The West End Redevelopment Corporation (WERC), founded in 2005, is a 501.c.3 non-profit organization with a mission to acquire, improve or remove deteriorated properties along Belleville’s West Main Street corridor between Frank Scott Parkway and IL-157.

According to The Belleville News Democrat (3/13/24), WERC acquired the tax deed to 300 S 74^th Street in Stookey Township in December 2023 “after filing a lawsuit in May and learning that three years of its delinquent tax bills had been bought by Raven Securities. The group paid owner Scott Sieron $15,508 to clear the title.”

The troubled property went through serial delinquent tax sales from 2006-2022. WERC had been trying to acquire the deteriorating property for several years.

According to Donna Veile, WERC President/COO, in Spring 2024, “WERC literally uncovered the house by clearing seven dead trees and most of the overgrown brush. WERC cleared 240 cubic yards of detritus from the interior.” The renovations included “installing new electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roof, gutters, windows, garage doors and a 240V outlet in the garage for an EV charger.”

WERC also installed “a brand new kitchen, first-floor laundry center and a second half bath”. The original Mid-Century Modern tiled bathroom was updated, the original hardwood floors were refinished and new drywall and paint throughout the house. Outside, a brick patio was restored, the yard graded and grass seeded.

The renovations were so extensive, St Clair County considered it new construction and the property had to be be brought up to all modern building codes, including replacing all of the electrical and plumbing and installing the 240V outlet in the garage for EV charging in the garage.

in October 2024 during the renovations, “as a prime example of what a middle-class midcentury home would look like”, the house was included in a “midcentury-modern tour” of nine houses in the West End of Belleville hosted by the Belleville Historical Society.

The house did contain some upgrades when built. Donna Veile noted in an email, “a distinguishing architectural feature was the installation of copper pipes for radiant heating … in the ceilings.” Ceiling radiant heat was considered cutting edge in the 1950s. During renovations, the system was completely removed and a new HVAC system providing both heating and cooling was installed.

When you turn onto South 74^th Street from Foley Drive, as you travel towards Werner Road, you see the house in your direct line of sight due to the curvature of South 74^th Street. The landscaped lot and newly renovated house completely transform this stretch of South 74^th Street.

By using the Illinois Abandoned Housing Rehabilitation Act to acquire the derelict property, the nonprofit West End Redevelopment Corporation was able to turn this blighted property around, get it back on the property tax rolls and remove an eyesore from a heavily traveled roadway.

On 12/11/2024, WERC held an Open House to show off the completed house to the public. Prior to the Open House, the 1,506 square foot, 3 bedroom, 1 ½ bath house with a full basement and two car garage was placed under contract for $234,900. The new owners closed on the house on 12/20/2024.

With the historic St Clair Country Club as neighbors on the other side of South 74^th Street, the new owners will enjoy front row seats for the Country Club’s 4^th of July fireworks display.

In addition to the West End Redevelopment Corporation, the Ogles Neighborhood would like to thank WERC’s partners, the Mid-Century Modern Architecture Museum, Stookey Township,  the St. Clair Country Club, and WERC’s Cornerstone Capital donors and volunteers.

The Ogles Neighborhood would also like to thank the following who provided professional craftsmanship and charitable discounts to WERC for this project:

• Darwin Cabb, general contractor, Grace D Construction
• Kevin Wallace, kitchen and bath specialist, Mark’s Appliances
• Jake Asperger, general manager, Mark’s Tree Service
• Pedersen Heating and Cooling
• Mike Terry, Terry’s Home and Garden
• Donnie Minton, Minton Lawn Service
• Megan Gerdes, Designer, McDermott Remodeling
• Tile Restoral, McDermott Remodeling
• Melvis Avdec, St Louis Cabinets (KB Liquidators)
• Loco Electric
• Reid Plumbing
• Joe English, United Ink
• Lanna Boyles, Lissa Hollenbeck and Stacey Henke, Holiday party staging
• Mark Onstadt, Tavern on Main, catering

With this completed project, WERC has surpassed two big milestones: 20 houses and $1 Million invested in The West End.

If you like the work The West End Redevelopment Corporation is doing for Belleville’s West End, please consider making a donation.

Donations may be mailed to WERC AT 9200 W. Main, Suite 2, Belleville, IL 62223 or by VenMo.

WERC’s all-volunteer board meets monthly at 5:15 pm on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 9200 W. Main.

For questions or more info about WERC, please email Donna Veile, President/COO, at veilewerc@gmail.com

Follow The West End Redevelopment Corporation on Facebook to keep up to date with other WERC projects.

Continue reading for some history of the Hutchinsons, the owners of the house for its first 30 years, and their hardware store, Edgemont Hardware, which opened in 1923.

