Historical Landmark - 1631 Lincolnway West

Home Browse Search

HISTORICAL CONTEXT This property is located on Lincolnway West which is the twentieth Century name for the Michigan road which was opened in the early 1830's as the first connecting road between Lake Michigan and the Ohio River. This lot was platted in 1904. However, the assessor's records indicate no structures constructed in that year and only a few in 1905 and 1906. The South Bend Brewing Association Brewery directly across the street was constructed in 1905. The building presently being considered was constructed in the first wave of major development of Augustine's Addition in 1907. The house was constructed for William Clem, Superintendent for the County Schools and Library from 1$97 until 1909. Apparently, Clem had the house constructed for his ward Harold Werst. Young Mr. Werst, the son of Alanzo Werst, was born nearly nine months following his father's suicide in 1896. Alanzo was a locally notable builder, working in partnership with his Father, Decatur Werst, who had moved to St. Joseph County in 1868.Prior to taking his own life, West had been embroiled in controversy regarding corruption in the selection of contractors for. the new County Courthouse although this was not referred to in his suicide note which cited poor health and indebtedness. The latter no-doubt contributed to the need for appointment of a guardian for the boy. Acting for young Werst, William Clem purchased this and other lots in 1907 and had the house constructed. By 1912 they had rented the property to William Wenrick, a department superintendent at Studebaker, who purchased the property in 1920. Mr. wenrick resided here until his death in 1939 at. the age of 66. The house was sold at auction the following year to Mary Kruehl who maintained it as a rental property. The masonry bearing wall construction of this house utilizing concrete blocks with exposed faces articulated to simulate the appearance of stone was an alternative to frame construction promoted during .the first three decades of the Twentieth Century. Although the use of this bock was common for foundations, basements, commercial buildings, and garages, its employment in South Bend area house construction was not .extensive. Only three two story four-square style houses with stone faced concrete bearing walls are known to be still existing in the city with a few others in :the small towns and rural areas of St. Joseph County. A similar number of smaller bungalow houses have also been found. The concrete blocks were typically produced at the construction site using molds which were available from Sears, Besser Manufacturing of Alpena Michigan and the Ideal Concrete Manufacturing Company of Ontario, Canada. Sears also offered the machines as part of their kit house packages from 1908 until 1918. A single worker could produce about fifty of these blocks per day using these machines. At the time of the subject house's construction, this method was considered to be the cutting edge of residential construction. During the 1930s, the hand operated machines were supplanted by more automated methods with the attendant loss of the stone face feature.