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An advertisement for James Lower’s hardware store in the 1862-1863
La Porte City directory.
and in March of 1852, opened
La Porte’s first ever hardware
store, with a tin shop in back.
Besides hardware, Lower
specialized in stoves, tinware,
as well as coppersmith & sheet
iron work. Business increased
rapidly, and, for most of the
next 3 decades, the firm was
known as James Lower & Co.
James Lower had taught
his son, Stephen, the tinner’s
trade, starting at the age of 12,
and Stephen (born March 10,
1857, in La Porte) continued to work in his father’s establishment for the next 15 or so
years (first, exclusively as a tinner, then shifting into the retail store itself).
James’s love of horses was also conveyed upon Stephen, with the father owning
a 200 acre farm in Washington Township, on which it is said he “raised some of the finest
horses in this part of the state.”
On Jan. 1, 1883, James formally took his two sons, James Jr. and Stephen, as
partners, and the store was renamed James Lower & Sons. (1883 was, not so incidentally,
also the same year Stephen & Ida had 1029 Madison built.) The family continued
operating the store at the Teegarden House location for another 30 years, with James Sr.
formally retiring in 1894 (a year after the death of his wife, Ann), and 3rd son William
simultaneously coming into the business. (The store was renamed James Lower’s Sons,
upon the father’s retirement.)
James Lower, Sr. died in 1908 at age 87. Not only did he maintain an ownership
interest in the store until his death, but he had the distinction of being, for many years, the
only living merchant in La Porte who had been in business in the city 50 years prior. His
front page La Porte Herald obituary proudly asserts that “today, there is no better known
firm than that of James Lower’s Sons.” It also states that Lower “attributed his long life
and excellent health largely to the fact that he never used tobacco or liquors in any form.”
The store operated at 2 different locations in its lifetime. As previously indicated,
for a period of 60 years, from 1852-1912, it operated in the Teegarden House complex.
From 1912-1934, the Brothers moved the business to 522-524 Lincolnway, which they
purchased. (This building, now vacant, was originally built in 1904 for the Boston Store,
but more recently, had been occupied by the Salvation Army Thrift Store.)
A few years after moving the store to its new location, James Jr., the oldest of the
3 brothers, died in Dec. 1915. Stephen and his brother, William, continued to run the store
for the next 16 years.
Shortly after noon on Dec. 17, 1931, working in the store, Stephen was seized
with sudden illness, and died within minutes. The store had begun its 70th anniversary
celebration that month. (Additionally, Stephen and Ida had celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary a few months prior.) Stephen had been in the family business for 62 years...
longer than his 2 brothers, or even his father. He was 74, at the time of his death.
Stephen and Ida were members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, with Stephen
serving as a vestryman for 45 years. The Lowers had two children. Son Leslie Lower, born
in 1885, was employed as a civil engineer for the railroads, and spent most of his adult life
Temple News Agency
816 Jefferson Avenue
Est. 1918 -- Built in 1913
Decorated by: PR’s Lawn Care
Any history of the Temple News Agency must begin with a brief look at the
history of the Freemasons in La Porte. The Masonic Temple building has been the home
of the News Agency since the beginning, and the store is the Temple’s namesake. Just a
few short years after the first pioneers settled in the area that would become the town of
La Porte, a group of Freemasons met on the shore of a pond called Soapy’s Ocean. This
was located south of the little village of La Porte, west of Fox Street. Later, this pond was
known as where the wastewater from the La Porte Woolen Mills was discharged. There
is a stone marker on the east side of C Street between 7th and 8th that marks the spot
where “the first Masonic Lodge in Northern Indiana” was established. That first lodge was
instituted on February 15, 1838. Apparently they continued to meet for some time in the
open air, conducting their business during warm weather.
For a 29 year period from 1856 to 1885, there were two separate Masonic lodges
in the town, La Porte #41 and Excelsior #194. They voted to consolidate and became
Excelsior Lodge #41. The “Worshipful Master” was George C. Dorland, a real estate
and insurance agent. The first building used by the lodge is not recorded, though some
histories place it in the present 900 block of Lincoln Way. The first recorded location
for the organization’s activities was the Niles Building located at the northwest corner of
Jefferson and Michigan avenues (now a parking lot). This building housed the Post Office
as well. Later locations included the Davidson Building, and the Scott Building, which
stood on the site where National City Bank is today. When the Scott building was torn
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