A question about the build date for this nice old home on South Grand Street in Chariton came up Monday and I thought I knew the answer --- 1890. But as happens too often I'd looked this up at one point, then misplaced the references. So here they are, neatly packaged in one place, so that won't happen again.
I took the photographs during June of 2012 when home and contents were being sold to settle the estates of the late Judge Bill and Elgin Stuart, whose family home it had been for many years.
Here's the neighborhood as it was in 1893, taken from the Sanborn fire insurance map of that year and annotated with the locations of a few familiar landmarks.
The brick (now covered in stucco) Kubitshek home still stands at the corner of South Grand and Linden; First Christian Church still stood in 1893 on the lot (later divided into two) just north of the then-new Rose home; and the Masonic Temple has by now replaced the house just to the south. Note the location, too, of the Curtis Broom Factory across the alley east of the church. On the other side of the street, the basement had just been dug for First Baptist Church and Frank and Minnie Crocker were occupying the original version of the grand old house that now is part of Fielding Funeral Home.
At the time the house in question was built, Charley (Charles Wesley) Rose was operating a successful grocery store in Chariton. The new home was mentioned first in The Chariton Herald of Oct. 31, 1889, when it was reported that "The stone is on the ground and plans and preparations being made for a fine two-story house to be erected by our enterprising townsman, C.W. Rose, on his lot just south of the Christian Church. That's right, Charlie, help the town besides having a house to help make life pleasant and comfortable. Layton & Hougland have the contract for the work."
The Chariton Patriot of July 30, 1890, reported that "Notwithstanding the dreadfully dry and hot summer, the new buildings undertaken are in rapid progress toward completion. On the Branner corner, the old unsightly frames will soon be replaced by a two story double brick building (the Dewey Block) which will be a great change over the old landmarks which have stood there for so many years. The new school building (Franklin) in the west part of town, will be one of the finest in the city, and when completed, will be a much needed addition to our educational facilities. C.W. Rose will soon have finished his fine new house, adding one of the most commodious and elegant homes to the many others of the kind in Chariton."
The Herald reported on Aug. 21 that "Mr. C.W. Rose and family are now occupying their new house, which is one of the most commodious and convenient residences in Chariton."
The house, in the years since 1890, has been given a modest colonial revival facelift, but when constructed was classic Queen Anne with a one-story ginger-breaded porch across the front, minus the fake shutters. The original intent still is obvious at the south end of the main block where a large first-floor bay is topped by an open porch.
Charley Rose (1854-1917) followed many careers during his lifetime, including several years spent chasing gold in the Klondike. One of these shifts in profession and circumstance probably was why the Rose family sold their new home during 1895 to Samuel (1849-1925) and Florence (1853-1937) McKlveen.
The Chariton Democrat in its edition of May 10, 1895, reported that "Mr. Samuel McKlveen has secured the handsome residence property now occupied by C.W. Rose and will take possession the first of June."
Samuel McKlveen operated lumber yards in Chariton at times in partnership with his brothers and then with William Eikenberry. He also was a prominent banker. Following his death in 1925, Florence McKlveen continued to live in the big house on South Grand until her own passing during 1937.
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