Historic Landmark - 229 South William

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229 S. WILLIAM HISTORICAL CONTEXT This house was built in 1870 by John Caldwell as a rental unit. Mr. Caldwell was born in Vermont in 1820 to Mr. & Mrs. Mathew Caldwell. He moved to South Bend at in 1836 with his younger brother, Cassius. The two quickly became known for their hard work and craftsmanship as carpenters. John was employed as a carpenter until business got slow then he would work for the E.P. Taylor Sawmill. His brother Cassius began brick making along the river and eventually co-constructed several homes with his brother. John Caldwell eventually moved his interests into real estate and the constructing of rental properties, such as the houses at 227 and 229 S. William. Mr. Caldwell eventually became very well known through out South Bend and was appointed by Senator Colfax to the mail service. During his work with the U.S. Postal Service Mr. Caldwell developed the perfect system of distributing mail on cars and steamships as they passed through towns rather then taking the mail to a large city like Indianapolis to be redistributed. John Caldwell retained ownership of this property until his death in 1891 at age 71, leaving the house and other properties to his wife, Vanvela Defrees Caldwell. Mrs. Caldwell sold the house in 1895 to Eugene and Nettie Herr. Eugene Herr, born in 1848, moved to South Bend in 1871 with wife, Nettie Roe Herr and their children. Mr. Herr was a printer by trade and a prominent and active figure in public affairs. Eugene was proprietor of the South Bend Register until it went under at which time he went to work for the Hibbard Printing Company. Upon retiring from the printing company Mr. Herr briefly worked for the South Bend Tribune then opened a bookstore with his son, Harold, called "Herr & Herr". Mr. & Mrs. Herr rented 229 S. William to various tenants over the next twelve years. They sold the property in 1907 to Adelbert Hadelert who sold it the same year to Clarence E. Lee. Mr. Lee was the owner of C.E. Lee Paint Store on Main Street. Mr. Lee was the first owner of the house to actually reside there, however, the length of his stay is unknown. Clarence Lee sold the house in 1925 to Mrs. Lydia Sawyer, widow of Dr. E.S. Sawyer. Mrs. Sawyer resided at this address for several years eventually dividing it into four apartment units in 1945. She sold the house to her sister, Erma Robison, in 1973. Erma, a retired office worker for the Civic Planning Association and widow of Kenneth Robison D.D.S resided at the Mar-Main Arms Apartments and rented the house out. Mrs. Robison sold the property in 1974 to Chris and Peggy Brooks who continued to rent the apartments out until 1993 when it was sold to Bonnie Richmond. Mrs. Richmond only owned the house for two years, selling it in 1995 to the current owners, Guy and Diane Bixel. 4