History

Dug out of the Belleville News Democrat online archives, Belleville Public Library and St Clair County records

The Belleville Public Library has copies of Belleville City Directories going back to the mid-1800s.

City directories are published annually. They contain an alphabetical listing of businesses and citizens, noting owners and employers, and a street directory of occupants, including apartment and office buildings, and noting where cross streets are located. There is also a Telephone Directory, listed in numerical order by telephone number. They were used by many businesses for advertising and sales purposes. They were very thick and fairly pricey. The 1961 edition was $45 (about $475 in 2024 dollars). They are still produced. Polk City Directories were the original “Big Data”, and “from 1951 to 1958, the company pioneered the use of electronic punch card tabulating equipment.”

The Library has copies up to the most current year. However, there are gaps, they don’t have all the years, especially the older ones.

These directories are a Who’s Who of Belleville and the surrounding areas and are a great resource when researching addresses, old businesses and people. The alphabetical list of names and the Street Directory are referred to often in this report.

The Belleville News Democrat reported on the minutia of the day, recording tidbits from social events, to traffic accidents, the police blotter and advertisements. The searchable online BND archive, available with a Belleville Public Library card, was used to find the clippings included in this report.

Finally, the 1936 & 1956 St Clair County Atlas available at the Library and the St Clair County GIS Parcel Map Viewer and online Parcel Data were very helpful and are also used in this report.

The brick home at 300 South 74^th Street was built as a 1,366 square foot, three bedroom, one bath home with a full basement and a two-car garage. A half bath was added during the renovation and the home gained an additional 140 square feet when the porch was converted into living space.

According to Donna Veile, President/COO of WERC, and St Clair County records, the house was built in 1958 for William and Eloise Hutchinson.

However, in November 1950, William Hutchinson took out a Want Ad in the Belleville News Democrat looking for a “dependable garbage collector in rapidly growing neighborhood” and specifying the address as “300 South 74^th Street”. The ad ran over 3 days.

The 1950 City Directory lists William Hutchinson living at 300 South 74^th Street. The symbol after his name on the street listing denotes a homeowner. The StL&BERy that crosses South 74^th was the abandoned St. Louis & Belleville Electric Railway’s old tracks (now Foley Dr).

His listing in the alphabetical listing of names notes his wife Eloise in parenthesis. “hdw” is an abbreviation for “hardware” the type of business where he was employed, the address where he worked (8824 State St E StL) and he was the head of household living at 300 South 74^th. He was the only Hutchinson in Belleville.

It’s certain that William Hutchinson was living at 300 S 74^th Street since at least November 1950.

The Library does not have copies of the 1947, 1948 or 1949 City Directories.

1946 City Directory lists William Hutchinson with his parents (Leslie and Gertrude Hutchinson). William and Leslie owned the Edgemont Hardware Store and Gertrude was a clerk. They resided at 10612 W Main St. Northern Ave is not listed as a cross street in the 1946 Street listing. It was not built yet.

Edgemont is located in East St Louis near the intersection of State St, North 88^th Street (IL-157) and West Main Street on the East St Louis and Belleville border. The Belleville Public Library has a copy of the 1948 East St Louis City Directory.

It is around this time that Edgemont Hardware and other properties in the 10600 block of West Main Street stop being listed in the Belleville City Directory and are instead listed in the East St Louis City Directory, even though the properties are physically located in Belleville.

To make it more confusing, they are listed in the East St Louis City Directory with addresses in the 8800 block of State St. All of the businesses and people in the 10600 block of West Main St in Belleville used their 8800 block of State Street addresses in East St Louis interchangeably.

The 1948 East St Louis City Directory shows the Edgemont Hardware store at 8820 State St (which is 10612 West Main St) and lists only Leslie Hutchinson in the street directory. The alphabetical list of names lists William Hutchinson, with his wife Eloise as an owner of Edgemont Hardware residing on RD (Rural Delivery Route) 5. By this time, the Hutchinsons were in their early 30s and had two children, Sandra (b 1943) and Trudy (b 1948).

It is possible that the “0” in the 1950 date was misread as an “8” or the “4” in the 1948 date was fat-fingered as a “5” when county records were computerized. It is likely that the house was built in 1948 or 1950 instead of 1958. The lots along South 74^th Street were developed starting in the 1940s, before the Country Club Heights Subdivision was created. The Country Club Heights Subdivision, which starts with the lots directly behind the lots along South 74^th Street, was in the planning stages in the late 1940s with the first houses in the subdivision being built around 1950. Since William Hutchinson was looking for a garbage hauler in November 1950, it’s likely that he had been living there just a few months before he placed that ad, placing the build date in 1950. The only way to confirm this is to look at the original records at the Recorder of Deeds office, if they still exist.

The Hutchinsons were civic-minded people. Eloise Hutchinson was an Election Judge for Stookey Township Precinct 4 in 1964, 1968, 1970 and 1971 (click on any of the images for a higher resolution).

