1. Stevens Funeral Home (back to top)
The Stevens Funeral Home had its beginnings on South 7th Street, and the original owner of the funeral home was Hugh F. McDonald. He acted as owner and operator of the funeral home. Around the year 1910 Mr. McDonald took on a partner, David M. Stevens, and the funeral home went under the name of McDonald and Stevens.
In 1912 the partners bought the lot at 124 South 8th Street and erected a two story home for the funeral parlor. Earlier city directories do not show anything at 124 South 8th Street before 1912. By 1916 the funeral home was going by the name of Eberle & Stevens with David Stevens as manager. In 1925 David Stevens had retired from the funeral business due to poor health.
In 1929 the funeral home was operated under the name of Wheeler & McCracken, W.B. Wheeler & H.R. McCracken owners. The following year shows another change of ownership to Stevens & McCracken Funeral Home. Leah A. Stevens, widow of David, had taken W.B. Wheeler’s position in the firm. By 1946 McCracken was the only owner of the funeral home, and in 1953 the funeral home was purchased by James Hugh Thorn and the company went under the name of McCracken-Thorn Funeral Home. In 1960 Mr. Thorn purchased the old Opperman Home at 139 South 9th Street and moved the funeral home to its new location under the name of Thorn Funeral Home.
After the business moved to its new location the old building was removed and the site is now used for a parking lot next to the Cambridge Municipal Court Building.
2. The I.O.O.F. Building (back to top)
In 1860, Cambridge Lodge No. 301, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was organized in Cambridge, Ohio. It was instituted by Deputy Grand Master Alexander E. Glenn. Charter members of the order included Washington Maynard, Richard R. Graham, Robert Fletcher Burt, Benjamin S. Herring and William McKennon. Over the next 35 years the lodge met in various location throughout Cambridge. By 1895 membership in the lodge had risen to 143 members. It was decided that the lodge needed a permanent home.
In 1896 the lodge decided on the site for their new home and purchased the old Tingle Tavern Building. By the next year the lodge had erected a beautiful three story structure with stone trimmings. The building is 50 x 150 feet in size. The lodge room is located in the rear of the third floor, in front of which are the parlors and library. The second floor contained recreation rooms. The cost of the building and lot was $20,000.00
The first floor, or street level of the building, has been used for retail and commercial businesses. Shortly after the building was built the U.S. Post Office moved the Post Office to the building. The Post Office remained here until their present building was completed in 1917. For many years the Danley Hill Company kept an appliance store on the first floor of the building. By the 1980’s the lodge was all but dissolved and the building was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Dick Pavlov, and they house Pavlov Music Store in a portion of the first floor.
3. Cambridge Baking Company (back to top)
4. The Guernsey National Bank Building (back to top)
The Guernsey National Bank was established in 1872. Its original stockholders included J.D. Taylor, John McBurney, John Heaume, William Lenfesty, John Ogier, George H. Boetcher, A.A. Taylor, E. Nyce and J.O. McIlyar. Col. J.D. Taylor was elected its firs president and W.A. Lawrence, cashier. In 1872 Col J.D.Taylor and William Lenfesty erected a large 3 story building on lot number 59 to house the newly former Guernsey National Bank, and the Guernsey Times which at that time they also owned.
The Guernsey National Bank used the west 1/3 of the building. In the 1920’s the bank changed the façade of the west 1/3 of the building to its current form. This bank remained in operation until the early 1930’s, and when it closed their space was taken over by the County Savings and Loan Company. The Guernsey Times was purchased by the Jeffersonian in October 1919 and ceased publication. In 1946 Jean Frocks, a women’s clothing store opened in the former bank space. Miler Jones Shoe Store was in the middle third of the building and in the east 1/3 of the building was the Charm Shop. After Miller Shoes went out of business, the Gander Shoe Store took its place. In 1962 Rogers Jewelers opened, and they remained at 653 Wheeling Avenue until the fall of 2006.
Most of the retail shops in the building were on the street level of the building. At one time the businesses also had openings to the street from the basement level of the building. Doors leading out to under the present sidewalk can still be found in the building. For many years Dr. Thomas Swan had his office located in the second floor of the building and apartments continue to be utilized on the third floor of the building.
