119 N. Holden Street in Warrensburg, Missouri

Constructed in 1885, the historic structure at 119 N. Holden served as the home to a harness store in 1895. The building demonstrates the use of brick cladding, a more fire-resistant construction strategy, that occurred in the downtown area after two devastating fires ravaged the business district of Warrensburg in 1866 and 1873. The building is currently home to a salon and a contributing property to the Holden and Pine Streets Commercial Historic District.

In modern society, auto parts stores are ubiquitous, but in 1885, there existed plenty of stores supplying goods for horses. From 1895 to 1907, one could walk into a harness shop at 119. N. Holden. As the automobile era displaced horse riding, the harness store and other similar businesses closed (ten auto-related operations opened in downtown Warrensburg from the mid-1920s through the mid-1940s). 

Between 1860 and 1890, the population of Warrensburg grew from 982 to 4,706, partly due to the arrival of the railroad in 1864. The railway stop near the Holden Street corridor created a shift in the city's business and political activity away from the old Main Street area west of Holden. Its construction came towards the end of the population growth and after two fires. Indeed, two destructive blazes, in 1866 (Christmas Eve) and 1873, profoundly damaged Warrensburg's commercial district along Holden Street. As a result, a movement towards brick and sandstone emerged, considerably boosted by the burgeoning sandstone mining industry located just north of town. Thus, the historic two-story two-part commercial block building at 119 N. Holden constructed in 1885 has brick cladding and a flat roof.

The building was home to a variety of businesses, including a shoe store during World War I and the Hunt Jewelry Store from 1958 to 1967. Today, a salon occupies the facility and while it is on a paved street lined by cars, one can imagine a scene in 1885 with the building on a dirt road and shopkeepers selling harnesses.

Nugent, Rachel and Alison Dunleavy. "Registration Form: Holden and Pine Streets Commercial Historic District. 119 N. Holden St. (Salon Vogue)." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 2017. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Holden%20and%20Pine%20Sts%20Com%20HD.pdf.

Sheals, Debbie and Carol Grove. "Mulitple Property Documentation Form: Warrensburg, Missouri." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 2012. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Historic%20and%20Architectural%20Resources%20of%20Warrensburg%2C%20MO.pdf.