According to a notice in the 2/8/1960 BND, she was a member of the Daughters of the Parish of St. George’s Episcopal Church and held one of four Circle Meetings in her home on 2/9/1960.

The 11/11/1958 BND reported that the Harmony-Emge Schools Mothers’ Club held a meeting where Eloise Hutchinson was the program chairman.

On January 21, 1949, the Belleville News Democrat reported that the Edgemont Lions Club was formed with help from the Belleville Lions Club. William Hutchinson was the first secretary of the Edgemont Lions Club.

On September 25, 1957, the Belleville News Democrat reported on Belleville’s St Clair Toastmasters Club, William Hutchinson served as Sergeant-At-Arms.

On September 13, 1960, the Belleville News Democrat reported that the Hutchinson’s oldest daughter, Sandra, was “installed Worthy Advisor of Belleville Assembly 4, International Order of the Rainbow for Girls“. Her little sister, Trudy, was a Page.

On March 16, 1966, the Belleville News Democrat reported that Trudy Hutchinson was initiated into Alpha Delta Pi at the University of Missouri where she was a freshman.

In July 1962, Eloise Hutchinson, aged 46 at the time, was in a traffic accident at the traffic signal at W Main St and 70^th Street, The other driver was at fault and was fined $5 and $5 costs.

In July 1964, The Belleville News Democrat reported that a 17 year-old driver and his 16 year-old passenger were injured when they crashed their car into a tree in the yard of 300 South 74^th Street.

On June 30, 1967, the Belleville News Democrat reported on what we would call a home invasion today. Around 10:10pm the night before, William Hutchinson heard a noise. When he went to check on it, he saw a man leave the house through a bedroom window. Yes folks, contrary to what you may have heard on social media, they really did have crime back in the good ol’ days. FYI: $15 – $20 back in June 1967 is about $140 – $190 in November 2024.

In November 1964, the Hutchinsons announced the engagement of their daughter, Sandra, to James P Whalen of East St Louis. They were married May 31, 1965 at St Patrick’s Church in East St Louis. Trudy Hutchinson was the maid of honor. Sandra attended Belleville Township High School and graduated from Eastern Illinois University. James Whalen graduated from Assumption High School in East St Louis and was studying Sociology at SIUE.

In July 1971, the Hutchinsons announced the marriage of their daughter, Trudy, to Vincent F Gonzalez of Villa Carolina, Puerto Rico. They were married on 7/4/1971 in Chicago and planned on living in Cleveland, Ohio where Vincent Gonzalez was studying Law at the Cleveland-Marshall School of Law.

William Hutchinson’s father, Leslie, died on 9/13/1970 at Memorial Hospital at age 91. His mother, Gertrude, died less than a year later on 7/1/1971 at St Elizabeth’s Hospital. She was 79. William had a sister, Ruth Scholfield, of Glen Ellyn, IL, near Chicago.

Notice the 10612 West Main and 8820 State St addresses. They are the same location, the family hardware store. Leslie and Gertrude Hutchinson lived in an apartment over the store. However, by this time, their hardware store had moved to a larger building next-door and the original hardware store was rented out to other businesses.

William Hutchinson’s sister, Ruth Hutchinson, is mentioned in the 1943 Belleville City Directory. Her occupation was a teacher and she resided with her parents at 10612 West Main St.

Her first husband, Marine Lt Charles McCann was Killed in Action on Iwo Jima on February 24, 1945.

Last year Charles McCann’s Purple Heart turned up in the hands of a collector. He posted in a forum related to military medals asking about repairing the damaged medal. Later he dug up information that McCann “graduated from Westminster College in Missouri in 1941”, then “in the fall of ’41 he entered medical school at Washington University in St. Louis.  Seems he was there until late ’42 when he joined the USMC.”

The medal collector then contacted Westminster College who sent him “a photograph of McCann from his senior yearbook and letters that were sent to his wife by 3rd Division about his death and a street on Iwo Jima that was being named for him”. The Iwo Jima street is mentioned in the 7/20/1945 Belleville News Democrat clipping.

Lieutenant McCann was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on Iwo Jima.

“During an attack on heavily defended Motoyama Airfield Number Two, Second Lieutenant McCann led his platoon in blasting and destroying three enemy pillboxes. Forced by intense rifle and machine-gun fire to abandon his untenable position, he directed his men in an orderly withdrawal and administered first aid to the wounded. Learning that two casualties had been left on the fire-swept airstrip, he immediately went out alone to rescue them and had just reached the wounded men when he fell, mortally wounded. His courageous leadership and unwavering devotion to duty were an inspiration to his men and reflect the highest credit upon Second Lieutenant McCann and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.”

