Lost Macon County

The abandoned, ramshackle house at 722 West Wood Street had once been a lovely, elegant home, filled with family and friends. It had seen parties, births, anniversaries and weddings, even death, but those events could not stop the march of time across the fabric of the delapidated building. It had been stripped of everything of any value, while sheltering the vagabond on chilly nights and playing to the curiosity of mischievous boys by day.

At an earlier time, the 14 room house was the home of James Wiswell, his wife Sophronia and their children; Theodosia, Jesse, Estella, Mabel, Lillian and Roy. James Wiswell was the President of the Niagra Pump Company(1), and was one of the incorporators of The Decatur Manufacturing and Lumber Company(2). The parents lost Mabel in 1879 (3), and Theodosia in 1881(4).

In 1894, Mr. C. Henry Bachrach bought the property at 722 West Wood Street from James Wiswell for $4000 (5). He was quite well known around the city as the owner of Cheap Charley's, a clothing store whose name was later changed to Bachrach's and had the distinction of being the oldest clothing store in town (6).

The Bachrach's moved into the house in December 1894 (7), and in 1898 they celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversay (8) in those cheerful rooms. Many social activities also occurred in the house. It was the stage for the marriage of Mattie Bachrach to Benjamin F. Bornheim in 1901 (9).

The Bachrach's were famous for throwing annual picnics for the children in their neighborhood. In 1904 they celebrated their 17th annual picnic on the farm of A.C. Birks, about 2 miles west of Harristown. There were athletic events all day - football, baseball, sack race, shoe race, unmarried ladies running race, married women's running race, fat women's race, fat men's race, bald headed men's race, potato race. Both lunch and supper were served, then afterwards everyone returned to town(10).

Henry Bachrach died in 1917 (11) and the house changed hands over the years. In 1918, it was occupied by Mrs. Lulu J. Lamb, in the newspaper relating that her only son Charles enlisted in the army and had been sent to Deming, New Mexico(12). By 1925, the house had been abandoned, tied up in the estate of S.O. Harvell (13).

Neighbors, at first forlorn that the house was falling into disrepair, grew increasingly concerned as drifters wandered to and from the old house. The fire department had made several trips to the house to put out fires and the police had been called to the site many times. Residents of the area finally signed a petition, asking the city council to take action on the property. The mayor concurred (14).

On 15 June 1928, the decision was announced that the old house had been sold by J.R. Paisley to James O'Mara with the understanding that it would be torn down and removed within sixty days. Mr. O'Mara planned to use the material in other construction work, though no plans at the time for the subsequent vacant lot had been made (15).

It took two years for something to be done with the vacant lot that was once the site of a proud home. In 1930, Charles R. Miller & Sons was given permission to construct a $30,000 apartment building on that site (16), and in April of the following year, it was announced that Mrs. Arlenna Donovan was the owner of the new building, and construction was underway for eight apartments comprising 38 rooms and 8 baths at a cost of $50,000 (17).

Read an article about the sad demise and destruction of this architectural treasure.

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