Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Gus Linn advertised his hardware business, a fixture of early Kimball, on this 1904 stage curtain that endures at downtown's Fraternal Hall Museum.
Linn Hardware, a local business fixture in Kimball's early years, was founded in 1893 by Eric Gustav "Gus" Linn. He came to Kimball about 1886 to work for Hoagland Lumber Co. at 101 S. Walnut St. In 1893, he bought out the owners, adding a line of hardware and farm implements.
The business moved to 104 S. Walnut St. in 1907, after the initial structure, measuring 50 feet by 80 feet, was erected.
A few years later, the south addition was built for a shop. About 1917 or 1918, the brick section, 30 feet by 90 feet, was added.
Tiers of doors and drawers and red lined display cases with glass doors, specially constructed in Warren, Ohio, were installed on the north wall of the new section. In addition to an extensive line of hardware, the store handled McCormick farm implements. McCormick-Deering later was consolidated into the International Harvester line.
Gus Linn managed the business until his death in 1939, when a son, Oscar, took over. The store closed when Oscar became ill and died in May 1969.
On Sept. 1, 1969, the Masonic Lodge bought the Linn Hardware Store at 106 S. Walnut. It was beautifully remodeled and presently houses the Masonic temple.