Ruth Hutchinson eventually married Charles Scholfield. Not much could be found on Ruth Hutchinson/McCann/Scholfield. Prior to her husband’s death, the BND clipping stated she was a former teacher at Chester High School. She was reported as living near Chicago in her parents obituary in 1970 and 1971. Online county records shows the tax bills for her 2 parcels at 10600 West Main St were being sent to a PO Box in Yachats, Oregon from 2000-2010. She died in February 2010 in Yachats, Oregon.

On page 1B in the 9/8/2010 edition, the Belleville News Democrat reported “The city also accepted the donation of a vacant piece of land at 10600 W. Main St. Mayor Mark Eckert said it could be used for green space.” In 2010, the parcel William Hutchinson owned, along with the two parcels Ruth Scholfield’s Estate owned, that make up the empty lot at 10600 West Main St were donated to the City of Belleville.

Although the Hutchinson’s were not mentioned again in the Belleville News Democrat at 300 South 74^th Street after October 1975, they do appear in the City Directories.

In the alphabetical list of names, the 1961 Belleville City Directory lists Leslie Hutchinson and his wife Gertrude as Hardware Dealers working at 10610 W Main St and living at 10612 W Main. Leslie Hutchinson is the Head of Household. William Hutchinson and his wife Eloise are in the hardware business at 8824 State in East St Louis and live at 300 South 74^th Street. William Hutchinson is the Head of Household.

By 1961, the South 74^th Street listing in the Street Directory has grown considerably. William Hutchinson lived at 300 South 74^th Street and is a homeowner. His phone number was 397-5209.

The Belleville Public Library does not have a copy of the 1980 Belleville City Directory.

The 1981 Belleville City Directory lists a new owner for 300 South 74^th Street, Judy Humphrey. The star before her name in the 1981 Belleville City Directory means that the occupant changed since the previous year’s directory was published. Sometime in late 1980 or early 1981, the Hutchinson’s sold 300 South 74^th Street to Judy Humphrey. By 1984, she was listed as a confirmed homeowner.

She remained listed as owner/occupant in the Belleville City Directory up until 2019. The number in the box next to her name is the number of years in the directory at this address. In more recent directories, like the 2019 directory, the year the home was built is noted in parenthesis. They most likely get the 1958 date from the same incorrect digitized county record.

300 South 74^th Street appeared on a Real Estate Assessment list on page 68 in the 9/20/84 Belleville News Democrat. Mid America Bank & Trust Co was listed as the owner. There was no indication that the house was foreclosed on, Judy Humphrey seems to have owned the house from 1980 until 2023.

The Belleville City Directories from 2020 thru 2024 list the house as vacant. It is likely that no one was living at the house for 4 years before WERC obtained the house in December 2023.

Online county records show the tax bills were being sent to Judy Humphrey at 300 South 74^th Street through 2022. She paid her property taxes for the last time in October 2019 (2018 taxes due in 2019), a few months late. WERC paid the 2023 tax bill that was due in 2024.

It is not known what happened to Judy Humphrey. No information could be found in the Belleville News Democrat linking Judy Humphrey to 300 South 74^th Street.

In July 1979, William Hutchinson turned 62 and, according to his last Belleville City Directory listing, he was retired.

After selling the house at 300 South 74^th Street around 1980, the Hutchinsons moved to Ohio, presumably to be near their daughter Trudy and her three kids. In Trudy’s wedding announcement in 1971, it was mentioned that she would be living in Cleveland with her law-student husband.

William Hutchinson died on December 12, 2019 at the age of 102 in Willoughby, OH, near Cleveland.

Eloise Hutchinson died on November 3, 2015 at the age of 99, also in Willoughby, OH.

They are both interred at Saint George Episcopal Memorial Garden at 105 East D Street, Belleville.

After the 1979 City Directory reported the Hutchinsons as retired, the Edgemont Hardware store continued to operate.

In August 1983, 32-year-old Eddie Atchison died when a car he was driving at a high rate of speed crashed into the front wall of the hardware store at 10610 West Main St, demolishing it and causing a support beam to fall on the car, crushing it.

Hutchinson’s Edgemont Hardware

William Hutchinson’s father, Leslie T Hutchinson, started Hutchinson’s Edgemont Hardware in 1923 when William Hutchinson was 6 years old.

The Warranty Deed reported in the Belleville News Democrat in April 1923 shows Leslie Hutchinson purchasing real estate in part of Section 26 of Township 2N Range 9W from Al Harper. The description is very vague, as Section 26 is 640 acres and a “part” of it could be any size. However, the hardware store is located in a subdivision known as an “Addition to Harper Hills” which is located in Section 26 of Township 2N Range 9W.

