Looking Back: The Building at 214 Main

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

This article is part of a series, Looking Back at the Oldest Buildings on Newton’s Main Street.

The buildings on the east side of the 200 block of Main in Newton are some of the oldest buildings in Newton, several dating between 1886 and approximately 1895,  including the buildings at 212 and 2164Main. Although this post will focus on 214, the adjacent building was constructed at the same time and still retains many features from 1889-1895. These features include the cornice and the original shape of the windows on the second floor is also apparent even though they have been brick in.

212 -214 & Main, Newton, 2006. Both buildings were built in ca. 1890-95.

A Wood Frame Structure at 214 Main

According to the 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Newton, there was a small, wood frame building, identified as a drugstore, located at 214 Main.

200 Block 1884
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

As the block begins to fill in over the next several years the small drugstore remains at 214 with a grocery store at 212.

In 1884, Thomas H. Sharits moved his barber shop to 214 Main for a short time.  Tom Sharits was described as a “good barber, has a neatly furnished, pleasant shhop and gives general satisfaction to his customers.” He also had a reputation as “the great Jack Rabbit destroyer.” The papers mention his hunting ability several times including successful coyote hunts. Throughout the 1880s and 90s, Sharits moved the location of his barber shop several times.

Newton Daily Republican, 24 August 1890

The earliest Newton City Directories also indicate that this building also served as a boarding house with two boarders living at 214 Main in 1887.

In 1889, the Badger Store, which carried a bit of everything, was located at 214.

Saturday Evening KansasCommoner, 20 Sept 1889

200 Block 1886
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Saturday Evening Kansas Commoner, 11 October 1889

Another business that located in the building was Powell & Krueger. In 1892, they advertised that  “you produce is money . . . you can buy anything with”  at their store located at 214 Main.

Weekly Republican, 5 April 1895.

A New Brick Building at 212 – 214 Main

An exact date for the buildings at 214 and 216 Main has not been definitely established, however by 1896, there are 3 substantial brick and stone buildings at 216, 214, 212 Main, perhaps constructed at the same time.   A second hand store was located at 216 Main, a General Store at 214 and a Bakery at 212.

200 Block 1896
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

 

Newton, 1899. Parade 200 Block of Main east side. The edge of 214 Main is visible – see arrow.

The March 28, 1902 Newton Daily Herald  noted that one of the leading enterprises on the south side is the grocery and bargain store of W.D. Congdon.” After one year in his new location at 214 Main he “has built up an extensivve trade.”  The second floor had rooms for boarding.

200 block of N. Main, Newton, KS, c. 1910. 214 Main indicated with an arrow. Businesses on the east side of the street are identified in a note glued to the back of the mounting. The businesses are Star Grocery, Up-To-Date Steam Laundry, a junk store with Ringling Bros. advertising on it, Toevs Bros. Grocery, Cavneys (sp.) Wallpaper Store, Pete Park’s Meat Market, Kruegers Grocery Store and then Young’s Grocery Store in 300 block.

Newton. c. 1910. Intersection of east 3rd and Main. 214 Main is indicated with an arrow. Looking east down East Third Street from Main. Church with steeple, upper left center, is German M. E. Church, 215 E. 3rd, (1905 Newton City Directory), later purchased by First Church of God.

The front facade underwent significant change  between 1920 and the late 1930s to the current look of the building. The second floor bay window and the tin cornice removed. The second story windows were also changed to a square shape. The general appearance of the front facade was more flat.

East side of 200 Block of Main, Newton, ca. 1940.

The Movie Theater

In the 1940s and 50s the building provided a space for one of several Newton movie theaters.

Newton. 1946. Rex Theatre, 214 N. Main. Movie poster reads: “Child of Divorce.”

 

Exterior black and white photocopy showing Roxy Theater, 214 North Main, Newton, Ks. LaVern Hein Plumbing and Heating business to the south (right side of picture) and a bar to the north.

Over the years these two buildings have housed many varied businesses as Newton changed and grew. The appearance of the two buildings also underwent changes with each decade. Although the front facades have been altered, the buildings at 212-214 Main are part of a small group of structures that remain from the 1880s-1890s.

Additional Sources

  • Weekly Republican: 20 September 1889
  • Newton Daily Republican:  16 July 1890

Makin’ A Splash

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A Progressive Kansan: James M. Gross

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

The 1880s in Newton were filled with optimism and incredible growth. Main street was filling in with buildings and new businesses.  Businessmen were busy with real estate and building a modern progressive city. They were eager to push away the reputation of the 1870s and “Bloody Newton” and replace it with “Progress and Prosperity.”

Perhaps this thriving community was what drew thirty-one year old James M. Gross and his wife, Frances,  to Newton in approximately 1884* to establish a barber shop.  No doubt James and Frances were also looking for a good place to raise a family. The couple’s first child, Carl J., was born on October 7, 1885 in Newton. By 1888, James had joined his brother, George, in the barber shop business.  Throughout the next thirty-three years both James and Frances  were active leaders in Newton’s “colored” community.

Arcade Depot and Hotel at Fourth and Main, Newton, Kansas, ca. 1900.

James & Frances Gross

James was born on December 25, 1866 near Lexington, Mo. In 1883, he moved from Missouri to Ottawa, Kansas where he learned the barber’s trade. Perhaps to apprentice, he spent a year with Dan Lucas of Kansas City. Once in Newton he worked with his brother for a number of years. By 1900, he was the sole propietor of the barber shop and the Evening Kansan Republican noted, “he has made his business a financial success.” and is known as a “progressive Kansan.”

