Purchase Price: $64,500
2 bed · 1 bath · 2,252 sqft
This charming 2 bedroom house is ready for you to call it home. It has new main floor carpet, new paint, and a roof that is only about 5 years old. There is the potential for up to 4 bedrooms.
Contact: Lisa Rock -- Re/Max
Call: 816-262-8462
House History & Gallery
Frederick Lange built the lovely little house at 1125 Powell around 1885 when he came to St. Joseph to work in the brewing industry. Frederick emigrated from Germany in 1867 when he was only 21 years old. He waited until 1880 before he married his wife Emma, who was also German, and had four children. He worked for both the St. Joseph Brewing Company (his relative William Lange was the treasurer and manager) and the Nunning Brewery (learn more about the Nunnings (look under the “Know Joe” tab and August Nunning’s home which is currently for sale: https://historicsaintjosephemporium.com/nunning-house). Their daughter Nathalie Clara married Frank J. Hansmire (from Lincoln, NE) at the house in March 1907. They had decorated the residence in green and white with white carnations and smilax. Nathalie wore gray for her wedding with pink roses in her hat. Following a festive wedding supper, the happy couple left for their new lives in Lincoln. The Langes lived here until 1909 when they had a household goods auction and sold the home.
The next occupants were Fred H. and Minnie Laderick and their extended family. A comparison of the house’s footprint on the 1897 Sanborn Map and the 1911 map shows that by 1911 the house had been significantly enlarged.
Fred Laderick was the child of Swiss and German immigrants and he worked for Pearl Laundry. His wife, Minnie Stanford came to St. Joseph with her parents from Tennessee. Living with Fred and Minnie were Fred’s sister Bertha who made her living as a bookkeeper and his father Christian. Christian was the victim of a tragic accident in April 1910 when he mistakenly took carbolic acid rather than his medicine. He was found in his bed at 1125 by his son Fred. The funeral was held from the home.
Perhaps it was this tragedy that prompted the Ladericks to move on; by November 1913 William F. Miller was living here. Miller was a partner with Julius Berkely in Miller & Berkley “dryers, cleaners, repairers of masquerade and theatrical costumes” located at 314 Francis. They were one of the dry cleaners in town. Miller was born in Eaton, Ohio and was married to Ella. In 1915 the Millers ran in to some trouble with their neighbor E.G. Powell over allegations that their dog bit Powell’s 9 year-old son. Soon after this, they moved.
Once the Millers and their dog had moved on, 1125 Powell became the residence of the Kill family who lived here for about 15 years. Like the others before him, John Kill was the product of a German immigrant family (he was born in 1883 in Missouri, but both of his parents were from Germany). He was a second corn miller for the Aunt Jemima Mills. Later he became a fireman for a packing plant and at the time of his death in 1949 he was a fireman for the Goetz Brewing Co.
The German community was a highly social group and John and his wife Mary B. Weiche were very much a part of that. In February 1922, the St. Joseph Gazette reported on a card party that she hosted at the house in honor of her husband’s birthday where they played High Five.
In about 1932 the Kills moved and for the next decade 1125 Powell was home to Lee A. Allen and his wife Agnes and daughter Mary. Lee was a veteran of the Spanish American War (1898) and was a police Lieutenant with the St. Joseph police department. Mary Allen was the lucky winner of free tickets to the Rivoli Theater in January 9139. All she had to do was pick them up at Versue’s Deli at 1701 Frederick Ave. (now Acme Music and Vending Company). Lt. Lee died at the house in 1940 of pulmonary tuberculosis from which he had suffered for more than 30 years. After his death his wife Agnes continued to live at the house until 1946.
