Purchase Price $79,500
1221: 1 bed · 1 bath · 800 sqft
1223: 2 bed · 1 bath · 800 sqft
Remodeled duplex in Museum Hill Historic District still retains its charm and character! Hardwood floors, beautiful archways, bay windows and a fireplace all make this a truly special place.
Contact: Lynne Stover at BHHS Stein & Summers
Call: (816) 262-7787
House History & Gallery
The charming Italianate house, located in the Museum Hill Local Historic District, was built in the early 1880s. The first occupant that we know very much about was William Striblen, a prominent local druggist whose shop was located on the northeast corner of 6th and Messanie Streets. Striblen, was born in Hesse Kassel, a district in Germany, on May 16, 1837. He came to the United States at the age of 17. His father had been a government official in Germany and thus had the financial means to provide his son with a solid education. William arrived in New Orleans on January 1, 1850 and from there followed the Mississippi River to St. Louis where he entered the drug business. Striblen appears to have taken a real pleasure in new places; after only three years in St. Louis, he moved to Cincinnati and then to Indianapolis, Covington, KY, Chicago and then to Keokuk, IA where he opened his own drug store. He was quite prosperous until the outbreak of the Civil War when he enlisted in the Union Army. He was soon promoted to the position of hospital steward for the 27th regiment of the Ohio Volunteer infantry. He then served in two African American units: the 63rd regiment and the 69th regiment. Striblen did not remain safely behind the lines; his military service resulted in several wounds before he was discharged on May 5, 1865 for health reasons. Following discharge, he traveled in an attempt to regain his health and he soon recovered. He arrived in St. Joseph in April 1866 and worked as a clerk until he had amassed sufficient funds to open his own drug store. Once he was established in St. Joe, he married Sarah (Sally) Tracy and the couple had five children which they raised in their house on Sylvanie Street were the family remained until William’s death in 1893.
Following William’s death, Sally sold the property to Lyman Forgrave, the city building inspector who was a bricklayer by trade. The 1900 census reports that not only did Lyman and his wife Nancy Ann live in the home, but they were joined by three sons aged between 15 and 23, as well as Lyman’s brother Albert, his uncle, and a housekeeper and her 7 year old daughter. One of their sons was a physician, Harrison Sales Forgrave who remained in St. Joseph until his death in 1937. Another, Lyman Robert, worked as an oculist and married the daughter of famed local architect E.J. Eckel in 1907. Nancy died at the house on April 11, 1909.
During the 1910s and 1920s the house was occupied by civil servants. Daniel O. Kelley, a police officer headquartered at the Central Police Station and Ora L. Bird, a city fireman both lived in the house during this period. It was as the 1920s drew to a close that the house was divided into a duplex. In 1940 it was advertised for rent in the St. Joseph Journal, “5 rooms lower, modern, newly decorated: hardwood floors $18.00, or 9 rooms 2 baths, 2 skinks $25.00” For several decades it was home to a large number of tenants who worked in the various businesses and enterprises that fueled the St. Joseph economy.
