May 20 , 2021 The Beacon • 19
Library hosting the Main Street history walking tours series
By Jen Jones
The Coshocton Public Library is hosting walking tours of Main Street in Coshocton and West Lafayette . The tours for Coshocton are on Mondays through May at 10 a . m . and 6 p . m ., and West Lafayette tours will be on Mondays in June at the same times .
Robbie Kehl , adult services coordinator for the library , said he enjoys local history and wanted to share that with others . “ I ’ m really interested in local history and thought this would be a cool project . We ’ ve been wanting to do something for our patrons in a safe , socially distanced manner . The tour includes a broad history of different buildings on Main Street , and I ’ ll be sharing stories that people may have never heard before .”
Most of the tour focuses on the early to mid-1900s .
During the tour people will hear about the various movie theaters that used to be in Coshocton and how silent movies were often shown in empty store windows . The first movie theater in Coshocton was in 1906 . The Hunter Building was a pool hall before it became a theater . The Pastime Theater was the longest running theater in Coshocton . It opened in 1911 and was purchased by Warner Brothers in 1941 .
People also will learn about a little girl who was trampled by horses in 1910 and made a complete recovery and that Teddy Roosevelt stopped in Coshocton in 1912 as he travelled through by train . More than 1,000 people showed up to see him .
Jen Jones
Robbie Kehl , adult services coordinator at the Coshocton Public Library , shares stories about the history of Main Street during the library ’ s first walking tour of Main Street on May 10 . The tours last 45-60 minutes and are on Mondays at 10 a . m . and 6 p . m . through May . West Lafayette tours will be in June .
In 1918 Clarence Radar was the first man drafted from Coshocton . People will hear about the Electric Theater and their exhibition of tame lions parading down Main Street in 1909 .
Also in 1909 , city council asked business owners what they thought were the five most important improvements the city needed . Everyone said a bridge at the end of Main Street . Coshocton National Bank was in the current Court House Annex building , and they used to print money there .
A short history of the Park Hotel is shared . It was built in 1883 , an elevator was added in 1884 and it had electric lights in 1888 . There was a fire in 1886 from soot in a chimney and a larger fire in 1946 that took the fire brigade more than six hours to put out . It is believed one started in the basement and smoke could be seen from 7 miles away .
In 1985 a plan was developed to turn the hotel into apartments and possibly restaurants , but fire officials said a fire-suppression system needed to be installed . The owners didn ’ t do it , so it sat empty until 2005 when four teenagers ( one was 18 and was sent to prison ) started the fire that ended the building .
As people hear the history , pictures and overlays of what the buildings used to look like are shared . Attendees will learn about the Coshocton Fall Festival in 1915 that drew 15,000 people to Coshocton and
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the Coshocton Air Ship that was built on the third floor of the Eureka Laundry Company . People also will learn about the arrival of slot machines , the devastation of the flood of 1913 and the constable who couldn ’ t catch a suspect and hired a sprinter as an assistant .
“ At the end of the month , I ’ ll be posting a virtual tour on the library ’ s Facebook page that will include even more pictures than you will see on the tour ,” Kehl said .
The tours are free , but you must preregister . You can find the link to register on the library ’ s Facebook page or on its website at www . coshoctonlibrary . org .
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