5. Old Brown High School (back to top)
The March 12, 1908 issue of the Weekly Cambridge Jeffersonian announced that a special meeting of the Cambridge School District Board of Education had been held and a resolution was made calling for a special election for the issuing of bonds in the sum of $65,000 to erect and furnish a new high school building. The high school at that time numbered over 200 pupils and was projected to reach the 300 mark within two years. The article went on to state that it was the hope of the board to place the high school and the A Grammar, or eighth grade, students in the new building, leaving the Central building to relieve the congestion at the East, North, West and South buildings.
In July 1908, the Cambridge School Board chose the site for the new building and purchased lots Number 90 & 91 from Rachel Bayless and members of the Brown family for $10,000.00. Architect J.F. Orr was hired to design the building. The building was named for the Brown family who had owned a portion of the land and who had run the Brown House which sat behind the school where the Daily Jeffersonian now sits.
In January 1910 the building was complete, at the cost of $60,000.00. The Guernsey Times of January 4 gave the following description of the building: “The building in the main is oblong, dimensions about 80 x 130 feet, constructed of dark brick, cement floors, so constructed as to be fire-proof throughout. The heating and ventilating system is modern and most complete in every detail. The building was dedicated on Friday January 7, 1910, and the school officially opened on Tuesday January 11.
The first Senior Class to graduate from Brown High School graduated on June 9, 1910, but by the early 1940’s Brown High School was becoming overcrowded. On June 2, 1944 marked the end of an era as the last Senior Class graduated from Brown High School. Beginning in the fall of 1944 through the spring of 1959 Brown High became Brown Junior High. The School was closed in the spring of 1959 with the completion of the new Cambridge High School on Clairmont Avenue. The Class of 1964 was the last class to graduate whose students would have attended Brown Junior High School.
In 1961 the County purchased Brown High and converted it into the County Jail and Courthouse Annex. A residence for the Sheriff was constructed on the 1st floor. County offices filled the rest of the first and second floors. The jail was in the basement of the building with doors opening out into the alley. By the mid 1990’s the roof of the building had deteriorated from years of neglect. In 1994 all offices in the building were ordered to move. The County jail remained in the building until the new Justice Center was completed. In the late 1990’s the building was razed.
6. The Craig Corner (back to top)
Lot 19 in Downtown Cambridge dates all the way back to 1816. In 1848 Samuel Craig of Old Washington bought out the grocery store operating on the lot and moved to Cambridge to operate the business. Samuel Craig was a member of the Abolition or Free Soil Party. In 1841, while he was still living in Old Washington, he was elected secretary of the new Anti-Slavery Society formed there. After moving to Cambridge he operated the Cambridge Station of the Underground Railroad on the property.
One of his sons Samuel A. Craig joined his father in the family business. In 1891, after the death of his father, he became sole owner of the business. He continued to run the business with the help of his brother Cyrus F. and his two sons, Frederick G. and Samuel A., Jr. In 1904 a large 4-story brick business and apartment building was erected on the lot. On the first floor of the building the family operated Craig’s Department Store. After the death of Samuel A., Sr. the business was continued by his two sons. They continued to run the business until 1925.
In 1926 city directories show the S.S. Kresge Company operating a store on the first floor. This Kresge store became known as Upper Kresges. This was due to the fact that the Kresge Company was operating two stores in Cambridge. The other store was located down the street in the 700 block of Wheeling Avenue. This store was known as lower Kresges. In 1959 city directories show that the two Kresge stores had merged into the lower store and Hallmark of Cambridge was now located on the lower floor of the Craig building.
In 1985 the building was purchased by the Cambridge Savings & Loan Company. Two years were spent trying to renovate the old building. In 1988 the building was removed after it was determined that the costs to renovate the building were too costly. Today a small plaza complete with benches, trees and flowers take up the space where the Craig building once stood.
