Purchase Price $29,000
4 Units - each 1 bedroom
Investor’s delight! Step into this charming multi-family property in Saint Joseph. This property features four units. Each unit is one-bedroom. The property is cleaned out and ready to be remodeled.
Contact: Faye and Deion Whitney, Platinum Realty
Call: (888) 220-0988
House History & Gallery
One thing about doing the history of a duplex – twice as many interesting people have lived there! This is especially true when that duplex has a nearly 150 year history as does the Garrod Duplex at 1113-1115 Corby. A quick trip through the history of this fascinating residence reveals people who were born in a wide variety of places and who worked the broad gamut of jobs that kept the wheels of commerce in St. Joseph moving.
The earliest residents that we can find are the Garrod family. Robert J. Garrod was born in London and he worked at the St. Joseph Planing Mill while he lived on Corby. His wife Isadore Clark Garrod was born in St. Louis. They shared the house with their two sons Roy and Harry, both of whom were clerks in two of the many dry goods stores in the city.
One of the keys to the success and growth of St. Joseph from the late 19th through the mid-20th century was its position as a transportation hub. Over the years many of the residents worked in jobs related to the transport industry. In 1898 and 1899 horseshoer James W. Michael and his employee Clifford R. Jones lived in 1115. Just a few years later in 1904 John C. Albright, a clerk for the Burlington was in 1113 and on the other side was Christopher C. McKee, a clerk in the Union Depot news stand. A decade later Wayne R. Smith, a brakeman took up residence. In 1917, as the era of the automobile began in earnest, James A. Kemp who worked in auto livery was in residence. He was followed in 1921 by Proper LePage who was a vulcanizer at a tire company. And in 1928, F.S. McKown, an auto mechanic lived at 1113.
At the turn of the 20th century, the family of Edward S. Caviezel lived at 1113. They were the proprietors of Caviezel & Son broom factory. His son Edward Jr. was a talented musician. It is sometimes surprising how many people in St. Joseph made their living through music; in 1909 the practicing of local musician Joseph S. Carr could be heard from the open windows of 1115. In the 1920s, Theresa Davidson worked as a musician in one of the local dance academies.
There were a fair number of residents who worked in the building trades. It began with Robert Garrod and his work as a carpenter in the St. Joseph Planing Mill. Nelson P. Tuttle, another carpenter lived in 1115 in 1928-1929 and his neighbor was the bricklayer David Hall. Between 1946 and 1949, Samuel E. Mansbargar, a carpenter at State Hospital #2, and his family resided at the duplex.
Several of the residents worked in the food industry. In 1904, Thomas D. Albright worked at a creamery. Henry B. Rowe, a butcher in one of the packing houses was one of the longer-term tenants, living in 1113 from 1912 to 1916. Clarence E. Wilcox, a clerk at Mason’s Sandwich Shop on Frederick Ave. lived here for about seven years. Mason’s was one of the favorite local restaurants, famous for serving the first toasted sandwiches in the city.
The residents of the duplex came from all over. Leopold Davidson and his wife Fannie were born in Germany and Robert J. Garrod and Albert E. Holley came from England. Others came from places in the Midwest, Ohio, Illinois, Kansas, Indiana, and of course Missouri – several were born in St. Louis, some in Lawson, and several in St. Joseph.
It is remarkable how much of St. Joseph’s history can be found in a place like the Garrod duplex at 1113-1115 Corby. This storied home has fallen on hard times and is in need of someone who is willing and able to give it the attention it deserves to take it through the next hundred years.
