Say hello to Logan County's history

 

Logan County’s municipalities are filled with the ghosts of times past – if only by the structures left behind by those who inhabited our area in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Continuing our historical tour in and around downtown Sterling, we have the opportunity to learn about some of the grand old buildings that line the streets. If you let your mind wander to think about what it must have been like in those early days, you might just spark your imagination to relive those “good ol’ days” filled with stage coach stations, gunfights, cattlemen and sugar beets.

A famous writer, Eduardo Galeano, once said, “History never really says goodbye. History says, ‘See you later.’”

Maybe it’s time to say hello again to our history.

Wathena Mercantile (1896) – 121 N. 2^nd St. The only concrete slump block façade in the downtown area was the home of A. H. Pettit and Company, when in 1899 it became the site of the town’s only gunfight. Pettit apparently insulted W. H. (Buck) Cheairs’ wife. This led to a confrontation in Pettit’s store and his death. Cheairs was convicted and imprisoned.

Old City Hall (1912) – 214 Poplar St. It was built by William Kaepernik at a cost of $13,208 and served as City Hall and fire station until 1976. The architect was John Huddart, who also designed the Courthouse. The exterior is original and the interior has been restored or appropriately remodeled.

Post Office, Federal Building and Courthouse (1930) – NW corner of Poplar and N. 3^rd Streets. Designed by architect James A. Wetmore and built by a Denver firm at a cost of $187,877, it formally opened October 24, 1931. W. B. Giacomini was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to be Postmaster.

W. E. King House – NW corner of N. 4^th St. and Elm Streets. This house was built in 1907 on the Courthouse Square by Sterling pioneer W. E King in the sub-zero weather of that winter. It was moved in 1909 as were several other fine homes, in preparation for the building of the new Courthouse.

Sid Propst House – 416 N. 4^th St. This is the oldest house in Sterling, because it was built earlier in Green City, an ephemeral town farther up the Platte River, and moved here in 1884. It was used by Propst as a stagecoach station on his Greeley-Sidney line. Later it was the Fisher Hospital operated by pioneer doctors Hall, Chipman, Kellogg, and Fisher.

Old Telephone Exchange (1909) – 112 and 114 N. 4^th St. Sterling’s first telephone switchboard was in Claude and Sam Ard’s Central Hotel on Main Street. It was followed by this building, the Colorado Telephone building, constructed in Victorian functional style with false pillars and iron capitals.

Bill’s Motors (1926) – Main and 4^TH St. Bill Pospicil started selling Kellogg cars in Sedgwick and moved to Sterling in 1929. He sold Durant vehicles at 328 Chestnut before moving to this building, which had been built with a touch of Spanish colonial style, for McClain Chevrolet. The building is now home to the Old Town Bistro restaurant, as well as the Parts & Labor Brewing Company in the former dealership’s repair shop.

Presbyterian Church (1918) – S. 4^th and Ash Streets (NR). The congregation first met in October 1878 in a sod school house in Old Sterling. In 1883 they moved to a frame building in the new Sterling. This was replaced in 1898 with a new building in the new Sterling. This was replaced in 1898 with a new building at Poplar and N. 4^th Streets. In 1918, under the leadership of Rev. Gatewood Milligan, they moved to this structure, with its unaltered exterior and the original stained glass windows.

Grant Brown House – S. 4^th and Ash Streets. Construction was begun by prominent real estate broker Grant Brown in 1909 and finished in 1911. It was owned by Dr. Naugle and used as his office from 1937 to 1962 then purchased by the Elks Lodge in 1962. The building is privately owned.

Old Library (1918) – S. 4^th and Ash Streets (NR). Several Sterling women’s clubs, with the aid of a generous grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, opened this library in 1918 with 2,000 volumes. The exterior has been restored and the interior was sensitively remodeled, first as a bed and breakfast and now as a private home.

We have even more stops ahead, but for now, roam freely and see what you can discover.