617 Silver

This five-bay center hall cottage with an applied full width porch is one of the few raised houses in the neighborhood.  It was built in about 1878 by Cornelia Himstedt, a widow, who married John Kay in 1879.  They sold the house in 1891 to Charles Wagner, a blacksmith in the H. & T. C. shops.  He and his wife Amelia were both German immigrants.  After purchasing the house, they remodeled it by raising the house to its current height, replacing the original 6/6 windows with modern 2/2 ones, replacing the entry door with a modern one, and adding a second bedroom in the rear.  Mr. Wagner died in 1915; Amelia continued to live in the house until her death in 1936, and then their unmarried daughter Louise lived there until her death in 1964.  She was an office worker for the telephone company.

The house belonged to the Wagner family for about 70 years, and some member or members of the family lived in it during that period.  Note the magnificent burr oak on the north side of the house.

For additional historical details click here.