new room above the meat market for a dedication banquet that required dinner for 90. But the east wing of the building remained vacant. After the fire had claimed his office, Dr. Leech relocated across Main Street, leasing a storefront that had been a millinery shop. There his medical practice would remain until his death in 1937. By the first week of April 1896, about the time the ironwork on the Union Block's facade was being painted dark green, Bert Gill had decided to sell his newly sided drug store building to a jeweler named Orr L. Keith, who had lost his shop to the fire. Bert Gill moved out and leased Dr. Leech's Union Block storefront. The Union Block has housed more than a few shops, cafes and offices since it was the showpiece of Main Street in 1896. According to local legend, a crack that for decades ran through the large plate glass window of what was once Bert Gill's drug store was caused by a shotgun blast during the public celebration that marked the end of World War I. The Union Block building is currently occupied by The West Branch Teen Center and Art on Main. |