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The John Schantz House: An “Ideal” Family Home The story of 201 E. Schantz Avenue begins around 1883 when Adam Schantz, Sr. (1839-1903) purchased 108 acres from Jonathon Winters (an ancestor of the comedian by the same name.) This self-made man, at the age of 15 with his five brothers, had emigrated from Germany to America. He came to Dayton around 1862 and over the next 20 years his work led him from grocer/ butcher to owning the Riverside Brewery Company. Like most people of the time, he and his family (that included three sons John M., Adam Jr., and George) lived near his business on River Street. Success offered the opportunity to get away from the negative qualities of the city. He liked the area south of Dayton and believed that Oakwood (established in 1872) would become the most desirable residence district in Dayton. At that time the 108 acres was mostly open space with quarry mines, a few houses and St. Mary’s Institute (now University of Dayton), but an omnibus line (a horse-drawn trolley) linked Oakwood to Dayton and afforded the ability to travel into town in a short time. By 1886, he and his family were living in a home he had built at 430 E. Schantz Avenue. The senior Schantz’ vision was to create a country haven for others in a beautifully planned and maintained neighborhood. The first home built and advertised as “the ideal family home” in this newly coined “suburb” was 201 E. Schantz. The first owner of 201 E. Schantz Avenue was John M. Schantz (1866-1015), Adam Sr.’s oldest son. Like several other Schantz family members, he and his wife, Theresa Palmer Schantz, had raised their family while living on River Street near the brewery. In 1911, he hired architect Elmer Lewis Gerber to build the two-and-half story, side-gabled roof, Colonial Revival style home – a style representative of architecture in the 1910s. John M. only lived in the house four years. Soon after his death in 1915, daughter Maria and her husband, Herbert E. Whalen, moved in with Theresa. They, their four children and Theresa lived there for 10 years. In 1923 they turned down an offer from Gustav Wiedeke Jr. to sell him the house but Wiedeke was very persistent and in 1925 they sold it to him and moved to a newly-built home at 269 E. Schantz Avenue. Gustav Jr. and Catherine (Katie) Wiedeke and daughters Louise and Alberta moved into 201 E. Schantz Avenue in 1925. Much like John M. Schantz, Gustav Jr. lived in the house a short time before his death in 1937. Katie Wiedeke continued to live in the house for the next 25 years. In 1950 she sold the house to Clifford P. Kumler. Little is known of Clifford P. Kumler who, with his wife Bertha S., owned the house from 1950-1956. The city directory showed he worked for Matthews Conveyer Company. In 1956, Kumler left Oakwood and sold the house to John Balmer and Justina Lorenz Showers. Dr. J. Balmer Showers was a bishop emeritus of the Evangelical United Brethren church and former head of the Otterbein Press. He and Justina purchased 201 E. Schantz Avenue in 1956 with the intention of using the large home to welcome returning missionaries and host church visitors. Dr. Showers died in 1962 and Justina remained in the home until the mid-1980s. At that time she moved to the Otterbein Nursing Home and donated the house to the United Brethren Church as the E.U.B. Mission Manor. The house at 201 E. Schantz Avenue was officially known as “Mission Manor” from 1965 to 2008. The former single-family home was divided into four apartments for missionaries on home assignment. Local Methodist churches also housed refugee families in the home. Kevin and Kathleen Weaver purchased 201 E. Schantz Avenue in January 2008 at auction from the General Board of Global Ministries, the global mission agency of the United Methodist Church. The Weavers converted the four-unit apartment building back into a single family home. |
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