Liberty Township Historical Society - Albany Street Past and Present

A focus on the heart of original Selma. Albany Street was sometimes known as Liberty Street.

Albany Street Past and Present

The focus of the Historical Society has been on the original section of Selma, and the main street -- Albany Street. We're also concentrating our efforts to researching the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF)/Drug Store Building which still remains on the east side of Albany Street.

The Town of Selma has donated the upstairs space of the IOOF/Drug Store Building to LTHS for a museum. However, there is much work to be done before it is usable for that purpose.

Check out the photos and descriptions provided by local historian David Bailey. David is the son of Ira and Ardis (Garinger) Bailey, who dedicated much of their lives to preserving the history of Selma and Liberty Township.

From David Bailey

"Here are a few pictures just to give you an idea of what the building and the surroundings look like."

The photos of Albany Street are at left, numbered 1 through 5. David's descriptions of the photos are below, with a corresponding number.

Photos are courtesy of the Bailey Collection and David Bailey.

Albany Street Old, Winter (#1)

Albany street old winter (#1)

This picture was taken after 1906 and before 1925, probably about 1915. The view is from the railroad crossing looking north. The building is on the east side of the street. From south to north on the east side is a blacksmith shop, the town hall and opera house then the drugstore-IOOF building.

Albany Street about 1925 (#2)

Albany street about 1925 (#2)

Virtually the same scene without the blacksmith shop

Albany Street September 2009 (#3)

Albany street September 2009 (#3)

Note that the west side of the street is totally different from the other two scenes. The original town hall was torn down in 1958 and replaced with a concrete block structure that now houses the town council, police department and sewer utility offices.

IOOF/Drug Store 1913 (#4)

IOOF-Drug Store 1913 (#4)

The west elevation of the subject building.

IOOF/Drug Store South Face Exposed 1958 (#5)

IOOF-Drug Store south face exposed 1958 (#5)

This picture was taken during demolition of the original town hall. This indicates some remnants of the original facade from the 1850's structure at the lower level (drug store) and shows the masonry wall above. I'm not quite able to distinguish what was shoring and what was original structure.