Bowers, John S. House
104 Marshall St., Decatur, INThe John S. Bowers House is historically significant because it was built by a prosperous local businessman of the late nineteenth century. At various times, Bowers had interests in a local bank, hardware store, telephone company, stone quarry, and machine manufacturing company. Extremely successful, he built the Queen Anne style house as a symbol of this prominence. Constructed between 1900 and 1905, the house features several stained glass windows imported from Italy, and a leaded crystal window imported from Germany. The building is beautifully crafted and its quality, style, and magnificent size add to its architectural significance.
The career of John S. Bowers began in the hardware business in partnership with Barney John Terveer, Decatur's leading hardware merchant. The partnership of Terveer & Bowers lasted until 1881. Afterward, Bowers owned and operated a stone quarry in partnership with a man named Rice. Bowers is perhaps best remembered in the county as a successful quarry owner. In 1888, the Rice & Bowers Stone Quarry began crushing stones for road surfacing. Gravel roads were an important political topic that year because of the need for a special tax to pay for the work of surfacing several county roads. Bowers worked hard to have the special tax passed. Although he was successful, most of the subsequent orders for gravel went to Ohio quarries.
After the turn of the century, Bower's wealth and prominence allowed him to expand his field of endeavor. For example, he served as a director of the oldest banking corporation in Adams County, the Niblick and Nutman Bank. At the same time, he was president of the Citizens' Telephone Company, organized in Decatur in 1894. Bowers also expanded his own business holdings: in 1909, he and several associates incorporated the Decatur Foundry Furnace and Machine Company. Bowers bought the site for the house now nominated in June 1894, and began construction six years later. In common with other successful men of the period, Bowers constructed the house in the ornate Queen Anne style. Bowers' quarry provided the stone used for construction, and he also traded stone for the lumber required by the house. The house took two years to build, and another two years passed before the entire family occupied the home. The house remained in the Bowers family until 1971.
The house is also remarkable for its siting, on such a large parcel within the city.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.