With the onslaught of people and new businesses during the oil and gas boom, Bowling Green prospered with its economic condition as well as with beautiful architecture. Wooster and Main Streets proved to be the hot bed for large homes, many of which were built by prosperous business men of the time. Because of the wealth of historic homes, much of the northwest quadrant was designated the "Boom Town Historic District." The houses and buildings pictured below are only some of the magnificent examples of architecture at its best.

101 N. Main Street Exchange Bank Building The Exchange Bank, Bowling Green's first bank, was established in 1871 by Edwin Reed and Frank Beverstock. They were soon joined in partnership by Earl W. Merry, who had a thriving real estate business. The bank was originally located in a one-story building just south of current Cla-zel Theater also on Main Street, but moved when John R. Hankey built a new structure in 1883. The current Exchange Bank building was financed by Hankey, a well-known Bowling Green investor and resident, and at the time was considered the "pride of the growing young city." After the turn of the century, the Exchange Bank was absorbed by the Wood County Savings Bank. Exchange Bank investor, Edwin Reed, moved to Toledo in 1873, but continued his banking and real estate interests in Bowling Green. Earl W. Merry continued on in the Crystal City, accumulating over 25 acres in the area during his stay.

109 N. Main Street Kabig Building At 109 N. Main, the Kabig butcher shop and home remains as an example of the prosperity of the growth Bowling Green felt in the 1890s. Frank Kabig, a local butcher, built the home and shop in 1885 using the period's popular Romanesque style. His trade as a butcher came from his business relationship with Chris Lehman, the namesake for another Main Street building at the southwest corner of Main and Wooster. Kabig's residency in Bowling Green included over 300 acres in Wood County. The Kabig building has also housed a library and a bakery over the years.

117 N. Main Street Cunning-Whitehead Building The Cunning-Whitehead Building was built in the Romanesque style by James Cunning and Dr. J. H. Whitehead in 1893. From 1894 until 1920 the second floor was occupied by the Masonic Lodge, which was later moved up the block to 157 N. Main, the Mercer Block. James Cunning built his family's home at 226 W. Wooster, listed below. Dr. Whitehead's home was at 304 S. Church in the Southwest quadrant.

157 North Main Street Mercer Block This three-story building was erected in 1903 of a mostly brick construction by local businessman, Caleb Mercer. The commercial store front on the exterior of the first floor retains its original plan, but has been graciously remodeled with wood paneling and tiled piers. The Masonic Lodge currently occupies the second floor of the building. The Queen Anne styled Hilty home at 427 N. Main (not listed) was built for Caleb Mercer in 1890 and later purchased by Thomas Hilty in 1974.

175 N. Main Street McKenzie-Kabig Building The Romanesque style McKenzie-Kabig building was built in 1892 by partners, Frank Kabig and Allen McKenzie. Despite the unfortunate stonecutter's misspelling of Kabig's name on the stone facade, the building has retained its unique style through the century. McKenzie was a prominent resident of Wood County until his death in 1894, two years after the completion of the Main Street structure. Kabig, a local butcher, owned other Main Street property, including the Kabig Building just a few doors south at 109 N. Main (listed above).

324 W. Wooster Hickox-Moore House The Hickox-Moore House was built in 1902 by James Hickox, a Bowling Green banker. In 1908 it was sold to Fred Moore who was president of A. Froney and Co., a leading department store of the period. Later the building was sold to Wilber Solt in 1971. The house was built in Neo-Georgian revival and also demonstrated pieces of the Classical Revival architecture style that was adopted from the 1893 Columbian Exposition.

328 W. WoosterCurry-Canary House The Curry-Canary House was built in Italianate style in 1879. John Canary, a local merchant, moved into the home in 1897 with his family and it remained in the Canary family until 1925, when it was sold to Margaret Cheney. Laura Sears purchased the home in 1929 and owned it until Roger Gross bought it in 1972. The Curry - Canary house has an expansive frame exemplifying the Italianate style and has a porch that was added in 1910 in the Doric tradition. The original owner, John Wayne Canary, was born in Cleveland in 1843, and settled in Bowling Green in 1867. He was a well-known local attorney, and with his partners, J.R. Tyler and S.P. Harrison, had law offices in Perrysburg and Bowling Green. In 1872 he held a law office next door to the Court House, and served as mayor of Bowling Green in 1872-73. With his wife, Celia Duncan Canary, they had four children. Mrs. Canary served on the County Board of Visitors, and was its president. She was instrumental in developing the Wood County Detention Home for juveniles, which opened in 1908 at 622 W. Wooster St. (link to Southwest quadrant?)

