Kleinbauer Building
28 N. Market Street

The building as it looked in 1915, when it was E.R. Decker’s doctor’s office. From the Charles L. Fasold Flickr collection

This property embodies the history of Selinsgrove in several ways.

A part of the parcel purchased by Anthony Selin in 1787 from the estate of “Black” John Snyder, it was transferred to Selin’s brother-in-law and John Snyder’s brother, Simon Snyder, in 1791.

In 1804, as he was in his second year as a member of the Pennsylvania Lower House, Snyder sold the property. It then had several owners, the most interesting of whom may have been Daniel Lebo. Lebo was in and out of jail (or “confinement”) on charges of fighting, including a joust with his wife in which he lost an eye. Finally, his father-in-law, Jacob Long, literally bailed Lebo out.

In 1825, peace was restored to this section of town when clockmaker John Scarf bought the property and erected a large building which became the Union Hotel. Here, the original directors of the First National Bank (now Isabella’s) met in 1864 to launch their endeavor. Thus was initiated the long practice by this structure’s owners of having a joint business and residence here in the town’s business block.

In 1865 Henry N. Backus purchased the property and opened the National Hotel there.

In 1876 Anthony C. Simpson bought the property and five years later built a house on the old National Hotel foundation, housing Simpson’s law office and his family’s residence. Simpson had moved to Selinsgrove from Geneva, NY, in 1849. He became the District Attorney in Snyder County and served as President of the Sunbury and Lewistown Railroad when it was completed in 1872. Simpson was among those people responsible for the founding of the Missionary Institute (which became Susquehanna University) and for recruiting local volunteers during the early years of the Civil War.

The Kleinbauer Building can be seen in the middle distance in this 1892 photo looking north up Market Street. Look for the peaked roof to the left of the trees. From the Charles L. Fasold Flickr collection

In 1889 the property was purchased by Sigfried and Ella Weis. By that time the Weis name was firmly established in town for the dry goods store they had operated at several locations. Harry and Sigmund Weis, the founders of the Weis Pure Foods chain, were children here when their father and mother bought the house. Sigfried died in 1907 and Ella in 1914.

Owners between 1914 and 1968 were professionals who had their offices and residences in the building:

In 1969 Joe Kleinbauer purchased the structure. A serious fire in 1970 led Kleinbauer to rebuild the attic. Here, Joseph Kleinbauer’s Fine Apparel and Fashions was opened and remained a fixture in town until 2006, when the business was sold. Kleinbauer later sold the building to Jeremy Soper.

The Kleinbauer Building in 1976. From the Charles L. Fasold Flickr collection

Selinsgrove History Association