FoW Tour - 71 Indiana Street

Friends of Wheeling had a “before” tour of 71 Indiana Street on February 17, 2025.

Deed records show that Lots 7 and 8 in Wheeling Island’s “Elmwood Square” were purchased in 1870 by Herman Kraeuter, and an 1871 map of Wheeling Island shows a house, labeled “H. Kryter” on Lot 8 when Indiana Street was called Third. (The last name of this German immigrant varies from document to document as Kryter, Krauter, and Kraeuter, with the last spelling seemingly the one used by the family.)

Family legend is that 71 Indiana Street was the “honeymoon house” of Herman and Anna Kraeuter, who lived next door at 69 Indiana (Lot 9/”Mrs. J. Harrison” on the early map) by at least the time of the 1874-75 City Directory

Herman Kraeuter (1834-1918) immigrated in 1865 and was a “professor of music.” His obituary stated that he was “one of the foremost musical instructors and musicians in Wheeling,” and “many of the young men and women of this community gained their knowledge for the art through his tutorage.” Interestingly, later real estate deed records included mention of a grand piano in 69 Indiana Street. Herman and Anna (nee Kern, 1845-1899) raised five children, three daughters and two sons, living in 69 Indiana, with 71 Indiana apparently used as rental property.

In late 1903, the property was deeded to the three Kraeuter daughters – Thusnelda (1867-1955), Julia (1879-1936), and Lenore (1901-1976). Samples of tenants listed in city directories in subsequent years included Otto Graves, millworker (1903); John J. Freise, carpenter (1911-12); Allan Hoskins, machinist (1917-18); Harry Yahrling, fish market (1919-20); John C. Stumpp, assistant warden of Ohio County Jail, and his wife Eulalia (1923-24); Arthur Bramhall, yardmaster (1928); and Mrs. Anna J. Wilkinson, widow (1930). Meanwhile, sisters Julia and Lenore married, while spinster Thusnelda remained in 69 Indiana Street and later in 75 Indiana, on the other side of 71 Indiana, working as a German teacher and a music teacher. The value of her estate listed in the 1930 Census, when her occupation was listed as a music teacher, was $12,000 – the equivalent of more than $220,000 today.

In 1954, about a year before her death, Thusnelda Kraeuter, then shown as a “mental incompetent” sold 71 Indiana Street to Charles G. and Laura Reass Hinkelman. WWII Army veteran Charles Hinkelman (1926-2020) worked as an installer for Weirton Floor Covering and was owner/operator of Chad Floor Covering. His daughter Deborah (born 1955) inherited the property when Charles died. Deborah lived in the house until her death on June 9, 2024. Her sister Amy Hinkelman Filler then inherited the property.

Sharon David purchased the property in early 2025 and plans to bring it back to its former glory.

Video: youtu.be/nL1DHyKWqUU