The Topeka Plaindealer, 13 December 1912.

James M. and Frances Gross were married 12 June 1894 in Buchanan, Missouri.** Frances also known as Fannie was born in 1863 in Christian, Kentucky, to Loyd and Melonia Clements. Frances was previously married to a man named Ben Morrow.

Arcade Barber Shop

In Newton, James opened his own barber shop in the newly rebuilt Arcade/Santa Fe Depot building in May 1900.

Arcade Hotel & Santa Fe Depot, 1905.

Evening Kansan Republican, 15 May 1900

Always looking for ways to impove his services, in the spring of 1901, Gross annouced that he had “added an adjustable chair for children to his barber shop.”  At the state level he had the respect of both Black and white barbers. Gross was a charter member of the Kansas State Barber’s association No. 6 of Newton. The organization had a membership  of twenty, seventeen of whom were white. He was elected treasurer and later,  secretary for the organization.

Both the Evening Kansan Republican and the Topeka Plaindealer agreed;  James “conducted the leading tonsorial parlors of the city . . . he is held in the highest estem by the businessmen of his town.”

“One of the Leads in Society”

Both James and Frances were active members in the Black community, locally and at the state level. James was a writer for the Topeka Plaindealer, a newspaper run for and by the Black communities in Kansas and printed in Topeka.

Locally, he was active in the local Fred Douglas literary society, serving as president in 1900. The group of men met to discuss various issues of concern or interest to them.  At their December 1900 meeting, papers were read and then a discussion was held on the topic, “That the Negro has a better right to this country than the Indian.” 

Frances was described  as “his cultured wife . . . one of the leads in society and church circles”  with her “winning way and sweet disposition.”  She also was involved  in several local women’s group including  N.U.G, which seemed to function much like the all white Ladies Reading Circle, Unic Octon Club,  and the Colored O.E.S. Almond Chapter 27  where she served as Worthy Matron in 1920-21.***

Both James and Frances were heavily involved in their church. At a benefit in 1902, James “made a fine Uncle Rufus or ‘Ole Man’.” A short time later, the paper reports that James’ performance of  I’ve a Longing in My Heart for You  “brought the house down.” He also served as  Sabbath Superintendent for the A.M.E. Church.

Frances apparently also had a mind for business and the Topeka Plaindealer, May 1901,  noted she was James’ “peer as a financier and manager in church work. If lawful I would have her for a steward instead of a stewardess.”

The Topeka Plaindealer, 22 May 1901.

“A Delightful Lawn Party”

The couple frequently entertained in their home. In April 1900, they held a welcome to Newton party for Frances’ younger brother, Jesse, which included games, music and “a fine supper.”

Evening Kansan Republican, 28 April 1900.

Later that same year, they hosted  “a delightful lawn party” for their out-of-town guests, P.J. Morrow and his wife, at their home on east 4th. “Excellent music was furnished by Messrs. Hamilton and Robinson of Wichita and it was of a very high order.” Morrow was likely a relative of Frances’ first husband, Ben Morrow.

“Most Prominent Colored Citizen”

In 1909, James sold the Arcade barber shop to G.A. Tong. In the announcement to the paper,  he noted he plans to remain in Newton, but wanted to make a trip to the Pacific coast.  In July 1909, he accepted a position as a Pullman porter. His “run” was between Newton and Amarillo.

James and Frances were living at 511 east 8th with their son, Carl and his wife Canilla Gross in 1918.

Newton City Directory, 1918-1919.

One year later the Evening Kansan Republican on May 16, 1919 carried the sad announcment that at 3:30 in the afternoon James Gross, “one of the most prominent colored citizen of Newton” had died from stomach cancer.

He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton, Ks.

Describing James M. Gross, the Topeka Plaindealer noted; “He was well respected by all who know him as a man devoted to his family and race.”

Notes

*Gross’ Obituary gives the date 1897 for his arrival in Newton. This is likely an error in printing, as census and newspapers have the family in Newton Ks by 1885 when Carl was born.

**Frances Clements Morrow Gross was previously married to a man named Ben Morrow. Some of his children also came to Newton at the turn of the century.

***In 1925-26 Carl J. Gross family moved to California and established a life there. There is no mention of Frances in the Newton papers after 1921. The location of her burial has also not yet been discovered.

Sources

  • Evening Kansan Republican:  1 May 1899, 12 Jan 1900, 15 May 1900, 25, 12 Dec. 1900, 29 April 1901, 9 Jan 1902,  4 Mar 1902, 8 April 1902, 17 May 1902, 23 July 1902,  1 September 1902, 18 Aug 1903,  26 Aug 1903,  29 Aug 1903, 18 Aug 1905, 25 May 1909, 30 July 1909,  16 May 1919, 5 Feb. 1920, 29 June 1921,  29 Dec 1921.
  • Newton Journal: 23 May 1919.
  • The Topeka Plaindealer: 1 June 1900, 2 Dec 1900,  1 Mar 1903, 13 Nov 1903, 29 July 1904, 2 Oct 1904, 3 Oct 1904,  2 Dec 1911, 2 Feb 1912, 9 Feb 1912 13 December 1912, 3 March 1916, 4 April 1919,  16 May 1919, 30 May 1919, 31 Oct 1919.
  • U.S. Census: 1870, 1900, 1910, 1930, 1940.
  • Kansas Census: 1915
  • Marriage Certificate for James M. Gross and Fannie B. Morrow, 12 June 1894, Missouri, County Marriage, Naturalization, and Courthouse Records, 1800-1991.