The property that now houses Matthew 25 Thrift Shop, 48 East Main Street, dates back to 1782. The original structure was a limestone, one-story cottage and purchased by Matthias Gottfried Tshudy in 1798 for his new wife Catherine Blickensderfer. Being members of the Moravian community, Matthias and Catherine were joined together by the “lot” system of the church. The names of all eligible young women of Lititz were prayerfully considered by the elders of the church and chosen for a worthy bachelor to be united in matrimony. This union must have been a “perfect match” as the Tshudys celebrated their Golden Anniversary in 1848.
Matthias Tshudy was born in 1771 and became an orphan at the age of 4. He was educated in the Brethren’s House, where he learned the trade of weaving. He became proficient at weaving baskets made of oak splints as well as chip-plaited hats that were in demand with the colonists up and down the east coast. The durability of oak hats for ladies and gentlemen was far superior to any other materials of the day. The men’s hats were in the style of what we know today as “Amish hats.” Ladies’ hats wore woven sunbonnets which were tied with fancy ribbons under the chin.
The little limestone cottage occupied by Tshudy and his wife became a hub of activity with his weaving business. In 1805 he built a two-story brick house on the east side of 48 E. Main Street. There the Tshudys raised five daughters and one son. The Tshudys endured sadness in their stone cottage as a daughter was born and died on the same day in 1799. Another daughter, Maria Barbara, died in 1806 at the age of six years.
In 1852 Matthias Tshudy died and left his two properties to his wife Catherine. After Catherine’s death in 1865, the brick home at 54 E. Main (now occupied by Roma Pizza) served as a private home for several local families, including some of the Tshudys’ children.
In 1897 the original stone cottage was removed and a two-story brick building was constructed on the limestone foundation. Israel H. Doster opened a department store on the first floor offering notions, household goods, and dry goods. I.H. Doster, General Merchandise, was the name of this business. The second floor was occupied by the Y.M.C.A., a Christian gathering place for young gentlemen. The third floor attic was added shortly after 1900. A small office of The American Union Telephone Company was located on the east side of the building.
I. H. Doster and his wife Amelia purchased the brick home at 54 E. Main Street, once the family dwelling of Matthias Tshudy. There the Dosters raised four children – Vera, Joseph, Paul and Elmer. I. H. Doster died in 1950 and willed the property to his wife Amelia (Millie), who died in 1956. She left the two properties to her son Paul and his wife Mary. Paul and Mary Doster continued operation of Doster’s Store until 1975 when the property was sold to Harold Hartenstein. Mr. Hartenstein’s wife opened the Trudi K Shop, which specialized in “wearing apparel and shoes.”
In 1984 Hartenstein sold 48 E. Main Street to William Bell, Sr., founder and owner of Lititz Office Products, a wholesale/retail office supply business. After Mr. Bell’s death in 1995, the business and property were given to his wife Shirley and their son William, Jr. In 2000 Shirley and William, Jr. sold the property to Lititz Improvement, a group of Lititz investors. Lititz Improvement is the current owner and landlord to Matthew 25 Thrift Shop.
by Charlene Van Brookhoven, LHF Historic Journal, Fall 2010
Photo of Matthew 25 Thrift Shop is a screenshot from Google maps.
No comments:
Post a Comment