Reading the history of Cardington village, I find the village moved easily from depending on the horse for transportation to the automobile in 1911-12.
The first two cars in the village were owned by Dr. G. Gregory and Dr. Green.
Here is the “rest of the story.” It was July 22, 1912, when Jacob A. and Andrew L. Click (father and son) bought the old Shaw Tenement building on West Main Street under the business name of The Click Brothers Automobile Company.
This was located west of the railroad tracks on the north side of West Main Street. It was razed that same year and a new cement block building was erected by the Cardington Cement Tile and Block Co. and was to show the efficiency and beauty of a block building in the business district.
Jacob Click had it built for his twin sons, Elza and Kelsie, who opened it for business on July 9, 1913. It had a 175 gallon underground gasoline well inside the building. The customer would drive in the front door, fill up and drive out the back — with all the latest safety devices including an asbestos ceiling.
The car was heated so their customers could wait in comfort while their car was serviced. The Click Brothers were agents for the Hupmobile Automobile, which sold for $1,000 and was guaranteed for life. The garage flourished for several years and in 1923 the building was sold.
Later owners included Fred Axthelm, C. F. Heimlich, H. W. Axthelm, W. S. Groscosi, Edna Beatty, Walter Long, Precision Latex and later, Market Rubber Co., manufacturer of gloves.
A fire in 1979 damaged the building and it was sold to Ronald Joan in 1981, then to Jack Wilhelm later that year and used for storage. Charlie Albright bought it in 1981 and razed it. He rebuilt it as a tavern operating it as Bibbs.
There were renters in the building through the years. Walter Long had a garage in the early 30’s later owning it and selling the Terraplane and Hudson automobiles. Later Jake Click had a garage and sold the Kaiser-Fraizer and Henry “J” automobiles. Floyd Davis and Don Ebert also operated garages from the site.
Today, the building is operating as The Patriot and owned by Jeff and Amy Trusler.
Some information for this story was provided by Joanne Mathews.
50 years ago January, 1971: Party House, Inc of Ashland opened its ninth facility in Ohio in the old Wornstaff Inn located in the Hotel Wornstaff. It featured an open charcoal grille for browning of steaks selected by patrons and a short-order lunch menu.
