Pamela L. Speis of the Mahoning Valley Historical Society gave me a
little historical information on No. 259 Park Avenue via email this morning,
along with a (very small) scanned copy of an old black and white photo of
the house circa: 1920's.
There used to be a stone wall along the front of the property, which curved inward
at the entrance to the driveway. Another curious thing is that it appeared as
though there were only TWO dormers in the attic roof that faced the street,
but the house had three - someone may have made some architectural changes(?)
Pamela stated that the house had been built in 1900, with the stone facace...but
I have heard others say that it was built in 1875, and had been a wooden house
that was changed later to include the stone facing.
Judging from the remains the morning after the fire (Tyler Clark gets credit
for those shocking photos in his blog) I would tend to think that it was always
a stone house - the walls that were still standing had notches in them where
structural beams were laid into the stonework.
Here is the historical info she gave me:
Historical Information for No. 259 Park Avenue Youngstown, OH
Courtesy of Pamela L. Speis, Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
All rights reserved.
(Article used by permission)
According to the National Register Form for the Wick Park Historic District, the
residence at 259 Park Avenue was built for Charles H. Krauter in the Georgian
Colonial Revival style, with a stone façade in 1900.
The Youngstown city directories agree that Charles Henry Krauter appears as
the first occupant and remains there until his death in 1929. Charles H.
Krauter, druggist is listed in the city directories from 1900 to 1927-1928.
1929 Mrs. Mary McC Krauter (widow Charles H.)
Death Certificate for Charles Henry Krauter, Division of Vital Statistics,
Certificate of Death #23011. Date of Birth March 15, 1861 . Date of Death
March 29, 1929 , age at time of death 68 years 14 days.
Wife Mary McCartney. Address: 259 Park Avenue . Occupation – druggist.
Birthplace Bridgeton , NJ . Father – Charles Krauter, Mother – Mary Cook.
Burial: Oak Hill Cemetery , funeral director John S. Orr & Son
The old photo is attached - I've sent Pamela another email asking here if
someone could scan the photo at a larger size/resoution.
