
Richard Andrew Housley
Excerpted from Grand Rapids, Ohio, A Souvenir of the Past and Present. July 1897
Few men in this section have as large an acquaintance as "Dick" Housley, the genial proprietor of the Grand Rapids Bending Works. We haven't the space to go into detail, but will say that he is a Buckeye, born in Medina county in July '44, and moved to Wood county in '54.
He was educated in the common schools and worked on the farm until '62 when he enlisted, first in the 86th and, later in the 182nd O.V.I., and served until July '65. After the war he spent some eight or nine years in the west in railroad contract work, and the like, and in which he got the experience and the other fellows got the money.
About twenty years ago, he came to the Rapids and opened a small grocery and meat market, and which he nursed tenderly until it grew into the biggest business, of its kind, for miles around. For several years, he was among the heaviest shippers of live stock in this section. Five or six years ago he purchased the Peugh planing mill; later he added the saw mill, and last year the bending works, making the largest plant of this kind in Northwestern Ohio. Some months ago, he sold the grocery and provision business, and took the personal management of the bending works. Dick owns several hundred acres of good farm land, and has about the same value in town property, but has got into a habit of hustling, and keeps at it just for fun.
Excerpted from Grand Rapids, Ohio, A Souvenir of the Past and Present. July 1897
Few men in this section have as large an acquaintance as "Dick" Housley, the genial proprietor of the Grand Rapids Bending Works. We haven't the space to go into detail, but will say that he is a Buckeye, born in Medina county in July '44, and moved to Wood county in '54.
He was educated in the common schools and worked on the farm until '62 when he enlisted, first in the 86th and, later in the 182nd O.V.I., and served until July '65. After the war he spent some eight or nine years in the west in railroad contract work, and the like, and in which he got the experience and the other fellows got the money.
About twenty years ago, he came to the Rapids and opened a small grocery and meat market, and which he nursed tenderly until it grew into the biggest business, of its kind, for miles around. For several years, he was among the heaviest shippers of live stock in this section. Five or six years ago he purchased the Peugh planing mill; later he added the saw mill, and last year the bending works, making the largest plant of this kind in Northwestern Ohio. Some months ago, he sold the grocery and provision business, and took the personal management of the bending works. Dick owns several hundred acres of good farm land, and has about the same value in town property, but has got into a habit of hustling, and keeps at it just for fun.
The Housley House was built in 1883 on Front Street. It is of Italianate design, which was very popular during the Victorian period. Today, the house operates as a Bed & Breakfast.
Mr. Housley was the first President of the Grand Rapids Banking Company, a state bank incorporated in 1900. He died in August 1927 at the age of 83.
Mr. Housley was the first President of the Grand Rapids Banking Company, a state bank incorporated in 1900. He died in August 1927 at the age of 83.