The story of the Ducharme block serves as an introduction to writing about some of the businesses that operated at 187-193 Main Street and 171 Appleton Street during the 20th century.
Stanislas Ducharme was born in Acton-Vale, Quebec, Canada, in 1869. When he was 11 years old, his family moved to Holyoke, where they took up residence at 33 Cabot Street.
In 1892, Mr. Ducharme married Lida Gauthier at the Precious Blood Church on Cabot Street. By 1900, Stanislas Ducharme and his wife had 5 children, and were residing at 11 Spring Street. By profession, he was a builder and dealt heavily in real estate.
On April 11, 1901, he purchased a lot on the northwest corner of Main and Appleton Streets from the Delaney estate. This was a rather large plot of land, approximately 100’x100’. Initially, he planned to build a 3-story building with 12 tenement apartments with retail on the street level.
During the construction of the building, it was discovered that he did not have a clear title to the land. A mortgage from a previous owner's 1861 transaction was not discharged, creating a cloud on the title. In September 1901, the title was clear after a successful court action.
In September 1901, Fred Gervais applied for a liquor license transfer from the Crafts block on High Street to the new Ducharme Block at 193 Main Street. The new building turned out to be 4 stories with 5 storefronts and additional tenement apartments on the upper floors.
In June 1905, Stanislas Ducharme transferred the real estate to his brother, Valere Ducharme, who, in turn, transferred it to Lida Ducharme, Stanislas Ducharme’s wife.
The story of the Ducharme Block continues in the following chapters, revealing some of the building’s more notable tenants.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
Ancestry.com (paid subscription) Census Records, 1880, 1900 and 1910.
Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Cultural and Resource Information System, Boston, Massachusetts
