Purchase Price $69,900
2 bed · 1 bath · 896 sqft
Cute 2 bedroom bungalow featuring hardwood floors and a new sliding barn door in the front bedroom. New paint, light fixtures and AC unit, and newer windows. Two car detached garage is an added bonus!
Contact: Tracy Tietjens Team at ReeceNichols-Ide Capital
Call: 816-351-1868
House History & Gallery
Before the turn of the 20th century, John W. and Carrie M. Easton were living in a newly built bungalow at 1907 Pacific St., which was at the time, the edge of the rapidly growing city. Illinois-born John was a carpenter and it is possible that he built the house himself (though the records no longer exist to confirm this). The Eastons did not remain in the home for long, having moved on by 1900.
This pattern of short-lived tenancy would continue for several years. When the Eastons moved their place in the home was taken by St. Joseph native Frederick A. Dunn and his wife Hattie Savage Dunn. The Dunns were a young couple in their 20s, just starting their life together (they were married just after they acquired the house in 1899) and the house was absolutely perfect for that! Frederick had just returned from his service in the Spanish American War and was newly employed as a trimmer for the city electric light plant and street railway – a job he would hold for nearly 50 years. His wife Hattie was born in Tennessee and the couple would have four children and were faithful parishioners at Christ Episcopal Church.
The Dunns moved to a larger house to accommodate their growing family and in 1901/1902 railway worker John J. Orr called it home until 1904. When he moved on the Frost family took up residence. John and Clara and their daughters Veda, Lulu, and Nina all worked in the factories and industries that were contributing to the growth of St. Joseph in the first decades of the 20th century. Nina’s name appears in the newspapers occasionally as a performer in some of the amateur theatrics and musical performances that were so popular at the time – apparently she was a very gifted singer.
The Frosts moved out of 1907 in about 1910 and Joseph and Elizabeth Aery moved their children in to the home. The Aery family remained until the 1920s, raising their children and working hard. It is possible, that the neighbors raised their eyebrows at their new neighbors as the Aery family had gained some notoriety in 1890 when Joseph and Elizabeth were sued for fraud by William Zumwalt in a land deal gone bad and by the W.D. Bennett Lumber company for non payment of a bill of $84.18. St. Joseph was a small town and people had long memories – it is certain that some of the residents in the neighboring homes remembered the trouble when the Aerys moved in two decades later.
When the Aerys moved out of 1907 again the house was rented to a series of relatively short-term tenants. Perhaps the most interesting was Gus H. and Mary Werner. Gus and Mary had immigrated to the United States in 1905 and 1904 respectively from Germany and Austria Hungary. They would have found a thriving German population in St. Joseph. Gus, like many recent immigrants, worked in the packing houses in the Southside; he was a sausage maker for Seitz.
Over the years, the Easton Bungalow at 1907 Pacific Street has had many hard-working families with big dreams living in it. The neighborhood went from perching on the edge of the city to one of the thriving residential districts well within the city limits. It continues to be a place where people choose to work to make a good life for themselves and their families.
