By Chris OrletRecord Managing EditorA Warrenton alderman says he has a plan to re-purpose a historic house that a liquor store developer wants to tear down.Last week a developer announced his desire to purchase the Polster house at the corner of Main Street and Highway 47, raze the building, and put up a liquor store.The Polster house, built in 1903 by J. George Polster Sr. and his wife Lena, was home to three generations of Polsters.However, in recent years the house has sat empty. Attempts to turn the house into a tea shop and coffee shop failed. Another attempt to move the building to Highway U and turn it into a bed and breakfast also failed.Alderman John Cornell said he would like to see the building moved to city-owned property next to the U.S. Post Office on Main Street. There the building would be used as a visitor center.Cornell said the site, currently used as extra parking by the post office, was originally purchased as the site of a visitor center, so the move would just make sense.Cornell stressed he would not be in favor of moving the building just for the purpose of saving the house, but to fill a need.“The city’s job is not to save privately owned homes,” he said. “However, the Polster house is of some historic significance, so if we can accommodate historic preservation and come up with a legitimate use for the Polster House I would be for that.”Cornell said he intends to bring the topic up at the next city council meeting. “I’d like the staff to look at the feasibility of such a plan.”Cornell said it would likely cost the developer between $12,000—$15,000 to demolish and remove the house. He said that moving the house to the nearby location would probably cost a similar amount.“I would hope that any developer would put any potential demolition costs toward the moving costs,” he said.“I have yet to meet anyone who thinks a liquor store would be a good anchor for Main Street,” Cornell said. “On the other hand empty lots and empty buildings don’t do much for the area either.”The house is one of the few remaining buildings from what was once Warrenton’s cultural hub, an area that included Central Weslyan College, according to Cornell’s father, local historian Gene Cornell.The area was also a commercial hub, according to officials at the Warren County Historical Society. The Polster General Store stood where Highway 47 now runs. Nearby there was a light plant, a warehouse and a water tower, according to an article in Historical Sites in Warren County.The article states that the Polster sons George and John operated the general store for decades. John inherited the Polster House, and later, his daughter Edna, a teacher and county superintendent of schools, lived there alone until she entered a nursing home in the late 1970s.“This is an opportunity we should look into and maybe fill a need,” said John Cornell. He said there has been a regional revitalization effort of late and a visitor’s center could compliment that effort.“There has been a revitalized effort to recognize our history and the history of our county,” he said, noting in particular the work of the Warren County Historical Society. “I think we all want to see a thriving historic downtown.”

Photo courtesy of the Warren County Historical Society.