Historic Jackson building to be demolished

In 1888, the year when a fire burned down several uptown businesses in Jackson, a building at the corner of West Main and what is now called Missouri Street was worth fighting for.

According to Jackson's historical lore, one of Jackson's first prominent businessmen, Charles Welling, tossed wet quilts and curtains atop the building to keep the shingles from catching on fire.

Now, nothing will save the building which dates back to at least 1874.

The former grocery store, bakery, barber shop, record shop and eye-doctor's office has become unsafe and an eyesore to uptown. The city has given the property owner Judy Sievers until the first week of April to remove the building.

"I didn't want to, but it just got so bad," said Sievers, an Oak Ridge resident. "I was sick last year and didn't get to take care of it like I should have, so it's got to be torn down. It's just beyond repair."

Some Jackson residents said they hated to lose the history, but they allowed that the building has passed a point of no return.

"It's kind of sad, but it is starting to look a little spooky," said Bev Meyer, who works in a hair salon near the building. "The doors and everything had been left open and we see homeless people walk past here and we wonder if they stayed in there."

Paula Mills, a hairstylist at a family barber shop across the street, said she hated to lose the old building, but "if it's a hazard, then it needs to be taken down. I think it should've been taken care of a long time ago if they were going to try to save it."

Sievers said she has received two bids on the demolition work and is waiting for a third before the work starts.

Janet Sanders of Jackson's inspection and planning department said the city demolition order is based on an inspection prompted by complaints made to the city.

When the city inspected the building at the end of last year, Sanders said, inspectors found three immediate safety concerns which were addressed immediately by Sievers.

There was a dilapidated exterior stairway and an open cistern on the property, and there were no latches on the doors.

In addition, there were some long-term safety problems that needed attention. Broken or leaky windows created a lot of water damage inside the building.

"We told her what we had found and that the building needed to be torn down or be repaired, and demolition is the way she's chosen to go. She has been very cooperative."

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander said the city had no choice but to step in.

"The citizens of Jackson take great pride in their property, and this property has become an eyesore in Jackson and a structural danger," he said. "It's not something we look forward to, but it is in the best interest of the community."

Sievers has owned the building since 1995, when Dr. Woodrow Crites, an optometrist, moved out after operating his business there since 1966.

Sievers said she does not know what she will do with the property once the building is torn down.

Tax archives reveal that the property valuation increased suddenly by $140 in 1874, indicating that the building most likely was erected that year. Welling, the original owner, was quite an entrepreneur. He owned more than one store in town, was the first school board presidentfor Jackson, the county treasurer for two terms and the first cashier of the Cape County Bank, which is now a branch of Union Planters. He married the granddaughter of George Frederick Bollinger, the man who established the Bollinger Mill, which is now a state historic site.

By 1890, William Wagner took over the property and moved his two-year-old bakery there. The property belonged to the Wagner estate until the 1950s, when the bakery moved to High Street.

bmiller@semissourian

243-6635