The first mention of Edgemont Hardware in the Belleville City Directory was in the 1923 edition. There was no mention of the hardware store in the 1922 edition. The 1923 Street Directory does not give street numbers in this section of West Main St and the order of the occupants is not consistent with later editions of the City Directory.

The listing for the Hutchinsons in the 1923 List of Names, shows them owning Edgemont Hardware and they reside at W Main and Edgemont.

A map of Edgemont is needed to make sense of the addresses in this discussion.

The first map is a scan of the 1956 St Clair County Atlas, available at the Belleville Public Library.

The 1956 St Clair County Atlas is an update of the 1936 St Clair County Atlas, which is also available at the Library, but the Library’s copy is in poor condition and it is locked in the vault section. The 1936 St Clair County Atlas can be viewed online at Historic Map Works, Residential Genealogy™. There are no major differences in the 88^th St, State St, 89^th St and West Main St intersection between the 1936 and 1956 versions.

The following map with the 1956 parcels overlaid on the 2025 parcels was created using some Photoshop and ArcGIS magic. It clearly shows the property that was taken when IL-157 was widened and re-aligned to create the intersection we are familiar with today. It also shows the corporate limits of East St Louis and Belleville through the intersection.

The original alignment of IL-157 through Edgemont (highlighted in orange) had it taking a two-lane North 88^th Street to State Street, then turning on State Street for one block, then turning onto the two-lane North 89^th Street (which is now like an outer road for IL-157 all the way until the 4 lane highway reverts back to a two lane road north of Bunkum Road in Caseyville.

Belleville Corporate Limits was on the south and east sides of IL-157, East St Louis on the north and west sides.

This created a situation where the buildings on the south side of the street between 88^th Street and 89^th Street were in Belleville and the north side was in East St Louis with the east-west cross street having a different name depending on which city the street was in. This resulted in the buildings in this block to be known by both addresses.

• 10606 West Main = 8900 State Street = Lots 6 & 7
• 10610 West Main = 8824 State Street = Lot 9
• 10612 West Main = 8820 State Street = Lot 10
• 10614 West Main = 8816 State Street = Lot 11
• 10618 West Main St = 8800 State Street = Lot 12

Outlot A was also referred to as 8800 State St. Lot 12 was the Crescent Gasoline Company in the 1920s and 1930s. Munro Bros Machine Shop was on Outlot A. Some reports mentioned the Munro Bros filling station on that corner, but the City Directories and the Belleville News Democrat contained nothing that would suggest a relation between the two, other than both using the 8800 State Street address. Both the gas station and the machine shop were razed when IL-157 was widened and re-aligned.

When IL-157 was re-aligned, the north side of the block between 88^th and 89^th Streets was obliterated making it obvious that East St Louis and State Street were on the west side of IL-157 and Belleville and West Main Street were on the right side. However, the hardware store and other businesses in the 10600 block of West Main Street continued to use their State Street addresses into the 1980s.

This also created a situation where, starting in the late 1940s, the properties in the 10600 block of West Main Street in Belleville stopped being listed in the Belleville City Directory and are instead listed in the East St Louis City Directory.

The 1925 Belleville City Directory is the first to list Edgemont Hardware at 10612 West Main St (lot 10 on the above parcel map). The 1925 Directory cautions that the numbers on some streets are badly out of order and that the city would be undertaking a task to renumber the streets.

Jacob Hull’s house is at 10506 West Main Street (lot 3 on the above parcel map). It was built in 1924 according to county records. He owned the Pharmacy at 10606 West Main Street for decades (lot 7 on the above parcel map).

St Clair Electrical Engineering Co was next door to the hardware store (lot 9 on the above parcel map) on the eastern side and Crescent Gasoline Co is on the corner (lot 12 on the above parcel map). It seems that Lot 11 (10614 West Main) was still an empty lot. St Clair Electrical Engineering Co manufactured and dealt in electrical appliances and radio devices.

The odd numbers should be located across the street, but the barber and shoe shop may actually have shared the building at 10608 West Main.

The 1929 Belleville City Directory has George Schoenborn’s grocery store at 10610 West Main (Lot 9) next door to the hardware store at 10612 West Main (Lot 10). The 1934 East St Louis Directory lists the Edgemont Hardware store at 8820 State Street which is 10612 West Main (Lot 10).

In 1929, the Crescent Gasoline Co filling station on the corner lot (Lot 12) was listed as 10614 West Main, which was the address for lot 11. The 1934 East St Louis Directory lists the Crescent filling station as 8800 State Street. The 1935 Belleville City Directory Crescent Gas Station is listed as 10618 West Main. 10618 West Main was listed as vacant in 1943.

William Hutchinson gets his first listing in a City Directory in the 1934 East St Louis Directory at age 17. He is listed living at his parent’s apartment over the hardware store at 8820a State Street.

