Kruse-1758-1.jpg

General Store in Ost Kansas

Privacy Level: Open (White)
Date: 1875 to 1977
Location: Ost, Reno, Kansas, United Statesmap
Surnames/tags: Ost, Kansas General Store
Profile manager: Wes Kruse private message [send private message]
This page has been accessed 163 times.

General Merchandise Store in Ost, Kansas

The General Merchandise Store in Ost, Kansas was built about 1875. It likely started out as a trading post and later served as a general merchandise & grocery store. Over the years it was also a post office, a farm implement store, and was always the community gathering place. It was across the road from the St Joseph Catholic Church, and was one of the few buildings in town.

Ost, Kansas residents pose on the front porch of the John Buscher General Merchandise Store about 1894. (L to R): unidentified, Clara (Fisher), Fred Ast, unidentified, Elizabeth Buscher holding daughter Katherine, John Buscher holding John Jr, Sebastian Bugner, Rev. Loevenich, and unidentified.
The General Merchandise Store in Ost, Kansas, pictured in 1909 when MJ Hilger owned it.
Double wedding picture in front of the General Merchandise Store in Ost, Ks, 1909. From l to r: Rosa Erker, Joe Hilger, Frances Erker, Herman Hilger.
The store in Ost, Kansas around 1911 when Joe & Matilda Kraus owned it. The photo was taken from inside the fenced church yard. The words General Merchandise can be seen on the right store front. Horses, buggies, as well as automobiles are parked in front of the building and on both sides of the dirt road.
The store in Ost, Kansas around 1910. Two men are standing near a "fancy car", a driver and Rev. Grueter riding in the back can also be seen.

The store was owned and/or operated by:
Frederick Ast, {Postmaster April 29, 1884} who was a founding pioneer & member of Ost and Saint Joseph parish, may have owned the land & built the store around 1875, and possibly ran it for a number of years, from the late 1870s to the mid 1880s.
John Mund and family, who built & ran a store in nearby Saint Marks from 1878 to 1886, moved over & operated the Ost store from around 1886 to 1892. John's daughter Elizabeth married John Buscher, and they purchased the business in 1892.
John & Elizabeth Buscher ran the store from 1892 to about 1896,[1] when they sold it to
Joseph & Mary Schlim. They operated it from about 1896 to about 1907.[2] [3]
John & Elizabeth Ast bought it and ran it from 1907 to 1909
MJ & Kate Hilger, from early 1909 to late 1909[4][5],
Tony & Katie Halfmann, from late 1909 to 1910, and
Joseph & Matilda Kraus from 1910 to 1913
Joseph Hilger from 1913 to 1918 (Not sure which Joseph Hilger this is, but likely Joe Hilger or Joseph Hilger.
back to Joseph & Matilda Kraus 1918-1919, sold to
George & Sophia Leis, 1919-1920.
Farmers Implement Company owned it from 1920 to 1922
Joseph & Barbara Krebsbach, bought it in 1922 who sold it 5 days later to
John & Caroline Pelz, & they ran it from about 1922 thru 1955.

NEW INFORMATION : [6] [7]

The Postmaster appointments for the Ost Post Office were:[8]
Matthew Bohr, appointed Postmaster on March 3, 1882
Christopher Thomas, appointed Postmaster on October 23, 1883
Frederick Ast, appointed Postmaster on April 29, 1884
John Mund, appointed Postmaster on January 27, 1888
John Buscher, appointed Postmaster on October 15, 1894
Joseph Schlim, appointed Postmaster on June 27, 1896
John Ast, Jr , appointed Postmaster on May 21, 1907
Bernhard Eilers, appointed Postmaster on March 5, 1909
Mathias J Hilger, appointed Postmaster on August 26, 1909
Tony Halfmann, appointed Postmaster on January 28, 1910

The Ost post office was then closed on February 28, 1911 and moved to Mount Hope Post Office.




An empty store in Ost, Kansas, about 1960 to 1970.
The general store in Ost, Kansas in 1976, with Sister Georgiana Heimerman & Caroline Pelz. In 1977 it was donated to the Wichita Historical Society, and was dismantled in July of 1978. It was to be preserved for future generations to see at the Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita, Ks, however, during transport to Wichita the building fell apart and was never rebuilt.[9][10][11]

"The store in Ost was donated to Cowtown to be refinished and opened as our general store. However, during the building’s move to Cowtown it collapsed, rendering it unusable. Cowtown then continued its search for a general store building and acquired our current building from Garden Plain, KS built in 1884." [12]

Sources

  1. One Hundred Years, St. Joseph Parish, 1880-1980, Lampe, Roberta, Josten's American Yearbook Company, Topeka Kansas. From the Saint Josephs Church website, St Joe Centennial Book, part 1 (https://sjost.com/component/fileman/file/documents/Centennial%20Book%20Part%201%20of%203%20Pam%20May.pdf?routed=1&container=fileman-files)
  2. The Barton County Democrat (Great Bend, Kansas) Thursday, October 15, 1896 (https://www.newspapers.com/image/168428748/?match=1&clipping_id=127268148)
  3. The Saturday Evening Kansas Commoner (Wichita, Kansas) Thursday, June 02, 1904 (https://www.newspapers.com/image/382866144/?match=1&clipping_id=127553476)
  4. The Hutchinson Wholesaler (Hutchinson, Kansas) · Saturday, January 29, 1910 (https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/427578776/?match=1&clipping_id=127285691)
  5. The Hutchinson Gazette (Hutchinson, Kansas) · Saturday, January 29, 1910 (https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/418893985/?match=1&clipping_id=127285799)
  6. sale of goods in 1914: (https://www.newspapers.com/image/76997198/?terms=%22%20ost%2C%20kansas%20%22%20&match=1)
  7. sale in 1916: (https://www.newspapers.com/image/484683958/?terms=%22%20ost%2C%20kansas%20%22%20&match=1)
  8. National Archives Catalog, Postmaster Appointments for Reno County, Kansas, pages 3, 6, and 8 (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/78742032?objectPage=3) (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/78742032?objectPage=6) (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/78742032?objectPage=8)
  9. The Wichita Beacon (Wichita, Kansas) Monday, November 15, 1976 (https://www.newspapers.com/image/696127097/?clipping_id=127303968)
  10. The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kansas) Sunday, January 09, 1977 (https://www.newspapers.com/image/696334123/?match=1&clipping_id=127301006)
  11. One Hundred Years, St. Joseph Parish, 1880-1980, Lampe, Roberta, Josten's American Yearbook Company, Topeka Kansas. From the Saint Josephs Church website, St Joe Centennial Book, part 2, page 81 (https://sjost.com/component/fileman/file/documents/Centennial%20Book%20Part%202%20of%203%20Pam%20May.pdf?routed=1&container=fileman-files)
  12. (Email conversation with James Vannurden, Curator at Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita, Ks. 9/15/2023)




Collaboration
  • Login to edit this profile and add images.
  • Private Messages: Send a private message to the Profile Manager. (Best when privacy is an issue.)
  • Public Comments: Login to post. (Best for messages specifically directed to those editing this profile. Limit 20 per day.)


Comments

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.