Holmes County Historical Society documents Killbuck theater

The history of the building now housing Quick Check Foods, the convenience store located at 180 W. Front St. in Killbuck, is unique enough to pique the interest of the Holmes County Historical Society.

The reason the building has garnered the interest of the HCHS is that at one point in its early years it served as one of Killbuck’s centerpieces, where it was held in high esteem as a theater and community space that brought people together for entertainment and fellowship.

The historical society’s mission is to document meaningful historical buildings and structures, and according to Mark Boley, HCHS executive director, there is enough significance to this building that it merits the historical society doing its due diligence in recording as much information as possible.

On Friday, Feb. 20, several members of the HCHS met with Kaufman Realty realtor Nolan Mackey, who took them through the facility, where they recorded as much historical data as they could on the building.

With the building currently up for auction through Kaufman Realty & Auction, Boley said the time to act on recording data is now.

“Our hope is to take photos and record as much information as we can gather before a new owner purchases the property,” Boley said. “Who knows what the new owner will choose to do with the property.”

Boley said the upstairs portion of the building is a very interesting theater that played a key role in Killbuck decades ago, and those who remember it recall it being magnificent and regal.

The stage remains intact today, although the seating and most of the accompanying architecture has changed dramatically.

According to Boley, the building was initially owned by the Duncan family, a prominent family in Killbuck who also built the Duncan Theater one block away on Main Street.

“At one time the Duncan family was kind of in competition with each other within the family in Killbuck,” Boley said. “They had the original theater above what is now the Quick Check, and then in the 1930s, Bill Duncan built the Duncan Theater that exists today.”

Boley said for a short period around 1940, there was a year or two when both theaters were open and operating. Not long after that, the theater in the Quick Check building closed, and years later a fire ravaged the back portion of the building.

Boley said that portion of the building was boarded up and never refurbished.

“When it was originally built, that theater was created before movies, so it was designed for live performance Vaudeville-type shows,” Boley said. “It wasn’t a movie theater.”

He said only later when talking movies came out was the projection room added to the facility on the south side of the building, allowing it to become a movie theater in addition to continuing to promote live shows.

Boley said when he last explored the facility a decade ago, some of the original Vaudeville backdrop drapes were still hanging there on the stage, although they were in tatters. Those were no longer present on this journey through the building.

Boley said the reason he was exploring the building a decade ago was because there was a gentleman from Branson, Missouri who was interested in investing in bringing a live performance theater to Holmes County.

The building was owned by Smith Dairy, who sent representatives to join Boley and this gentleman in exploring the possibility of rebuilding the theater. While the team from Smith Dairy was ready to invest, Boley said because of the location, the gentleman decided against the idea, even though he liked the theater.

With the building steeped in historical tradition, Boley said the historical society will gather information to document what remains.

“It will probably never be a theater again, but there is some rich history there that needs to be documented,” Boley said. “There’s history there that we don’t want to lose.”

The upstairs section across the hall from the theater proved to be just as important.

According to Mackey, that area housed dressing rooms, a smaller stage for entertainment and a roller-skating rink.

“I was told that the area was made for intermission as a gathering spot with refreshments and other entertainment while people waited for the show,” Mackey said. “There was also a skating rink, and they had live bands in this area.”

The HCHS has done deep dives like this before, most recently with the Joel Pomerene House in Berlin, where they went in and recorded the space and building in detail prior to it being razed.

The information is archived and becomes a historical record that serves to keep the county’s history alive, at least in photos and documents.

Kaufman Realty will host an open house from 3-5 p.m. March 4 at the building located at 182 Front St. Online bids are now being accepted, with the final bidding taking place at 5 p.m. March 18.

The bids will include the building along with the parking lot adjacent to the facility.