The Belleville News Democrat archives had a few mentions of the Piggly Wiggly store. Two of the above clippings mention both the Piggly Wiggly store at 10614 West Main and the filling station next-door at 10618 West Main. Click on any of the images for a higher resolution.

Kroger owned Piggly-Wiggly by the mid-1930s. According to Wikipedia, “At its peak in 1932, the company operated 2,660 stores”.

There was a Kroger/Piggly-Wiggly store at 10614 West Main/8816 State Street from at least 1932 through at least 1948.

The 1934 East St Louis Directory lists the Edgemont Hardware store at 8820 State Street (Lot 10) and the building at 8824 State Street as vacant (Lot 9). The 1948 East St Louis Directory lists the Edgemont Hardware store at 8820 State Street (Lot 10). 8824 State Street (Lot 9) is not listed.

The 1935, 1943 and 1946 Belleville City Directory lists the Edgemont Hardware store at 10610-12 West Main St (Lots 9 & 10).

At some time between 1929 and 1935, the Hutchinson’s purchased the parcel and building next door at 10610 West Main/8824 State St. The building may have become available when George Schoenborn’s grocery store moved across the street from 10610 West Main/8824 State Street to 8813 State Street. This could have been the reason that 8824 State was listed as vacant in the 1934 Directory. Schoenborn’s grocery store was listed at 8813 State Street for decades. George Schoenborn lived in an apartment over the store.

The building on the parcel at 10610 West Main, Lot 9, built around 1923 for the St Clair Electrical Engineering Co who manufactured and dealt in electrical appliances and radio devices, probably wasn’t very big, but the parcel is 12′ wider and twice as deep at their original lot next door at 10612 West Main (Lot 10).

In 1935, Edgemont Hardware occupied two buildings. The original building at 10612 West Main/8820 State, where the Hutchinson’s also lived, and the building next door at 10610 West Main/8824 State.

The hardware store operated out of two separate buildings until 1947 when Leslie Hutchinson took out a Building Permit for a “brick store at 10610 West Main Street” for an estimated $18,000. (about $258,000 in November 2025). This 2013 Google Streetview shows the building after the front was rebuilt in 1983.

By 1949, Earl’s Pastry Shop was operating out of the old hardware store at 10612 West Main/8820 State, underneath the Hutchinson’s apartment.

The 2013 Google Streetview below shows the 10600 block of West Main looking from 89^th Street across West Main Street.

The drug store in the 1951 article was in the building on the left. The barber shop and shoe shop were in the middle building and the Edgemont Hardware store in the building on the right. Next to the hardware store was the original hardware store building with the Hutchinson’s apartment, and next to that was the Piggly Wiggly. The gas station sat in what is now a four lane IL-157.

Munro Machine Shop was located behind the original hardware store, Piggly Wiggly and gas station with frontage on IL-157 (Outlot A). Much of the Munro property is now part of the northbound lanes of IL-157.

In 1950 when William Hutchinson bought the house at 300 South 74^th Street, he was 33-years-old and had been in the family hardware business since he was 6-years-old. Leslie Hutchinson was 71-years-old.

The 1959 East St Louis Directory lists William Hutchinson as owner, along with his now elderly parents.  Both the 1955 and 1959 East St Louis Directories show the Edgemont Hardware Store at the new location, 8824 State Street (10610 West Main St). Leslie and Gertrude Hutchinson lived at 8820a State Street, in the apartment over the old hardware store, which had become a pastry shop.

By 1955, Earl’s Pastry Shop became the Tasty Pastry Shoppe. Both the 1955 and 1959 East St Louis Directories show the Tasty Pastry Shoppe occupying the original hardware store building at 8820 State Street.

In July 1955, the Tasty Pastry Shoppe was looking for a cake and pastry baker. They had the same phone number as Earl’s Pastry Shoppe.

In July 1958, there was another burglary at the Edgemont Hardware Store at 10610 West Main Street. The thieves cut a hole in the roof of a storage room to gain entry. The original loss was underestimated. The store lost $573.28 in merchandise (about $6,235 in November 2024).

In September 1959, the Tasty Pastry Shoppe moved next door to 8816 State Street (10614 West Main), the old Piggly-Wiggly store. The 1955 East St Louis Directory listed this property as vacant. The 1959 East St Louis Directory listed the Tele-Tronics Service Company had been at this location.

It looks like this property was split into two stores after the Piggly-Wiggly moved out. 8814 State St is listed in both the 1955 and 1959 East St Louis City Directories. A liquor store operates in the 8814 half.

After the Tasty Pastry moved next door, the Overby-Major Sales Company, an electrical appliance store moved into 8820 State Street/10612 West Main St. They were robbed in 1960. Five televisions and two radios were taken valued at $997.85 (Around $10,500 in November 2024)

In 1961, another electrical appliance store, Belle-Edge Sales, occupied the building.

