Tobacco hogsheads in front of house (looking north from the alley)

Looking northwest.

In 1860, Frederick and Barbara Stenzel owned Lot 6 and Lot 7. Tax records indicate that Frederick Stenzel built a barn on Lot 7 in 1846 and a frame house in 1849 and that he built a structure (house?) on Lot 6 in 1855. Even though Frederick Stenzel improved Lot 6 significantly (the value changed from $9 to $450), it is likely that the Stenzel family remained on Lot 7 until about 1915 when Charles Smith bought the property and razed the house.

Frederick Stalder

The 1900 Census lists the following members of the Stalder household: Frederich, age 42, born in Switzerland in September, 1857; Louisa, his wife, age 38, born in Ohio in May, 1862; and two daughters and one son, all born in Ohio; Freda K, age 16, born February, 1884; Nina M. age 12, born October, 1887; and Herman E., age 10, born March, 1890. Freda married Chance Ankrom and, in the 1940s, lived and operated the Miltonsburg Post Office in the house on Lot 24.

Local history suggests that there was a mill on the alley behind the Stalder house on Lot 6. Since Fritz Stalder was a sawyer, who had mills located “here and there,” this was probably a sawmill.

Local history also notes that around 1920 Nina Stalder operated a millinery shop in this house. Hulda Landefeld Young (Lot 19 and Lot 44) recalls going to her hat shop, which was in the southeast corner room. In the Spring many, if not most, of the women in town would take their straw hats to Nina and have her put new trimming on them. For Hulda this would consist of a band of artificial flowers and a grosgrain ribbon (satin or silk) with a streamer down the back.

At one time, probably in the 1920s, the Stalders also operated the post office in this house.

In January of 1896 both Frederick (Fritz) Stalder and his daughter Freda recovered from a smallpox outbreak that reached Monroe County through the Laudenberg family, who lived about one mile south of Miltonsburg. Several families in the vicinity were affected and the story is presented in some detail on the “Monroe County, Ohio History and Genealogy “:http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~harringtonfamilies/smallpox.htm website.