Old home to be removed for future museum

Members of the Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Society are having an old house on 208 New York Ave. in Holton, just south of the Roebke House, removed in preparation for the construction of a new museum in the future.

During a recent Jackson County Commission meeting, the commissioners agreed to waive the dumping fee at the county landfill for the debris once the house is torn down.

The one-story home was built in 1940, and the society has owned the property for more than 20 years. The home is mostly used to store records and materials, society member Anna Wilhelm told the commissioners.

Mark Sullivan of Sullivan Construction and Wilhem met with the commissioners to discuss the landfill rates. 

Sullivan said he discussed the dumping fee with Ed Rostetter, landfill employee, and it was estimated that the fee for the debris would be between $4,500 to $5,200. 

“I’m just trying to save the historical society that cost,” Sullivan said. 

In addition to the property at 208 New York Ave., the historical society owns the Roebke House Memorial Museum next door at 216 New York Ave. and the Jackson County Museum, which is located at the southwest corner of the Holton Square at 327 New York Ave. 

“We purchased the lot and the house next door to the Roebke House (at 208 New York Ave.) about 20 to 30 years ago,” Wilhelm said. “We’ve had our research materials in there all these years. The long-term goal is to take the house down and use the area for a new museum. That way we’d have the museum and the Roebke House all in one spot.”

In the future, when a new museum is built, the location of the current museum on the southwest corner of the Square will be sold, Wilhelm said. 

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