In September 1961, an 18-year-old careless driver hit the power pole near the intersection, then ran into the front door of the electrical appliance shop, which was the original hardware store at 10612 West Main St/8820 State Street. The elderly Hutchinsons still lived in the apartment above the store.

Electric clothes dryers using the negative pressure venting systems that are still used today were introduced in 1958. They were manufactured since the late 1930s, but they were a luxury item, too expensive for most people. Most houses built before the late-1950s had facilities for a washing machine, but no facilities for a clothes dryer. In 1955, only about 6% of US Households had clothes dryers. By 1963, almost 25% of US Households had clothes dryers and most new houses were built with facilities for both washers and dryers.

In the fall of 1961, Illinois Power Company was giving away free General Electric electric blankets to anyone who bought an electric dryer before October 31 at participating stores, including Belle-Edge Sales at 8820 State Street. The $24.95 value of the electric blanket is about $260 in November 2024.

The only address in the 10600 block of West Main listed in the 1962 and 1965 Belleville City Directories is 10612 West Main. It was listed as vacant in 1962 and East St Louis Christian Book Store was listed at the address in 1965. Remember, 10612 West Main is also 8820 State Street. Belle-Edge Sales must’ve closed in late 1961 or early 1962.

Before the Christian Book Store moved in, Office Outfitters occupied the original hardware store at 10612 West Main St/8820 State Street.

The Royal Safari portable typewriter Office Outfitters has advertised for $109.95 in August 1962 would be about $1,145 in November 2024.

The Royal portable typewriter in Office Outfitter’s 1962 Pre-Christmas sale would be about $520 in November 2024.

In July 1964, Office Outfitters got robbed. Leroy Fink was the clerk who got robbed. $125 in July 1964 is about $1,270 in November 2024.

In April 1965, the burglar alarm chased off a burglar at “William Hutchinson’s hardware store, 10610 West Main Street” (Lot 9) and the Hutchinson Edgemont Hardware store at 8824 State St was listed as a dealer in an ad for Agrico Grass Food. Same building, two different addresses.

In September 1964, a Christian supply store moved into the original Hardware store building (Lot 10).

By January 1970, the East St Louis Christian Book Store held a pre-moving sale at 8820 State Street.

Meanwhile, the Tasty Pasty Shoppe that moved next door to the old Piggly Wiggly building at 10614 West Main Street/8816 State Street (Lot 11) became Newgent’s Bakery by July 1965. They got robbed in July 1966. The $350 loss would be about $3,400 in November 2024.

At some point in the past, the 150′ wide Lot 4 was split into three 50′ wide parcels. In 1968 Leslie Hutchinson owned the two northwest parcels. These two parcels and Lot 5 make up 10600 West Main Street (outlined in blue). The Hutchinson’s probably used these empty lots as a parking lot for their store. The southeast parcel in Lot 4 is the house at 10530 West Main Street (built in 1936).

In 1969, William Hutchinson was 52-years-old. His father Leslie was 90-years-old. His mother, Gertrude was 77-years old.

The 1969 East St Louis City Directory lists William, Leslie and Gertrude as owners of Hutchinson’s Edgemont Hardware store at 8824 State Street with Leslie Hutchinson still living in the apartment above the store at 8824a State Street.

The East St Louis Christian Supply store was still in the original hardware store’s location at 8820 State Street.

The liquor store and pastry shop at 8814/8816 State in the 1950s were gone by 1969 and a cleaners and Pearce Photographer were listed at the addresses. Pearce Photographer was robbed in 1968. In the 1970 directory, 8814 is listed as vacant and 8816 is not listed.

Munro Brothers Machine and Fabrication Shop at 8800 State is actually on North 88th St (Outlot A). There was a gas station on the corner in Lot 12. The directory lists a gas station at 8801 State Street, but the odd numbered addresses are across the street. It is possible that since Munro Brothers used the 8800 State St address, that the directory numbered the gas station 8801, but 8802 would have been a better choice.

The 1970 East St Louis City Directory lists Hutchinson’s Toy preview in the original hardware store’s building at 8820 State Street. Leslie Hutchinson died in September 1970 and was no longer listed in the East St Louis City Directory. Gertrude Hutchinson was listed as living in the apartment over the store at 8820a State Street. It lists William and Gertrude as owners of Hutchinson’s Edgemont Hardware store. It notes that Gertrude is a widow and William lives in Belleville.

All of the odd numbered addresses in the 8800 block of State Street that were listed in the 1969 East St Louis City Directory were removed from the 1970 East St Louis City Directory.

In the 1971 Real Estate Assessments published in September 1971 shows that Leslie Hutchinson is still listed as the owner of the two Lot 4 parcels that make up 2/3 of the empty lot at 10600 West Main Street. William Hutchinson now owns Lot 5 that makes up the other 1/3 of that lot.

