102-106 Main Street

This section of Main Street (102-106) now houses Buzzo's Music Store and Sundance Book Store.  The original buildings on this site were small wooden structures.  A serious fire in 1866 destroyed them.  The present two-story brick block was built by William Walker and George Mercer in 1866 to replace the buildings.  At that time, it housed their private banking business.  Mr. Walker died in 1871 and Mr. Mercer continued business alone until it failed about 1879.  After Mr. Mercer’s death in 1890, Mrs. Walker and Mrs. Mercer sold the block to Allison R. Scott and John Strang.  Samuel P. Allen, proprietor of the Livingston Republican, had recently died and his associate, Allison Scott, formed a partnership with John Strang to conduct the newspaper. The Livingston Republican newspaper and printing office moved from its temporary location under the Concert Hall (now Conrad's) to the south section of 102-106 Main Street (now Buzzo's) in 1889. The other half housed, in turn, a tailoring shop, a jewelry shop and a barber shop until 1969 when it was incorporated into the office of the Livingston Republican as the Geneseo Drummer office.

In 1905 these owners put new plate glass windows in the block but retained the original cast iron.  In 1906 Mr. Scott purchased Mr. Strang’s interest and continued the paper alone until his death about 1911.  The building remained in the hands of the Scott family and the paper was purchased by a corporation named The Livingston Republican of which Allison Scott’s son, M. Reed Scott, was a major shareholder.  He became publisher and remained so for several years.  Mr. and Mrs. Ray Sherman later acquired the paper and the building.  In 1972, the newspaper was moved to the block at 120-124 Main Street, which Mr. Sherman had converted for this purpose from a garage.  The block at 102-106 Main Street remained in the Shermans’ hands for several more years and was rented. Just north of this block was the Scherline Block, which was destroyed by fire in November of 1972. The fire threatened the adjoining stores but the firewall kept the fire from spreading into the buildings. Business was resumed the next day.