408 W. Wooster Hankey House/Dunn Funeral Home The expansive Hankey House was built in 1903 in the Queen Anne style. John R. Hankey, founder of the Hankey Lumber Co., who served Bowling Green as a banker and state senator, built this home in 1903. It was later owned by Franklin P. Riege, another local banker, and again changed hands to Carl Young, Sr., a local mortician. The home is now used as a funeral home and owned by Donald Dunn. It is the largest example of the Queen Anne style residencies in the Bowling Green area.

135 N. Grove Newton Home The Newton home was designed and built between 1877 and 1879 in a high Victorian Italianate style. The home was originally contracted by Bowling Green community leader, Roger S. Lease, but traded hands three times in its first 10 years. Captain Joseph B. Newton, who served in the Union army from 1861 to 1863, purchased the house in 1889 and lived there until his death in 1905. Newton profited well from the oil and gas boom of the 1890s and was active as president of the Wood County Fair Board, the Ohio Flint Company, and a charter member of the Bowling Green Railroad Company. He owned property two miles north of the city.

132 N. Maple Case Home The Case house, an example of woodframe Eastlake architecture, was built for Myron Case around 1890. Myron Case was one of Bowling Green's more prominent business and civic leaders. He began work with the Exchange Bank in 1883, before he even had finished college. He helped to organize the Equitable Building and Loan Co. in 1889, and served as treasurer of the board for a number of years. In 1900, the Wood County Savings Bank opened for business at the southwest corner of Main and Wooster Streets (across from the Exchange Bank), and Case then served as its president. He later moved to Dunkirk, Indiana.

622 W. Wooster Cole-Morganthaler Home The Cole-Morganthaler home was built in 1893 for Leander C. Cole. The Queen Anne home was sold to Henry Morganthaler in 1904 and has retained its style and beauty well over the years. In the late 1890s the building served as the Wood County Detention home for over 8 years. Its original owner, Leander C. Cole, was president of the Swayzee Glass Co. and was among the earlier attorneys to come to Bowling Green. He maintained an office in the opera house block and served as one of the directors of the First National Bank from 1902 to 1903.

Bowling Green's City Park The Bowling Green City Park evolved out of two organizations in 1882. The Wood County Fair Association and the Wood County Agricultural Society purchased 60 acres from Charles and R.W. Gorrill in November 1881. Early 20th century fairs were held on the grounds until 1927 when the fair was discontinued. Needle Hall is the only structure that remains on the property from the early 1880s. It was built around 1882 as Floral Hall, a floral display shop. It was designed with four entry ways and multiple windows along the ceiling to allow the plants and beautiful flowers enough sunlight. It became known as Needle Hall in honor of the needlework women worked on and sold during the fairs. After World War I, a military howitzer gun was donated to the park area as a memorial and the 1930s saw the construction of a rock perimeter wall completed by the Conservation Corp. The City of Bowling Green bought the property in 1929. The park now consists of over 60 acres of golf course and 12 acres for recreational activities and playgrounds.

Take a look at the rest of historic Bowling Green:

Northwest Quarter || Northeast Quadrant || Southwest Quadrant
Southeast Quarter

			BOWLING GREEN 1890S TIMELINE
1890s WOOD COUNTY FARM LIFE AND CULTURE	ANALYSIS OF "CITY" LIFE AND CULTURE IN 1890s BOWLING GREEN	The Development of Public Education in Bowling Green	The Economic and Social Impact of Bowling Green's Oil and Gas Industry in the surrounding Wood County area.
Analysis of Bowling Greens Glass Industry, aka, "The Crystal City"	Oral Memories of Bowling Green in the 1890s