Leslie Hutchinson is also still listed as the owner of Lot 9 (10610 West Main St) and Lot 10 (10612 West Main St), but lot 10 now shows an exclusion for the part taken for a Highway. The assessed value of lot 10 shows that it is an empty lot.

Lots 11 and 12 and Outlot A are no longer listed in the Assessments list. In December 1972, a list of New Real Estate Assessments for 1971 was published showing Lot 11 and part of Outlot A in Gertrude Hutchinson’s name. It was also valued as an empty lot. This was probably held up because Leslie Hutchinson died while IDOT was in the process of acquiring the parcels and it needed to be sorted out in Probate court before assigning it to Gertrude Hutchinson. Gertrude died on July 1971, over a year before this list appeared in December 1972

In 1970, IDOT purchased land to widen and realign the IL-157, State Street and West Main Street intersection to make IL-157 a four lane highway from Bunkum Road, a little north of the new I-64 in Caseyville to Lake Dr/Foley Dr.

Sometime before the end of 1970, they tore down the Munro Bros Machine Shop on Outlot A, the gas station on Lot 12, the old Piggly-Wiggly building on Lot 11 and the original Hutchinson’s hardware store on lot 10 (8820 State St/10612 West Main St) along with all the odd numbered buildings in the 8800 block on the other side of State Street.

Funding for the highway construction was held up, but was finally released by Governor Daniel Walker in May 1973. Work started in March 1974 and took 4 months.

By the summer of 1974, the 1947 Hutchinson Hardware store at 8824 State St/10610 West Main St was on a corner lot and had a parking lot. The Hutchinson’s retained ownership of a trimmed Lot 10. As part of the deal with IDOT, they obtained ownership of the parts of Lot 11 and Outlot A that IDOT did not need for the highway and the remnants of lots 10, 11 and Outlot A were made into a parking lot for the store (outlined in orange on the parcel map).

The 1975 Real Estate Assessments now show the two Lot 4 Parcels that made up part of the empty lot at 10600 West Main Street now are now owned by William Hutchinson’s sister, Ruth Scholfield. As was previously mentioned, the Belleville News Democrat reported “The city also accepted the donation of a vacant piece of land at 10600 W. Main St. Mayor Mark Eckert said it could be used for green space.” In 2010, the parcel William Hutchinson owned, along with the two parcels Ruth Scholfield’s Estate owned, that make up the empty lot at 10600 West Main St were donated the to the City of Belleville.

Lots 9, 10 and 11, the hardware store and parking lot at 10610 West Main St/8824 State Street that had been owned by Leslie Hutchinson were now in William Hutchinson’s name.

As was previously mentioned, William Hutchinson retired around 1979 and sold the hardware store business, but kept ownership of the building. The hardware store went out of business in 1985.

In December 1987 American’s Rent To Own opened in the old Hutchinson Hardware store at 10610 West Main St/8824 State St. It is not known when William Hutchinson sold the building, but it is likely that after the hardware store closed, he sold the building to the person who owned or leased to American’s Rent To Own.

In February 1992, the company that owned American’s Rent To Own was liquidated. The auction was held at 10610 West Main Street on February 21, 1992.

By November 1993, Magic Rent to Own was at 10610 West Main Street. In 1995, Rent One was at 10610 West Main Street. Rent One was looking for an Accounts Manager in 1998.

As mentioned earlier, the 2000 Real Estate Assessments published in August 2000 shows that Leslie Finkelstein owned the three parcels that make up 10610 West Main Street. It could not be determined if William Hutchinson sold the parcels to Finkelstein, or if it passed through other owners.

According to County records, in January 2005, Finkelstein sold it to New Horizon’s Church. In January 2007, New Horizon’s Church sold it to Opal Loflin. It then became Loflin’s Furniture Store.

In January 2013, the City of Belleville purchased the three parcels for $159,000 with the intention of demolishing the now dilapidated building at 10610 West Main St.  “Based on the way it looks and how it was cared for, it was an important piece of property to take a hold of to stop it from becoming a nuisance property,” Mayor Mark Eckert said.

In April 2014, the City of Belleville allocated the money to demolish the old Hutchinson Hardware store. In May 2014, “the council voted 11-2 to approve the low bid of $26,000 by S. Shafer Excavating to demolish the old Loflin Furniture building at 10610 W. Main St.”.

The 2013 Google Street View shows the state of the building in the end. It was probably a wise move by the City to acquire the building and demolish it.

At some point over the last few years, the City of Belleville also acquired the building in the 2013 Street View at 10608 West Main Street and demolished it as well. Only the old Hull Drug Store building at 10606 West Main St remains. All of the empty lots in the 10600 block of West Main Street are now owned by the City of Belleville.