It was in this area in 1891 that Benjamin F. Sheffer and Samuel K. Diehl formed a partnership to sell agriculture implements, buggies, wagons, corn shellers, etc. In 1892 they added a full line of hardware products. In 1898 Sheffer left and the business was continued by Diehl and William C. Hildebrand. In January 1901 Jacob F. Neuhaus purchased Diehl's interest and formed the Plano Hardware Company. In March 1901 Hildebrand sold his interests to J. F. Neuhaus.
In August 1901 H. Oscar Neuhaus entered the business and the partnership known as J. F. and H. O. Neuhaus was formed, selling everything from feed to plows to dynamite. In 1929 the store began selling John Deere tractors. Also in 1929 Clara Hartley married Jacob's son Claire, moved to Glen Rock, and went to work in the family business, which in 1952 became Neuhaus'es Inc.
In 1921 the original building was destroyed when the neighboring Read Machine Shop caught fire. The decision was made to rebuild with I. Reindollar of York being the contractor. The plans for the new building were prepared by local architect, Joseph Dise. Once again, the building was damaged by fire in 1926. This rebuilding was done by local contractor M. L. McMillian.
The family-run business and name was sold on September 26, 1989. The Neuhaus firm served the community from this
general location from its founding in 1901 until its closing on November 3, 1990.
In the fall of 1992 Glen Rock Borough bought the building for its own use, which included becoming the new home of Glen Rock's library. It was dedicated on June 7, 1997. Clara Neuhaus was Glen Rock's first librarian, serving twenty-six years. Now the Library is housed in the Neuhaus building where Clara worked for more than sixty years.
The old three story structure building in 1921 became a memory when that structure was demolished in the fall of 2001. The building now housing The Arthur Hufnagel Public Library of Glen Rock was built circa 1957.
Comments 0 comments