East Side of Square 1850s
Title
East Side of Square 1850s
Description
One of the oldest known photos of the Square
John Medlar came to Woodstock in 1856; his studio was on the third story of the Hoy Block
Back of photo says "before Civil War"
"The first building from the left is the old Exchange Hotel, which stood where the Murphy block [1937] is now located. [100 N. Benton] This includes the First National Bank, Koblentz, Thorne & Son and Newman stores. Next to, across the street from the Exchange hotel was the old "Rathole" building, where some of the county offices were located before the courthouse was built. The State Bank [101 S. Benton] is now located on this site. The buildings beyond included various lines of business. This block was destroyed by fire much more recently. The above picture was taken by the late John S. Medlar from his studio on the third floor of the Hoy block. It is probably on a Saturday afternoon, when there were many farmers in town. These were the real horse and buggy days, with all the problems of alternating dust and mud which went along.
The first private dwelling erected in the place was the east part of the Exchange hotel [Wdstk Sentinel 3-13-1937 sec3 pg 1]"
"Baptists...A house of worship was erected in 1858, but in the building of it the society was heavily involved in debt. The edifice after a few years passed out of their hands, being sold to the Methodists, who in turn sold it a Universalist society, now defunct, and after doing duty for a time as an armory, it finally came into the possession of the German Lutherans. This church stood opposite the southeast corner of the public square, and was destroyed by fire in 1893. [Woodstock Illustrated 1895, p11 online]"
Job Printing: Woodstock Sentinel began publishing in July 1856
John Medlar came to Woodstock in 1856; his studio was on the third story of the Hoy Block
Back of photo says "before Civil War"
"The first building from the left is the old Exchange Hotel, which stood where the Murphy block [1937] is now located. [100 N. Benton] This includes the First National Bank, Koblentz, Thorne & Son and Newman stores. Next to, across the street from the Exchange hotel was the old "Rathole" building, where some of the county offices were located before the courthouse was built. The State Bank [101 S. Benton] is now located on this site. The buildings beyond included various lines of business. This block was destroyed by fire much more recently. The above picture was taken by the late John S. Medlar from his studio on the third floor of the Hoy block. It is probably on a Saturday afternoon, when there were many farmers in town. These were the real horse and buggy days, with all the problems of alternating dust and mud which went along.
The first private dwelling erected in the place was the east part of the Exchange hotel [Wdstk Sentinel 3-13-1937 sec3 pg 1]"
"Baptists...A house of worship was erected in 1858, but in the building of it the society was heavily involved in debt. The edifice after a few years passed out of their hands, being sold to the Methodists, who in turn sold it a Universalist society, now defunct, and after doing duty for a time as an armory, it finally came into the possession of the German Lutherans. This church stood opposite the southeast corner of the public square, and was destroyed by fire in 1893. [Woodstock Illustrated 1895, p11 online]"
Job Printing: Woodstock Sentinel began publishing in July 1856
Creator
Source
Original library collection
Date
1858~
Collection
Citation
Medlar Studios, Woodstock, “East Side of Square 1850s,” Woodstock Public Library Archives, accessed September 6, 2026, https://woodstockpubliclibraryarchives.omeka.net/items/show/174.
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