1024 Main - The Millisack Building

"A full line of fancy and staple groceries…at honest homesteaders prices," was the slogan advertised in 1888 for Millisack Brothers.   The mercantile, which began business in Voltaire Township, four miles north of Goodland, quickly became an established name in Sherman County’s business community as well as throughout northwest Kansas and eastern Colorado at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Millisack brothers, Marcus and Cassius M., came to Sherman County in 1885 from Ottumwa, Iowa.  They settled in Voltaire Township with some of the county’s first settlers.  The brothers moved the mercantile to Goodland on Sept. 22, 1888, after Goodland had won the battle for county seat.  Shortly after moving the store to Goodland, Marcus sold his interest in the business to C.M., who later built one of the largest mercantile institutions in this area.

In 1890 C.M. Millisack married another Sherman County settler, Miss Theresa Fowler.  They had two children, a son, Frank, and a daughter, Kathryn. Mr. Millisack was active in the Goodland community.  He served as mayor, a city councilman, and a member of the school board and during World War I served on many local defense and food drive committees.

This historical building has been through several renovations over its long history.  The original Millisack mercantile building was replaced with a brick structure in 1893. T he bricks used were produced in Sherman County, but proved to be not very durable and were eventually replaced.  In 1906, an addition was built on the north side of the original structure.  The new addition had a very "citified" appearance, according to the local newspaper.  An oval showcase stood immediately in front of the double doors and the ceiling was made of ornamental iron and beautifully decorated.  On Nov. 10, 1906, a Grand Opening and 20th Anniversary sale was held.  By this time, the store was known as Millisack’s Big Department Store.

By 1919, C.M. Millisack was ready for retirement.  He and his family moved to Denver and he divided his store between three long-time employees.  Walter Wolff managed the dry goods department, Tom H. Horn managed the grocery department, and Ray McCarroll managed the clothing department.  Mr. Millisack retained ownership of the building.

Later, in 1927, Tom H. Horn purchased the grocery department of the Millisack Store.  It was renamed Horn’s Cash and Carry.  Fresh fruits, vegetables, staples, fancy groceries, bacon, ham and lunchmeats were handled.  It was operated on a cash and carry basis.

A complete remodeling of the store was undertaken in 1931.  It was now home to two separate businesses.  Walter Wolff operated his ladies and children’s store out of the north half of the building while Ray McCarroll operated his men’s clothing store out of the south half.  The building was generally referred to as Wolff’s and McCarroll’s.  The remodeling also included the grocery department, owned by Tom H. Horn.  Almost the entire south wall was replaced with plated-glass windows and two entrances gave the grocery a modern front, facing 11th Street and extending back along that street.

The extensive remodeling left little of the old Millisack Store intact and featured the large window showcases and black tile that are present on the building today.   The local newspaper at the time stated that the fine new store building was a credit to a town the size of Goodland and "might be set up along side of the best stores of many towns of considerably greater size and not look at all out of place."   The interior was also remodeled and rearranged and a great deal of money was spent on new display fixtures.

At one point, the building featured an upper mezzanine in the shape of a horseshoe.  The mezzanine housed displays and the bookkeeping department.  The bookkeeping system consisted of a canister, in which clerks would put money and send it up to the bookkeeping department.  The bookkeepers would make change and send it back down to the clerk.  It is unclear when this system was discontinued.  Today, a safe that was originally used for furs, is still used for storage.

In 1947, Walter Wolff sold the ladies clothing store to Louise Garland and his son J.R. Garland.  Mr. Wolff continued working in the store, where he had worked for 37 years and during most of that time lived in the apartment above the store.   Garland’s purchased the men’s store in 1949 and placed the archway between the two sides.  Later, in 1956, the store sold to Rueschhoffs Clothing Store, but was only operated for about one year.

The department store made way for a furniture store in 1960 operated by Neil Williams of Burlington, Colo.  The Williams’ family occupied the apartment above the store, but was in business for just one and one-half years.

More recently, the building has been used for a variety of retail purposes.  On Aug. 10, 1967, La Boutique opened as Goodland’s newest ladies store.  It featured the latest styles and well-known brands of ladies apparel.   Marcia Golden operated the store until 1972.  In the mid-70’s, Tom Bush and later Curt Kirkpatrick used the building for an annex to their Gambles Stores.   And currently, Collage LTD is housed in the building.  The women’s and children’s apparel store moved into the Millisack building in August 1979.

The Millisack family retained ownership of the building until 1969 when they sold it to Shores Brothers, a local company.  Fran Cooley purchased the building in Nov. 1996 and lives in the upstairs apartment.