7. Central School (back to top)
8. The Hotel Berwick’s Colorful Past (back to top)
In 1883 Col. J.D. Taylor began construction of a large hotel on the corner of 6th and Wheeling Avenue on lot 77. The hotel opened in 1884 and was considered one of the finest hotels in eastern Ohio. This history of this log stems back to 1820, but was first purchased by Col. J.D. Taylor for $3000.00. After purchasing the lot Mr. Taylor beautified the lot and erected a brick wall around the lot. The Taylor’s lived in this lot until their mansion north of the town was completed in 1880. It was then when construction of the hotel began.
The Berwick Hotel was named for the hometown of Col. Taylor’s wife, (Elizabeth Hill), North Berwick, Maine. Col. And Mrs. Taylor were married in 1866. The Berwick Hotel first appears on Guernsey County tax records in 1884 with a value of $10,490.00. By 1887 the value had jumped to $12,490.00. The hotel was formally opened on August 16, 1887 with a dinner and grand ball. This was probably the most elaborate social affair ever known in Cambridge.
On Saturday afternoon, November 21, 1891, at 2:00 p.m. fire broke out in the center of the Taylor block adjoining the Berwick Hotel. The fire was discovered when flames were seen pouring from the attic over the offices of the C & M Railroad Company and the furniture store of McDonald and McCollum. During the afternoon citizens formed a bucket brigade to fight the fire in the Berwick, and this was kept up until long after dark. According to the Guernsey Times “The stoutest hearts turned when they felt that it must go, and as it burst into flames, the two lit up as light as day.” Everything from the corner of 6th Street to the alley east was destroyed in the fire.
Several days later the Times reported, “Col. Taylor is not discouraged nor cast down, though he has unfeigned sorrow for the loss of the Berwick, which was his pet and pride. The block will probably be restored with business rooms, but it is not likely that the hotel will be rebuilt.” Shortly thereafter Col. Taylor changed his mind and the Berwick Hotel was rebuilt. The new Berwick Hotel was opened in 1894 by J.F. Murdough, who came to Cambridge from Chicago where he had operated a hotel during the World’s Fair. He brought with him furniture and other furnishing that he had used there.
About midnight on Tuesday, October 2, 1895, a fire broke out in the Davis Livery Stable. The fire soon spread to the Lyndon Hotel Stables and Carnes Livery Stable. Within an hour the flames had reached Wheeling Avenue and again raced westward toward the new Berwick Hotel. Fortunately the flames were checked by the east firewall of the building.
The teens and twenties were a time of growth for the Berwick Hotel. In the teens the hotel rooms over the adjoining stores in the Taylor Block were added, and in the twenties the brick addition at the rear of the hotel was constructed. This added 32 to 36 rooms to the hotel. Also included in this addition was a dining room, a kitchen, and a salesman’s sample room. The twenties also saw the lobby of the hotel moved from the second floor to the first floor.
For decades the Berwick Hotel played an important role in the community. It was the largest and most eloquent hotel in the community. It was the place for banquets, dinner dances and the place to go eat. Several prominent persons have been recorded as guests and/or visitors, and possibly the most notable of those persons was Eleanor Roosevelt. The first lady happened to be traveling through Cambridge by train when she decided to have the train stop so she could have a meeting with A.R. McCullough, chairman of the county Democratic Party. The two met at the Berwick Hotel where he often took meals.
The elegant hotel closed on November 2, 1979 after being condemned by the fire marshal as a fire trap. In the mid 1980’s the old hotel was restored and is now a large apartment building.
9. The Double Covered Bridge in Cambridge (back to top)
The first known covered bridge to have been built in the county was the Old Double Bridge #31.
In 1828 The National Road was constructed through Guernsey County. During the construction it was decided to replace the old log bridge in Cambridge with a more modern bridge. The bridge decided upon was to be a double covered bridge, built on the plan of Ithaca Town. Ithaca Town was a noted architect who built the Connecticut State House after a model of a Greek Temple.
