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Feature Article on Joseph Altenbach.
Topic: PEOPLE
Written by Rich Wallace in August, 1995
ALTENBACH'S ARCHITECTURAL LEGACY STILL LIVES ON IN SHELBY
COUNTY |
| Have you ever noticed that each community has
its own identity, and that more often than not we tend to identify a town by referring to
some of its significant structures? County seat courthouses
and our Big Four Bridge are prime examples.
Imagine the sense of pride the builders, whose names are now long forgotten, had for their
masterworks. Joseph Altenbach of Sidney knew those feelings. Up until the time he turned
his construction business over to his son, Frank, shortly after 1900, he had done more
than any other person to change the face and architectural character of our town. This is
his story. His life began
inauspiciously enough on a small farm near the village of Freyburg in Auglaize County,
Ohio. Desiring to learn the carpentry trade, he moved to Sidney after the war in 1866 in order to apprentice with a
carpenter. Soon, however, he set up his own business.
Gaining the respect and friendship
of influential people in town was as important then as it is now. For reasons history does
not record, Joseph Altenbach developed a close relationship with Mathias Wagner. Wagner and his sons founded many of
the businesses that helped Sidney forge its reputation as an industrial center that it
enjoys to this day.
In 1883, Wagner purchased the lot on
which the first log cabin in Sidney was built.
It was located on Court Street across from the Courthouse. Wagner bought the lot for his
friend and the person who would soon become the master retailer of western Ohio - I. H. Thedieck. Thedieck and Wagner hired Altenbach to build
a fine brick structure to house Thedieck's department store. It was the first of many
impressive projects for the ambitious builder.
Then as now, most construction
projects were handled by soliciting public bids. Altenbach's first success on a bid
project came in October, 1888 when he was declared the "lowest and best
bidder" for the new Lutheran Church on Water Street in Sidney. Following the
plans and specifications of the architect Hasecoester, Altenbach and his men completed the
church for the considerable sum of $10,190.68. During construction, church services were
conducted by Pastor Minneman in the assembly room of the Shelby County Courthouse. This
building served the congregation until it was razed to make room for a larger structure in
1927.
As his talents as a builder
developed, and word of his impressive workmanship spread, Joseph Altenbach became the most
sought after craftsman in western Ohio. In the spring of 1890, he was awarded the contract
to construct St. Remy's Catholic Church in Russia. Following the plans of noted Cincinnati
architect Louis Piket, Altenbach began work after the laying of the cornerstone on July
17, 1890 and was finished except for the plastering of the sanctuary within five months.
When the Wagner family conceived the
idea of founding The Wagner Manufacturing Company in 1890, the family once again turned to
Altenbach. He built the entire Wagner complex, which is still in use to this day.
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