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THE LEHMKUHL
HOTEL [from “Do
You Remember” by Fernando W. Bruns – 2/20+27/1947] The old Lehmkuhl Hotel, a 2 and 3 story building, (originally the
Behrens Hotel, owned by John B. Behrens), it fronted on North Main Street
& was the first 3-story structure to be erected “probably 100 years ago”. According
to Adam Helwig, the Lehmkuhl Hotel was originally an old frame building, and
was later replaced by a brick building. According to the Ohio
Historic Inventory, the 2-story part was erected in 1846 and the 3-story
addition was built in 1858. This was really an old-time hostelry erected by the father of the
late Cort and Carl Lehmkuhl - J. Albert Lehmkuhl. It was a favorite stopping place for farmers, who engaged in
butchering hogs in the wintertime from December 1st to February 1st and
hauled and slaughtered porkers from as far west as Fort Wayne, Indiana via
horse-drawn wagons. If the roads were
covered with a solid bed of snow, bobsleds were brought into service. The Lehmkuhl house was their favorite stopping place for many
years. Mr. & Mrs. Lehmkuhl were
the parents of a bevy of girls who assisted their parents in conducting the
business on a successful scale. The
Lehmkuhl family was ideal in extending hospitality to their patrons and thus
prospered for 24 years. Esther (Fearing) Quist related that “My
great-grandfather, Albert Lehmkuhl, built that 3-story brick building. It was an inn and travelers came for miles
around and lodged there. All of my
mother’s sisters and brothers (children of Cort Lehmkuhl) were born there and
my mother, Adelia (Lehmkuhl) Fearing, lived there until she was 16 years old
(1884). Behind the house stood a
large outdoor bake-oven where bread was baked and eggs were boiled by the
bucketful! My great-grandmother
pieced and quilted quilts on that 3rd floor many years ago.” (by
Marge Lietz – July 1994) Fernando W. Bruns’s mother, Magdalene (Buckloh) Bruns, was employed
by the Lehmkuhls during her girlhood days (1860s?) as a dining room
waitress. The
dining room (a long room with the kitchen in the rear) was located in the
center of this structure, adjoined by a lager beer saloon in the south 1/3 of
the building. The north section
served as sleeping quarters for overnight patrons, as did also the entire 2nd
story of the building. After the
Lehmkuhls discontinued the saloon business, the room was occupied by Herman
Meyer, |
who conducted the place for
several years and later let the 3rd story for dances and other
entertainment. The center portion is
now (1947) rented by Mr. & Mrs. John Schierholt for living
quarters. In the 3rd story, on the south (left) side of the building,
was the meeting place of New Bremen’s Masonic fraternity. The Lodge prospered
quite a few years (see “The Towpath”– July 1999). In June 1905, the property was sold to William Barth for $3000 and
became known as “Barth’s Flat”. LAND TAX VALUES - Lot #11/Orig. series, #41/New
series 1838-1839-1840 – John B.
Behrens - $60 value 1870-1880 – Albert Lehmkuhl
- $1600 total value 6/24/1889 – Anna Margaretha
(Lehmkuhl) Elshoff died – no children (was Margaretha called Gretchen?) 1890 – Gretchen Elshoff
(heirs) - $1190 total value 12/31/1903 – Ernst Elshoff
killed in lumber mill accident 3/18/1905 – Pauline
(Lehmkuhl) Isern died 6/9/1905 – Mrs. Ernst
Elshoff’s property sold to Wm. Barth for $3000 1910 – William Barth - $3000 total value The Inman family – Albert G., wife Ollie, and children Carl &
Joyce took title to this landmark from William Barth’s son, Edwin C. Barth,
on August 5, 1946. In 1967, the
Inmans sold the apartments to Jim & Lucille Scheer, who in turn sold them
to the First National Bank in 1980. In 1983, the building was demolished. By January 17, 1983, there was an empty
lot. In May 1996, the lot was sold to
the Crown Credit Co., Inc. and is now a “green space”.
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[This is
page 10 from the July 2007 “Towpath”.]