Construction of the bridge was built on dry land in a field south of the stream. It was easier to build the bridge on dry land rather than over the water because the modern bridge building machines had not yet been invented. Prior to the fall of 1831 three channels had been dug under the bridge and forced Wills Creek to flow under the nearly completed bridge, and soon the three channels became one. The bridge withstood the floods of 1883 and 1907. During the flood of 1907 residents watched the waters rise from the walkway on the east side of the bridge. During the height of the flood there was water in the bridge. Just a few years later, during the flood of 1913 the bridge was very badly weakened.
The Daily Jeffersonian of June 2, 1914 stated the following about the old bridge: “The old bridge over Wills Creed in Dewey Avenue, which has been in constant use for 85 years, was closed to traffic forever Monday afternoon at three o’clock.” After the old bridge was closed a temporary bridge was built. It took ten years for a new permanent bridge to be built over Wills Creek. Most of the time was spent fighting over who was going to pay for the bridge, the Federal Government, the State Government, the County Government or the City of Cambridge. During the hassle the temporary bridge was closed to all traffic on March 20, 1922. Finally on January 20, 1925, the viaduct was formally opened, and traffic again began to cross over Wills Creek.
Near the present depot in Cambridge is a memorial to the old double bridge. The inscription on the marker reads: “Near this spot the Old-Covered Bridge spanned Wills Creek on the National Road 1828 – 1913. Near it was the Ferry Cabin. The first house built in Cambridge, 1798-1800. This marker is erected by Anna Asbury Stone Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1926.” The monument was made out of old abutments of the covered bridge.
10. Central National Bank Building (back to top)
The lot was originally purchased by Peter Sarchet who built the first building on the lot. In 1828 Sarchet sold the lot to Jacob Shafner who several years later removed the building and erected a new brick building which he used for a residence and store. Shortly thereafter, due to financial difficulties, he was forced to sell the lot by Sheriff’s sale in the 1830’s. The next owner of the lot was Joseph Bute who made improvements to the building and opened a tavern in it known as the American House. By the late 1830’s the building was purchased by Elijah Grimes for $5,400.00. The building continued to be used as a motel until after the Civil War when the lower floor was remodeled and used as a retail location, known as the “Cheap Store.”
In 1882 a new bank was organized in Cambridge with A.J. Hutchison as the first president and W.E. Boden as first cashier. The name of this new bank was the Central National Bank. In 1904 the bank purchased the lot and erected a five store brick building. In the 1970’s the bank was purchased the National City Bank Corporation. In 1980 the building was razed and the present National City Bank was erected.
11. The Hood Corner (back to top)
For many years before R.D. Hood built the present building on lot 42, the northeast corner of Wheeling and North 10th Streets, the corner lot was known as the old Britton Corner. Joseph Britton purchased the lot and log cabin from James Clements for $275.00 in the late 1820’s. A short time after the purchase Mr. Britton died and the lot passed into the hands of his son James Britton.
In the early 1840’s James Britton had the cabin removed and erected a two story frame house. The carpentry work on the house was done by Allen Briggs, and after a falling out with Britton, Moses Garvin was hired to complete the house. The first person to occupy the frame house was Dr. Dripps. He was not a very successful doctor and died soon after moving into the house. The next tenant of the house was Dr. Whiting Cook who lived in the house for some time. He had an office in the east room of the house. He was an herb and tea doctor, but met with little success. He then turned his doctor’s office into a cobbler’s shop.
In the mid 1880’s the lot was purchased by R.D. Hood. In 1888 Mr. Hood proceeded to erect the present building. On the ground level of the building Mr. Hood ran a grocery business. The upper story was used for apartments. The Hood family operated a grocery store in the building until about 1937. In 1938 McClelland & Kennard Company opened a grocery in the building. H.H. Perry was the manager. The 40’s and 50’s saw several tenants in the building including a Good Year Store, a gift shop, and the V.F.W.
In 1956 Aggie’s Coffee Shop opened using a portion of the building. In the early 60’s the Gas Light Inn Restaurant opened in the east half of the building. A few years later the Nichols family which owned both restaurants in the building combined the two restaurants and ran the Gas Light Inn in the whole first floor of the building. By the 1980’s the Gas Light Inn closed. It has been followed by several bars and/or taverns, and the current tenant of the building is Shakers Night Club.
