The Central House stands thanks to volunteers

Everyone enjoys a little history of where they came from and Napoleon has one of the oldest buildings in history, The Central House, still standing because of caring residents of Ripley County keeping it going.

The Central House was built in 1836. It was once known as the Drovers Inn Hotel. Farmers would drive their cattle and hogs from Indianapolis to Napoleon. They would stop for the night and park their cattle out back. Back then, several would stay in one room to save cost on their travel. The Central House also was known for it to be used as a Stagecoach stop. The stagecoach would bring in visitors and drop them off, unloading their trunks and having to carry them up flights of stairs even if it was only for the night. There was no type of elevator in the hotel back then.

Some local families have lived in the Central House during the Depression years. (1929-1939) Percy and Marie Rolfing Brown lived there with their daughter Yvonne Geraldine; everyone knew her as Jerry. Geneen (Crowell) Ostendorf told the Osgood Journal that her mom (Jerry) said that the family would share a loaf of bread with relatives/neighbors. No one would really talk about the Depression times, but Jerry was glad they had never torn it down because of the memories.

Through the hard times, The Central House became broke down with no funds to restore it. There were many broken windows, a leaky roof and broken-down floors to the ground. A gentleman, name not mentioned, needed money for an attorney and sold it in trade to get the help he needed. The attorney didn’t want the building and soon after put it up for public auction.

The day of the auction, many came and were bidding. An older man came down the road raising his arms yelling to the crowd and was mistaken that he was putting in a final bid to purchase the Central House. The next day after the auction, the gentleman realized he had made a mistake, and went to Bob Dean and Frank Straber, asking them if they would like to buy the building from him. They purchased the Central House for $5,000.00.

Dean and Straber were now new owners, but knew others had shown interest to try and restore it and keep the building in history standing. Pat Hicks, of Napoleon, is the daughter of Straber. She is one of the original Board of Directors that was organized for the Central Project. Hicks stated to the Osgood Journal, “We wanted to save the Central House for the town. Bob and my father donated it to a group of us that were interested.” Many others came to join the Board, Dorothy Lauber, Milan; Phyllis Miller, Napoleon; Flo Ziegler, Batesville; Jeanette Fuehrer, Versailles; Mary Ann Wise-Castner, Versailles, Cherry Selke, Sunman; Jim Fallis, Osgood; Hazel Steuri, Napoleon; Gladys Hellmich, Greensburg; Diane Hood, Greensburg; and Howard Borchelt, of Batesville. They started by having lots of fundraisers. They also went door to door for donations, dinner fundraisers in homes, plays and singing choirs.

Since 1985, seven plays were produced and directed with Pat Hicks, Judy Eaton and Jo Jones. They had residents all over Ripley Co. who came out to support their Central House project and would take part in the plays. Plays performed were The Sound of Music, Music Man, South Pacific, Mame, Little Abner, Nunsense and The Boar’s Head. Plays were one of the main fundraisers that the Board had. The plays stopped when Judy passed as Hicks stated to the Osgood Journal, “It takes a great director to pick out the perfect people to play the parts. She is dearly missed.”

The current Board of Directors are Victor Sarringhaus, Batesville, (President); Pat Hicks, Napoleon, (Vice-President); Carolyn Richards, Napoleon (Treasurer); Patty Carson, Napoleon (Secretary); and Darlene Pettit, Osgood (member). Through donations and a lot of volunteer work the Board has made progress in the renovation possible over the years to have everything restored. They have had local businesses in the building for short term. They have allowed meetings, small events and have public tours as everyone likes to see the piece of history in Napoleon still standing.

To keep the Central House going, money must be there for utilities, insurance and upkeep. Recently the Board had a Turkey and Mystery Dinner, Bottle of the Cellar, with lots of extra volunteers who came to have a great night for their fundraiser at the Napoleon Community Center.

Pat Hicks is a big part of the Central House project. She also likes to give back to the community for all their support. She made 500 bows last year. She goes to nursing homes, sets up at the Dollar Store and at one of Napoleon’s favorite restaurants, The Tavern. Hicks stated to the Osgood Journal, “All I ever wanted to do is make people happy. I never want people to know what all I do as long as they are happy.”

Hicks is one of many who help make the Central House project a success. It takes a village to make something like that happen. The Board is planning a Christmas Wreath making event and Christmas Tea. Watch for more information on their Facebook page and in the Osgood Journal and The Versailles Republican.

Let’s help maintain the Central House to keep a bit of history for the town of Napoleon and all of Ripley Co. to enjoy.