Friends of Wheeling Tour of 807 Main Street, Stifel-Kossuth House

On March 20, 2021 Friends of Wheeling toured 807 Main St., Stifel-Kossuth House.
According to the National Register nomination for the North Wheeling Historic District, this house, “built in the 1880s, is important for both its historic and architectural character. George Stifel was the owner of Wheeling’s largest dry goods business in the last decade of the 19th century and world famous portrait photographer George J. Kossuth lived in the house and had his studio there from 1941 until his death in 1960. Some famous people who were subjects of his work were Carl Sandburg, Eleanor Steber, Jerome Hines, and Presidents Richard Nixon and Lyndon B. Johnson.
“The house is brick with stone window and door hoods, a deep bracketed cornice and handsome Mansard roof. Decorative gable dormers pierce the roof, and the roof is capped with a dentiled metal cornice. The front porch is not original.” George E. Stifel purchased the property in 1882 and was undoubtedly the owner when the house was built.
George Elias Stifel (1949-1931) was a son of Stifel Calico Works founder Johann Ludwig Stifel. According to information, when George was inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame, “A young George began a long and successful career in merchandising at the age of 14 when he entered the employ of Stone & Thomas, where he remained for five years. He clerked for 10 years in another dry goods store before he and Fred C. H. Schwertfeger formed a partnership to launch what became the George E. Stifel Co., a dry goods store which grew to be one of Wheeling's outstanding department stores.”
Long after Stifel’s death – the store became Stifel and Taylor’s Value City. It continued to operate until the mid 1970s, when the company closed and the building was demolished. Photos of the interior of the store can be seen at: https://www.ohiocountylibrary.org/whe....
In 1909, George and Emma Stifel sold the Main Street property and moved “out the pike” to 1341 National Road. He died in 1931, and his wife, Emma, passed in 1937.
Following Stifel’s wishes, his daughter Nellie established a scholarship fund in his memory in 1951. Annually, the fund presents awards to outstanding students in Ohio County Public Schools in grades 5 through12. In 2019 alone, these awards totaled $113,739. In 1980, George E. Stifel was inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame in the Philanthropy category.
William C. Handlan and his wife Eliza purchased the house from the Stifels in 1909. Following Handlan were 3 other owners.
In 1941, George Kossuth (1885-1960) and his second wife, Leah, purchased the property. Kossuth was the son of Swiss immigrant Peter Casper Kossuth and Mary Abbott. According to a biography of Kossuth when he was inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame in 1979, “A gift of a box camera when George was 12 ignited a spark. After the eighth grade, he entered a 10-year apprenticeship to learn the craft of photography. In 1909, he opened his own studio. His portrait photography became internationally renowned.
“The master photographer also loved music. As a board member of the Frazier Concert Society, he met every famous musical artist that came to Wheeling and photographed them all at this studio at 1219 Chapline St. Kossuth was instrumental in the organization of the Little Theatre of Wheeling. Along with his friend George Stroble, he established the first broadcasting studio of WWVA.
“A man who loved to work with his hands, in 1941 he purchased the Stifel Mansion at 807 N. Main St. and restored it to its original state. It became his residence and studio, a place for many civic and social gatherings, and a meeting place for the Blue Pencil Club. It remained his home and studio until he passed away in 1960.”
A more detailed biography of Kossuth appeared in the 1983 edition of the Upper Ohio Valley Historical Review - https://wheelingheritage.org/wp-conte.... And a more recent article about the house was written by Wheeling historian Margaret Brennan in 2015. It can be seen at http://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog... A partial collection of Kossuth’s photographs can be seen at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ge....
A memorial stone – in recognition of his many years of service on the Wheeling Landscape Commission – stands in “Kossuth Park,” a small plot of land on the west side of Main Street, just south of the exit onto Main from east-bound Interstate 70.
George Kossuth’s widow, Leah, remained in their home until 1975, when Frank and Dolores Fedorke purchased it. It was probably the Fedorkes who divided the house into multiple apartments. In 1993, they sold the property for $125,000 to the Victorian Wheeling Landmarks Foundation, which, two weeks later, transferred it to the Vandalia Heritage Foundation. For several years, the first floor river room operated as a Tea Room. The building has been vacant for several years.