12. The Masonic Temple Lot (back to top)
Although lot 15 was home to several smaller structures dating back to the early 1800’s, it was on July 4, 1905 that the cornerstone of the present Masonic Temple was laid on the eastern portion of the lot. William Wharton was contracted to erect the building at a cost of $18,600.00. The new building was dedicated May 23, 1906, and the total cost of the new building including all furnishings was $22,000.00. The western portion of the lot was home to the Broom Grocery Store since the early 1870’s, and remained so until the store closed in 1912.
For the next thirty years the western portion of the building took a number of uses, but in the early 1940’s the Masonic Lodge purchased this portion of the lot and had the building removed. On its site they erected a two store addition to their building. The first tenant was was a millenary shop by the name of Price & Rowles Company. They were followed in 1910 by the Citizen Shoe Company. In 1913 H. Melsher, a merchant tailor opened a tailor shop. The firm later went by the name of Mesler and Harris. In 1926 Jesse Sligluff opened a variety store in the building. He was followed by the B & B Shoe Store in 1939. In 1946, after the new addition had been added to the building, The Home Restaurant opened. It was followed by Cambridge Pharmacy in 1948. In 1950 the J.J. Newberry Company opened on the first floor of the whole building. The store continued in operation until the late 1970’s when the present Dollar General Store opened.
13. The Forsythe Apartment Building (back to top)
The Forsythe Apartment building was built by Homer Forsythe in 1920-1921. Original tenants of the building included The When Store Company, a clothing store, was located in the front of the building. At the rear of the building was the Cambridge Buick Company owned by the partnership of W.C. Urban, C.L. Schick, and H.A. Forsythe. Over the years tenants of the building included the Ohio Fuel Gas Company (Columbia Gas) and the local employment office. Currently the building is occupied by the Cambridge Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way, and ManCan. In addition, what used to be a large ballroom on the second floor has become home to a local dance studio.
14. The Red Corner (back to top)
In 1837 Thomas S. Beatty constructed a brick building on lot 18, which is now the southwest corner of Wheeling Avenue and Southgate Parkway. The original intent for the building was a hotel/tavern to attract travelers along the National Road. Bricks used un its construction were fired by Moses Sarchet, who charged $3.50 per 1,000. However, before the structure was completed, Beatty changed his mind in regard to usage and built the building for a tenement house, retail shops and offices.
Before the building was completed Beatty ran into financial troubles and the building sold at Sheriff sale in 1840. The building was purchased by William Rainey, who built an addition onto the west side; this eventually made the frontage on Wheeling Avenue a full 66 feet. Rainey then ran a general store on the ground level and called it the “Red Corner.”
After the turn of the century, the structure was divided into three separate buildings. The east one-third of the “red brick” was used by the local electric company, where tickets could be purchased to ride city street cars or inter- urban cars via railroad tracks between Cambridge and Pleasant City. In the early 1920’s the Ohio Power Company had purchased the local electric company, and remained in the building until the early 1960’s and many can remember paying their electric bills there. Today this space is occupied the Diamond and Gold Exchange.
The middle third of the building was home of the Casey Shoe Store for over 90 years. After Casey’s went out of business this section of the building was purchased by Guernsey County Commissioners. The western one-third of the building has housed such establishments as the Avalon Restaurant, Stones Bar and Grill, and is currently An Enchanted Garden.
Today this structure is the oldest structure on Wheeling Avenue.
15. Kennedy's Bakery (back to top)
A landmark in downtown Cambridge since 1925, still owned and operated by the Kennedy Family.
16. Sipe's Garage (back to top)
The first known building to be built on lots 41 and 42 was the Clement’s House. In early times a large swamp was located at the rear of the building. As such, the house was elevated and reached by steps at the front and rear of the building.
The first automobile dealership to open on the lot occurred in 1930 when Charles H. Sipe erected a building to house his new automobile dealership. This building was then known as Sipe’s Garage. City Directories do not show what type of cars were sold at the dealership. Today, Cambridge Classic Ford occupies the same building as the former Sipe’s Garage. | 
