In my journeys through the city of Erie, there is always a beautiful house that catches my eye. There is a house not far from the museum on West 6th Street, that for years I have referred to as the “Holland” house and have admired. Well, I just learned that for years, I have been wrong.
The Holland Manufacturing Company began in 1887 and produced gas burners for the Griswold Manufacturing Company initially. They then grew to become one of the leading manufacturers in the country for plumber’s and machinist’s vises. In 1959, Holland was purchased by Erie Tool Works.
The house was built in 1875 by Leonard Hall. Hall was partners with Orange Noble (see blog #15) and established the Bay State Iron Works in 1865. Serving the newly established oil industry, Bay State produced equipment for the distilling of crude oil as well as engines and boilers as the following ad shows from “The Milling World” periodical in 1890.
Bay State Iron Works was located at 301 Peach Street and took up an acre of real estate.
In 1903, the house was sold to Louis Streuber who was a wholesale dealer of fish. Fish was big business back in that time! Erie was the commercial freshwater fishing capital of the world in the 1920s and Streuber was one of 4 dealers in the city. Today, Lake Erie commercial fishing equates to 50 million pounds of mainly walleye and perch annually.
Louis Streuber did quite well for himself. The City Directory of the time lists Streuber, an unmarried daughter and two servants, Miss Annie Kinney and Miss Mary Conway who lived in the home. When he died, there was no will but an estate of $10,000 left for his four children. He is buried in Erie Cemetery in a small yet beautiful mausoleum.
Someone currently lives at the home at 445 West 6th Street. Now when I drive or walk by and admire the faux gas lighting inside and Victorian elegance outside, I will think about other Erie companies than Holland Manufacturing. It is a good thing I work at the Hagen History Center and can clean up my historical mistakes now and then!
