Fire horse injured en route to call from ‘DeGaris Flats’

This early 20th century photo shows the DeGaris Flats, at left, and the Hornback building, at right, 500 block of Broadway, Hannibal, Mo. Hannibal Arts Council photo; Steve Chou collection.

“Rowdie,” one of the resident fire horses stationed at the West Side Engine House, 192 Market, along with the firefighters* assigned to the station, responded to a call at 2:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, 1909. The fire alarm came from the the DeGaris Flats, located in the 500 block of Broadway.

En route from the Market Street station, somewhere along the path where Market converges with Broadway, “Rowdie,” one of two fire horses pulling the hose cart, became entangled with a dog on the street. Consequently, both horses fell onto the pavement. The horses soon rallied to their feet, but the mishap caused a delay in response to the fire alarm.

Upon arrival at the scene, a fire found in the basement of the building was quickly extinguished. No damage was reported.

“Rowdie” received “an ugly cut on his knee,” according to the Jan. 3, 1909 edition of the Hannibal Morning Journal.

The next day, “Rowdie” was taken to the central department on South Fourth Street and put out to pasture to facilitate recuperation.

Then, on Jan. 21, the Morning Journal reported: “Old fire horse back. ‘Rowdie,’ one of the horses belonging to fire company No. 2, will be brought in from the pasture today and placed on duty at his former quarters again. It will be remembered that the animal fell several weeks ago while running to a fire and bruised its leg. The boys around the West Side engine house will be glad to see the old timer back again.”

The fire department answered two other calls that same day:

The downtown fire department was called out about 8 o’clock in the morning to the corner of Eleventh and Lyon streets, for a reported burning flue. The second call was at 10 a.m. from the corner of Third and Hill streets - property belonging to John Nagle. The house was damaged to the extent of $250.

DeGaris Flats

The DeGaris Flats were constructed in 1901 by Isaiah Mattison (1842-1913) and Thomas Finley Warren (1857-1926).

In February 1900, Will DeGaris, a prominent Hannibal pharmacist, focused his attention upon the development of vacant property located on the north side of Broadway, between Fifth and Sixth.

He contracted with Mattison and Warren.

It was practical, during that era, to build multiple units as one structure, to be used as rental property, commonly known as “flats.” By the spring of 1901, renters - and Mr. DeGaris himself - occupied the newly completed apartments.

The units were numbered 504, 506, 508 and 510 Broadway.

Among the early residents of the DeGaris Flats, circa 1901-1902, were:

Susan Brittingham rented the unit at 508 Broadway. Her husband, Dr. L.T. Brittingham, died Feb. 24, 1901. She vacated the apartment in May 1901, relocating to the Marsh property on Center street. (Artemmissie Marsh, widow of William J. Marsh, operated a popular boarding house at the time, 518 Center St.)

504 1/2:  In 1903, the offices of Dr. Lewis H. Tutt (1859-1930) and Dr. Jesse Edmonson.

506 1/2:  Dr. F. Janet Reid in 1903; J.W. Biggs

508: Dr. J.J. Bourn, medical examiner for the Burlington Relief Department, leased the flat vacated by Mrs. Brittingham.

510:  Will DeGaris, the building’s owner, for a time resided at 510 Broadway. 

Contractors

The building, known as the DeGaris Flats, is still standing and occupied in 2026 at 504-510 Broadway.

Isaiah Mattison lived at the top of North Griffith hill.

Thomas F. Warren lived on Division Street.

Other projects

Mattison & Warren construction projects, as culled from files of Newspapers.com.

1902: The Robinson Brothers contracted with Mattison & Warren to build two fine dwelling houses on the corner of Fifth and Church streets. (503 Church and 201 S. Fifth.) In 2025-26, the building was purchased and renovated by Sanborn Properties LLC.

1903: The residence of Mrs. Jane Brown, 101 N. Eighth street.

1905: The Kansteiner brick building on North Ninth Street, directly to the rear of the Kansteiner Hardware Store, long located at 808-810 Broadway.

1906: A new 16-room frame dwelling, erected Union Street, South Hannibal, by Miss Katie Dowling. The house was to be occupied by eight families.

1906: Construction of the Teal flats, believed to have been located on the corner of Walnut and Houston streets, West Side. (Walnut was later renamed Pearl. The location was near the West Side fire station.)

Construction of the Anderson flats, southeast corner of Sixth and Lyon.

1908: George Treat’s residence at 1241 West Bird Street, a six-room, two-story brick dwelling.

1908: The firm was awarded the contract for the building of the annex to the North School.

1910: A two-story (two five-room flats) erected for Mrs. L.Z. Dubach on Hill Street, between Fourth and Fifth.

1910: A two-story residence, including a large cellar and six rooms, for A.M. Hart on Section Street.

1910: A frame residence for M.F. Lehenbauer, 1505 Broadway.

1910: The home of the Country Club was remodeled and an addition was built.  One of the improvements was the addition of a large porch, 20 feet wide.

1910: Thomas F. Warren, of the firm, constructed five four-room houses, brick, on Madison Street.

1911: Mattison & Warren were awarded the contract to build a five-room cottage, 2009 West Grace Street for Henry Schultz.

1911: A two-story frame dwelling on west Rock street constructed for L.M. Syler.

Partnership ends

Mattison retired from the firm at the beginning of January, 1912, thus Warren continued in the business alone.

In 1915, Warren was awarded the contract for the construction of the new two-story business house to be erected on South Main Street, opposite the Star Theatre, by Arthur Hoke, the fish dealer.

Warren also won the contract for the demolition of the old Methodist Church building on the southeast corner Sixth and Broadway, and for the construction of the new home of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows on the same lot.

Mattison died in 1913 and is buried at the Old Barry Cemetery, Pike County, Ill.

Warren died in 1926 and is buried at Riverside Cemetery, Hannibal.

• Firefighters listed in the 1909 Hannibal City Directory stationed at Station 2 were F.M. Gay, G.W. Snell and C.E. Ligard.

Advertisement for the Spirilla Corset, published in the Hannibal Morning Journal, Feb. 28, 1912. The business was located in the DeGaris Flats, 510 Broadway. newspapers.com

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The Jan. 3, 1902 edition of the Hannibal Morning Journal listed construction projects completed by Matteson & Warren in 1901.

Mary Lou Montgomery, Suburban Newspapers of America Editor of the Year, Dailies, 2010, retired as editor of the Hannibal, Mo., Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on amazon.com by this author include: “The Notorious Madam Shaw,” “Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,” “St. Mary’s Avenue District,” and “Live, on stage in Hannibal 1879: ‘H.M.S. Pinafore.’” Montgomery can be reached at montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com