514 Washington Street
The current building was erected in 1898 and served as the post office for many years. A number of other businesses were housed here. Presently the Chamber of Commerce, Chililcothe Visitors Center, Main Street and the Chillicothe Regional Arts Council have offices here.
The Chillicothe Area Chamber of Commerce moved here in 1999 and the Chillicothe Development Corp and Grand River Area Visitors Bureau joined them in 2006. Main Street and the Chillicothe Area Arts Council have offices upstairs. Be sure to note the stained glass upper windows. This building is a contributing building to National Register Historic Commercial District.
From 1984 until 1998 Mrs. Mildred Hilt operated a Real Estate company here, Hilt Real Estate. Mrs. Hilt already had 14 years experience when she opened up here with residential, farm, and income properties. She was also a member of the elite Million Dollar Club for real estate sales.
Parks Floral Shop florist had a short run here from 1982 to 1984.
The building was vacant around 1980.
In 1975 Country Corner clothing & tack shop was located here through about 1980. An old slide surfaced, dating to about 1975, that clearly shows Missouri T-V & Appliance here at that time. They moved here late in 1974.
The building was vacant from 1972-1974.
Coast to Coast Store & Moving and Storage opened here on April 17, 1957. Father and son, Ed and Gene Hunt, originally from Kansas City, owned and ran the store. The shop remained here until 1971.
Davis Paint Store opened in this spot in 1947. By 1951 Nichols Paint was located here.
In 1940, Farmer’s Store moved a block south to this building, then known as the Tull Building. Other businesses located here through time included a dentist office, paint store, hardware store, church, clothing, and florist.
Henry "Hal" S. Bearsley ran his Beardsley Book Store in this building in 1932. Beardsley became the new editor of the Chilicothe Constitution-Tribune starting in 1928 (which is the same year the Constitution and Tribune merged). Beardsely had been the editor and publisher of the Trenton Times. By 1936 this store had moved to the north side of the Square. Mr. and Mrs. Tull lived upstairs at 514 1/2 Washington Street from about 1932 to the 1940s. And thus this was known as the Tull building for a time.
In 1899 the post office moved in, with Benjamin Beazell as postmaster. Back on those days, mail was delivered 4 times a day! It remained the post office, with a few other offices in the building, through about 1925 when Belshe Brother Grocery & Meat Market took over. In 1927 William Wallace ran a pool hall recreation club in the basement.
If you look up, you might see the name "Loomis" and the date of 1898 at the top of the building. Charles Alexander Loomis was the Chillicothe City Attorney in 1892. Due to missing newspapers from those years, we can only assume he was heavily involved with constructing this building. The Chariton Courier referred to him in 1898 as "of post-office brokerage fame and a leading Republican in Chillicothe." By 1904 he and his wife had moved to Kansas City.
In 1896 this was a small, single-story brick building that housed a butcher shop/meat market with a small smoke house in back as well as another building/garage along the alley. (Special hazards are generally keyed in green on these maps. Not sure what this one represents.) It had the same function in 1890 except the building by the alley looks like a rental unit or office space.
In 1896 this was a small, single-story brick building that housed a butcher shop/meat market with a small smoke house in back as well as another building/garage along the alley. (Special hazards are generally keyed in green on these maps. Not sure what this one represents.) It had the same function in 1890 except the building by the alley looks like a rental unit or office space.
In 1885 this was a one-story brick building at 619 Washington Street that housed a meat market. By 1896 the streets had been renumbered and the address was changed to 514 Washington.
The 1869 rendering of Chillicothe shows Washington Street with a number of buildings in the general area of the future meat market. Looking at the map, the church is on the corner of Clay and Washington Streets. To the immediate north is some vacant land. Next is a good-sized two-story structure, labeled in 1885 as an agricultural implement store. North of that is a vacant lot or two, then a series of two-storied structures up to the corner at Jackson Street.