Talking walls: Interesting history within old newspaper’s building

When the Hannibal Motor Company was in business at 200 N. Third circa 1950, there was one garage-style door on the west side of the building. Brad Walden, who is currently renovating the building into office and retail space, shared a photo of that portion of the building, facing west onto Third Street. To the right, remnants of a mural long ago painted onto brick are visible. The mural supposedly pre-dates the newspaper’s 70-year occupancy in this building. The building, first owned by P.W. Fletcher, served as an auto dealership and garage for some 25 years prior to the newspaper’s connection. Contributed photo

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

Envisioning that the future of transportation would be upon the nation’s fledgling highways, rather than along the rails, in 1923, Perry William Fletcher seized an opportunity.

Fletcher, born in 1881, was a native of Pike County, Ill., a veteran of the Spanish American War, and owner and operator of the P.W. Fletcher Tea Company, 309 Broadway.

On. Feb. 26, 1923, Fletcher purchased Lots 7 and 8, in block 11, Hannibal, from the heirs of David R. Scyoc. After demolishing the pre-Civil War era two-story brick building on Lot 8, and the Scyoc family home on Lot 7, he began constructing, in increments, two adjoining brick buildings, encompassing all of Lot 7 and the western half of Lot 8. (Both of these lots front N. Third Street.)

In 1923, Fletcher opened Fletcher Motor Sales Co., in a square building on Lot 8, (see associated maps) at the corner of Third and Center. The company sold Reo and Maxwell brand automobiles.

Gas station

Even before Fletcher purchased the property in 1923, there was a gasoline pump located at the northwest corner of Center and Third.

In April 1917, D.R. Scyoc had approached the Hannibal City Council for permission to install an underground gasoline tank on this corner, where he operated a grocery store.

Alderman R.M. Clayton made a motion that Scyoc’s petition be granted, as long as Scyoc was willing to post a bond for replacing the sidewalk and returning the street to good condition.

When designing the new building on this same corner a few years later, Fletcher incorporated a triangular-shaped drive-through service bay into the building’s exterior. (Records show that Benjamin H. Schneider operated a service station at this corner,  200 N. Third in 1927, and Earl E. Dauma operated the station in 1929.)

That triangular cutout would remain in place until the Courier-Post purchased and remodeled the building circa 1951.

In 1927, the next storefront to the north of the gas station, address 206 N. Third, was home to the Glisson Motor Co., an authorized Ford and Lincoln dealer.

According to the 1927 city directory, The Fletcher Motor Co., which previously occupied this space, had moved to a new building at 212 N. Third (Block 11, Lot 6).

The Fletcher Motor Company ultimately closed, and the following year, in 1929, the building at 212 N. Third served as a warehouse for Haydon Hardware Co.

(Today, that building serves as the south half of the building connected with Carquest Auto Parts.)

Bus company

In the spring of 1924, the Hannibal Transportation Company was incorporated, and would locate at 206 N. Third. (See maps)

A large rectangular building was constructed to the north of the original square building, encompassing all of Lot 7. At least one garage-style door was installed on the west side of the building, facing Third Street, allowing access, presumably, for automobiles and perhaps for the transportation company’s buses.

Officers of the Hannibal Transportation Company in 1925 were: P.W. Fletcher, president; C.D. Sultzman, vice president; D.H. Hafner Jr., secretary; S.O. Osterhout, treasurer, and Fred W. Hogg, manager. 

One of the first orders of business was to establish a motor bus service on St. Mary’s Avenue from the corner of St. Mary’s and Pleasant Street to the Union Depot, running daily. In 1925, there were six buses operating on a 15-minute schedule. The fare was 10 cents.

By May 1927, according to the city directory of that year, the Hannibal Transportation Company had relocated to 408 S. Third.

Mr. Fletcher focused his attention upon the new bus line.

In 1927, a Ford dealership, managed by S.N. Glisson, was in operation at 206 N. Third. The dealership continued under Glisson’s management until circa 1933, when C.L. Lukeman became the proprietor.

Lukeman sold out to Hannibal Motors in 1949.

When P.W. Fletcher sold the building to the newspaper company in 1951, Hannibal Motors moved to McMaster’s Avenue.

When remodeling the square building at 200 N. Third for the newspaper’s use circa 1951, contractors excavated the ground under what would later become the newspaper’s business office. The Hannibal Courier-Post’s New Home Edition, June 26, 1952, reported:

“Some basement space was required. Photography and photo engraving are integral parts of the modern day newspaper setup. Many of the different steps in these arts are performed in utter darkness. Consequently, light-proof quarters were needed, and are best provided in basement rooms. The next move in construction was to provide adequate basement room by excavating beneath the southwest corner of the building. Provided for the basement are 2,300 square feet of space, which takes care of all photographic and photo-engraving needs, as well as space for the gas heating plant, and storage of materials.”

The double-building at 200 N. Third, which served as home to the Hannibal Courier-Post from 1951 until circa 2020, is now owned by Walden Properties LLC, and is in undergoing extensive renovations and conversions for use as office and retail space.

Mural

On the northern most wall of the building at 200 N. Third, there can be seen remnants of a mural that had been painted upon a brick surface.

Death

Perry William Fletcher died in 1966, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was owner of the Missouri Transit Bus Lines at the time of his death.

Brad Walden contributed this circa 1952 photo of the Hannibal Courier-Post, 200 N. Third St. The building previously served as a car dealership since its construction in the early 1920s. Today it is being remodeled for retail and office space. Contributed photo

The Hannibal Motor Company was the last car dealership to occupy retail space at 200 N. Third. The building’s owner, P.W. Fletcher, sold the building to Courier-Post Publishing Company in 1951. Photo contributed by Brad Walden.

P.W. Fletcher advertised his new car dealership in the 1923 Hannibal City Directory. The dealership was located at Third and Center. Image courtesy of the Hannibal Free Public Library’s website.

Sketch of the 1913 Sanborn Map, showing the 200 block of N. Third. The Scyoc building was located in Block 8, and D.R. Scyoc’s home was located in Lot 7. Illustration by Mary Lou Montgomery

This sketch is based upon the Sanborn Fire Prevention Map, circa 1925-1950. The building that would later house the Hannibal Courier-Post is located in Lots 7 and 8. Today’s Carquest Auto Parts store is located in Lot 6. Illustration by Mary Lou Montgomery.

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 but are not limited to: "The Notorious Madam Shaw," "Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,”  and “St. Mary’s Avenue District.” Montgomery can be reached at Montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com