Brach, William, House

The Brachs, father and sons, have long been prominent in the commercial and social life of Hastings. As prosperous department store owners, they were influential and respected members of the community.

William Brach came to Hastings about 1877 to manage a branch of Wolbach Brothers, after working in their home store in
after working in their home store in the nearby town of Grand Island. Wolbach Brothers was a growing dry goods store that became the largest of its kind in that part of the state. The business in Hastings prospered and was re-named Wolbach & Brach in 1887.
Wolbach & Brach was the prominent dry goods dealer and later department store for Hastings and the surrounding area. The firm was incorporated in 1907 with William Brach as president. His two sons, J. Frederick and Waldorf H., and his wife, Charlotte, worked in the business; and Waldorf succeeded his father as president. William Brach was praised by his fellow citizens for his community involvement and business ability. The name was changed to Brach's Incorporated in 1932 and remained the same until 1953 when Burton Thompson purchased the company and changed it to Brach-Thompson. In 1966 new owners changed the name to Schwesers, removing the Brach connection for the first time.

William Brach was born April 3, 1854 in Germany and emigrated at the age of eleven. Brach was one of many German natives who settled in Hastings and Adams County. In the Adams County census records of 1880 and 1890, the majority of foreign-born residents were German. Brach was a prominent and respected member of the community. He was a member of the Lutheran church, the Masons, the Kiwanis Club, and the Adams County Agricultural Society. He served as City Councilman in 1892. A music lover, he contributed funds for Sunday band concerts in Chautauqua Park. He and his family lived in three houses on N. Lincoln avenue, this being the second and least altered, which he sold in 1892.

The two subsequent owners, Mary Campbell (Mrs. Lemuel) and Miss Blanche Fullerton, were both unable to pay their mortgages and lost the property. Volney B. and Mary Blackman Trimble purchased the house in 1899; they were followed by their daughter, Helen Trimble Suis, who retained ownership until 1966. Trimble arrived in Hastings in 1887 and worked as a wholesale grocer, then after the turn of the century, became a real estate and insurance agent. He served as City Councilman 1922-25, chairman of the County Council of Defense during the Great War and was an active member of the Library Board, 1903-1938.

Wolbach Brothers, later Wolbach & Sons, who had established William Brach in their Hastings branch, began their business in Grand Island in 1874 and became the prominent mercantile firm for t Michael, Jacob and Samuel Wolbach were natives of New York City; and two of the brothers, Jacob and Samuel, had worked in dry goods stores there. Within the first ten years, Michael and Jacob sold their interests to Samuel who developed and expanded the store into a prosperous business. His sons, E. J. and Emil, joined the firm in 1901.
S. N. Wolbach was active in state politics and financial and commercial institutions. A member of the Democratic party, Wolbach served in the State house of representatives and senate in 1885, 1887 and 1889, respectively, and was an unsuccessful candidate for lt. governor in 1892. An organizer of the First National Bank of Grand Island, he was associated with several other banks around the state. The town of Wolbach in Greeley County was named in his honor.

Architecturally, the house exemplifies changing tastes in American architecture. It was built ca. 1884 in a simplified Queen Anne style and was remodeled ca. 1904 in a Classical Revival manner on the facade and principal interior rooms. The addition of classical details was a popular modification to Nebraska houses around the turn of the century, possibly as a result of the expositions of the 1890s. The Brach-Coover House is a typical example of these changes in stylistic taste which resulted in the alteration of the front porch and balcony, a usual practice, as well as the woodwork, mantelpiece and windows of the front and back parlors.

Concerning the other two houses in which William Brach resided on North Lincoln Avenue, it is doubtful the first house is extant and the third house has undergone extensive changes that have severely comprised its integrity.