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51991 ASH ROAD <br />HISTORICAL CONTEXT <br />This property is located on the west side of Ash Road between Andersen and Brummit <br />Roads in St. Joseph County, Indiana. It is described as being 5 acres Southeast 1/2 of the <br />Southeast %4, Section 16, Township 38 North, Range 4 east in St. Joseph County, Indiana. <br />John G. and Catherine Smith purchased this tract of land from Frederick C. and Mary <br />Silber in 1874. Mr. Smith erected a nine room, brick, Italianate Hybrid style house a year <br />later, 1875. John G. Smith was born in St. Joseph County in 1837 and married Catherine, <br />with whom he sired two sons, Louis and George and two daughters, Hettie and Alice. <br />John Smith, a prominent area farmer, eventually expanded is holdings by constructing <br />two large barns and various other out buildings, unfortunately the barns and sheds have <br />long since been demolished. Mr. & Mrs. Smith resided in this house until their deaths, <br />John in 1917 and Catherine in 1918, after which the house remained in an estate, jointly <br />owned by all of their children. During the next ten years John's daughter, Mrs. Alice <br />Replogle and her husband, J.W., resided in the family home and ran the farm while the <br />other siblings married and moved out of state. Alice and J.W. lived there until 1927 <br />when the Smith heirs sold the property to Lester G. Kline, Smith & Carrie Kline, George <br />Forstbauer and Philip and Ida Matz. Philip Matz was an employee of Hygrade Meat <br />Products Company, he and his wife often dabbled in real estate with George Forstbauer. <br />Lester Kline and his family actually resided in the house for several years while <br />intermittently renting it out. During the late 1920s Mr. & Mrs. Matz, Mr. & Mrs. Kline <br />and George Forstbauer sold their interests in the property to Lester Kline. He continued <br />to own the property until 1939 when he defaulted on his mortgage causing the property to <br />be sold to the mortgage company, Federal Land Bank, during a Sheriffs Sale in July. The <br />bank immediately sold the house to Glen R. and Esther Lee. <br />Glen Lee, a self - employed brick mason, moved to Granger in 1939 with his wife Esther <br />Vinnall -Lee. Mr. Lee resided in this house, known as 200 S. Ash Road, until 1950 when <br />he sold it to Leo J. and Norma Kierein. The Kieriens retained ownership for fifteen <br />years, selling it to Norman L. Fisher in 1965. Mr. Fisher resided here for fourteen years, <br />selling the property to David A. Palenick in 1979, who turned around a sold it two years <br />later to Eric E. Eckert. Mr. Eckert also parted with the property fairly quickly, selling it <br />in 1982 to the current owners, Terry M. and Barbara Futrell <br />