When we walk back to west Newport in 1900, we see varied structures at Central Avenue’s 900 block : large several-story and small single-story, a few with stone walls and others wrought-iron fences. Some have front doors and others side passages. These were built in the dominant Italianate style, showing facades decorated with detailed stone quoins, wood cornices, and window and door embellishments. The buildings represent several types, Northern Kentucky Shotguns, Northern Kentucky Townhouses, and Italianate style commercial properties. The townhouse and shotgun types are well suited to Newport’s narrow lots. The commercial buildings have large windows along ground floor retail space. 

Knocking on doors, we meet the families ⎯ widows with children and grandchildren; husbands, wives, and their children; a single woman and her sister. Some immigrated from Germany, Ireland, Prussia, or Austria, others were born in Ohio, Indiana, or Kentucky. One man served in the U.S. Civil War. Children above seven attend school, and adults and children are employed. Women are often employed. Occupations include baker, brewer, cigar packer, grocer, iron and warehouse worker, stained-glass artist, and tailoress.   

We first see four Northern Kentucky Shotgun houses. The first three families are headed by widows and the fourth by a husband and wife. We meet the families:

• 904 Central  – Rena Schill, a German immigrant, her daughter, Rena Jacoby, and three granddaughters; 

• 906 Central  – Hannah Burke, an Irish immigrant and her five children; 

• 908 Central  – Anna Eifert, born in Indiana to German immigrants, working as a tailoress, and her six children; and

• 910 Central  – Gerald Riordan, an Irish immigrant and stained-glass artist, his wife Mary, their five children, and a servant.

Next, from the middle to the block’s end,  we see three Northern Kentucky Townhouses, followed by another Northern Kentucky Shotgun, another Northern Kentucky Townhouse, and two commercial Italianates. Included are six families formerly living at Central’s 200 block. In a “chain move,” these neighbors went to the 900 block, suggesting a catastrophe, such as the 1884 and 1886 Ohio River floods, damaged or destroyed their homes. We meet these families:

• 914 Central – William “Sherman” Shelow, a Newport–born iron and warehouse worker, his wife, Eliza, also from Newport, their three children, and another family named “Shelow” whose head is an iron worker;

• 918 Central  – Minnie Staph, a German immigrant and widow who works as a tailoress, her two daughters and a son-in-law;

• 924 Central  – William Buerger, a German immigrant, former gunsmith and now tool manufacturer, his wife, Amelia, a German immigrant;

• 926 Central – John Haunert, an Ohio native, U.S. Civil War veteran, and his wife, Theresa; John served with the 196th Ohio Infantry and is an invalid;  

• 930 Central  – Theodor Borgelt, a Prussian immigrant, a former tobacco merchant and now a packer in a cigar factory, and his wife, Louisa; also, the family of Peter Scheidel, a German immigrant and brewer, and his wife, Cecilia, a German immigrant, and their baby boy;

• 932 Central – Valentine Vesper, a German immigrant, a baker and confectioner, his wife, Sophia, a German immigrant; Valentine operates his bakery at this address;

• 940 Central – Bernard Brandt, from Ohio and son of Prussian immigrants, and his wife, Anna; Bernard runs his grocery store here; also, the family of Mary Schirle, a single woman from Kentucky who raised her four siblings after their parents died, now works as a tailoress, and lives with her sister. 

These buildings on Central Avenue are unique, contributing structures. But, as important as their architectural significance, these properties honor our Newport families. Establishing a Buena Vista local historic district will preserve these families’ legacies. 

Julie Smith-Morrow is the owner of Genealogy of Newport, and she researches and writes about Kentucky and Ohio families. She serves as an elected member of the Board of Commissioners for the City of Newport.