By Grace Allison
The Niles Times
October 9, 1989

Within a few weeks, a demolition crew will remove the I.O.O.F. and Swaney buildings on the northwest corner of West Park Avenue and North Main Street.

Built 85 years ago, both buildings have been condemned in recent years due to a fire in the Odd Fellows Hall in November 1985 and unsafe conditions after pipes froze and burst during the winter of 1986 in the Swaney or Calvin Drugstore building.

120 years ago, in 1869, nine Niles men; Dr. F. Casper, Edward Scott, William Holmes, J. Lewis Wills, Joseph Phillips, Theophilus Morris, John S. Jones, J. Kay Wilson, and John McElroy became the charter members of Falcon Lodge No. 436 I.O.O.F. These charter members worked diligently and by1873, the lodge’s membership had increased to 125 members. That year, lodge headquarters was established in the Davis building, 5 Furnace Street (State Street). But that same year, those facilities became inadequate for the lodge’s needs, and the trustees rented the second floor of the Gephart Building at 13 South Main Street.

Later that same year, the James Ward Enterprise had its first failure due to the Great Panic of 1873. As time passed, many men could not afford to consider joining the lodge, nor could others renew their membership, so the lodge membership gradually decreased.

Within the next 12 years, the economy picked up and the men of the community were able to turn the lodge’s activities in a more positive direction. In 1886, the trustees purchased the South Main Street building from Mr. Gephart and used the second floor as their lodge headquarters.

In 1895, The Niles Odd Fellows Lodge voted unanimously to buy the property at its current site and after considerable discussion among the lodge members and trustees, a contract was given to W.F. Thomas in 1904 for the construction of a three-story brick structure on the northern portion of lot 54 at a cost of $15,000.

By the middle of July 1904, the laying of the foundation of the new I.O.O.F. Hall had begun.

Two doctors from New Cumberland, West Virginia, who were sons of Thomas R. Swaney, a Union soldier during the Civil War, became prominent Niles citizens during the early 1900s. Their professions proving successful, during February 1904, the Swaney brothers sold their horses and carriages, and each purchased an “Olds” auto.

Then, during June 1904 Falcon Lodge No. 436 sold Dr. Charles Swaney and Dr. Archibald Swaney the southern portion of lot 54, which had a frontage of a little over 22 feet on North Main Street and which extended 209.5 feet along West Park Avenue, with the understanding that “the said Falcon Lodge shall proceed to build a certain party wall on and long the north line of the premises”.

The red brick Swaney building, of classical Revival style, originally had a decorative cornice which was marked “Swaney”, but at some time over the years it was removed.
When the Swaney brothers built this building, they had had officed on one of the upper floors and there were also fashionable apartments on the above-street-level floors.

Originally, the Niles Drug Company, which was owned by the doctors, occupied the first floor of this building, but by 1915, Calvin Drug was the occupant of this store front and remained in this location until the late 1970s.

The I.O.O.F. lodge held its meetings in the rooms on the second-floor level, where beautiful ornate ceremonial oak chairs, tables and a stamped, embossed tin ceiling added to the décor of the main meeting room.

Over the years, the ballroom was used by other local organizations for special functions. One Nilesite, Jayne Piper, can recall, as a small child, during the mid-1920s, when she accompanied her parents to a dance sponsored by the Lincoln Club and held at the lodge hall.

Earl Porter, a resident of Grace Woods in Niles, graduated from Niles High in 1917. At that time, he wrote an article for the Hi-Crier entitled “The History and Import of the McKinley Memorial.” In which he mentioned, “not to be overlooked is the practical utility of the Memorial.” Niles for many years been in urgent need of a suitable place for the library and auditorium where public gatherings could be held.

The Memorial is to be dedicated on May 30, 1917, and when the buildings are removed from the grounds in front of it, so that it will be the center of an attractive lawn facing upon Main Street, the Memorial will be a useful public building and a place of beauty to the City of Niles, as well as a most fitting tribute to one of our greatest presidents.”

When Mr. Porter was told of the most recent developments at the corner of North Main Street and Park Avenue, he commented, “I remember those buildings when they were new, I am pleased to have outlived them and will be around to see the completion of the Memorial grounds.”

Since 1917, it has been the intent of the McKinley Memorial Association that the McKinley Memorial and grounds would eventually occupy the entire block between Park Avenue and Church Streets except for the site of the Christian Church on the rear northwest corner of the block. And now, a little more than 70 years later, that intent will soon be a reality.

Also, new dreams are in the air, such as the possibility of the construction of the exact replica of McKinley’s birthplace, which once stood on the west side of South Main Street in the area of McKinley Savings Bank and the Old Main Ale & Chowder House.

As Mr. Leonard Holloway, a trustee of the McKinley Memorial Association, recently noted. “to be feasible such a structure would have to be built with a connection to the Memorial.”

The Swaney Building and I.O.O.F. building before the buildings were razed in 1990.

The corner view of the McKinley Memorial after the two buildings were razed.