Finding the history of a building tucked in the middle of the block between Third and Fourth Street and between Main and Pearl Streets has become a mission for several Wayne residents.
The 12 foot by 24 foot building has been owned by Cap Peterson for more than 15 years. It is on a piece of property with a house, also owned by Peterson.
Jerry Junck, who is a history buff, said he stumbled upon the building and visited with Peterson to learn about its history.
Based on some of the materials in the building, it is believed that it could have been a house or wash house next to larger house. It also could have been a small house before a larger house was built.
It is believed the building could have been moved into Wayne, possibly from LaPorte.
"It doesn't show up on the early fire map of the city and based on the records I have, I believe it was built between 1897 and 1902. It could possibly be the oldest structure in Wayne that is still standing," said Steve Gross, local historian for the city of Wayne.
Gross said one of his goals in having information about the building published is to get feed back from local residents and others who might know something about its history.
He said he has met with a lady (who is 90 years old) who played in the building as a child growing up in Wayne.
Paul Lindner is working to restore the building. He listed a number of things he has already done and several more he plans to do.
"We took the roof off and made it water tight. We re-built the west side and plan to re-shingle the building to make the shingles look similar to wood. The building will be lifted and moved away from the alley on to (a) concrete slab," Lindner said.
He said that while most people would not have gone to the efforts, Cap is going to in restoring the building, "I like doing this kind of work. There is still lots of original wood in the building. I can tell the approximate age of a building by the kind of nails that were used to build it."
Peterson said that after buying the property, he had the house on the other side of the property remodeled and continues working to find out more information on the building on the east end of the property.
"There is an upper level to the building and I believe it was a house at one time, based on the building materials we have found. We also found items in the building that suggest there were chickens in it at some point," Peterson said.
In conjunction with finding the history of the building, the four men are also working to find the story behind a granite "monument" that was located on the property.
It is engraved with the names "Garwood" and "Durrin"
Gross believes that a Mr. Durrin had a monument business in Wayne and a Mr. Garwood was working for him and the names, in several fonts on the stone, were a "practice" for the later.
Anyone with information on either the history of the building or the monument is asked to contact Cap Peterson at (402) 375- 2696.
