Today also known as the
City Shed, City Garage or City-Building, this old board and batten wood frame building stands behind Republic's City Hall and is presently used by the city as a storage building. The city hall was built by the CCC in 1933 as the Republic Ranger Station and moved to its present location in the 1970s to become city hall.
John Stack was one of the early arrivals in Republic after the discovery of gold just outside the town, becoming one of the major merchants in the area, opening his large mercantile store at the site on which city hall stands around 1897. This storage building was built sometime later, perhaps as late as the 1920s.
Republic was initially named Eureka, after Eureka Gulch, site of the first strikes in the area. There was already a "Eureka" in Washington, so, when a post office opened in the town, its name was changed to "Republic, after the Republic Mine, one of the pioneering mines in the gulch and owned by John Stack. When that post office opened it was in John Stack's store and he became the first postmaster in Republic. Later, when Republic was incorporated on May 8, 1900, by a vote of 283 to 274, John Stack was elected the first mayor.
John Stack's Storage Building is site 32 on the Town of Republic
Walking Tour.
Text from the marker follows.
John Stack's Storage Building
Stack's Supply Company, Groceries, Mining Supplies, Post Office and Grubstaking. The Republic Mine and Mill were located on the hill to the west.
Site 32
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John Stack's Storage Building
This is a one-and-a-half story board-and-batten finished frame building. It has a level which could be considered as either a
daylight basement or an additional floor in one wing. Its two intersecting gable-roofed wings form an "L"shaped floor plan.
It is situated on the edge of a bank with heavy, track-mounted doors opening onto a loading dock on the uphill side. There are
small two and three-panes windows in the gable ends, probably for ventilation and 3/3 paned windows on the main floor. The
lower floor has a single heavy plank door on the same side as the loading dock and a small, barred window at the north end.
A door opening the same size as that for the sliding door is occupied by a hinged, two-leafed door which appears recent.
The metal roof is probably also a recent addition. The entire west (downhill) side of the building is obscured by
trees and brush.
History
This storage building was constructed for pioneer merchant John Stack after the establishment of his business in Republic and may date as recently as the mid 1920s.
Mr. Stack originally came to "Eureka Camp" in 1897 and opened one of the camp's principle general merchandise and miners' supply stores. There is a possiblity that he may have been backed in this venture by his sister's husband, Patrick (Patsy) Clark. Mr. Clark was a well-known mining investor and the builder of Spokane's Clark Mansion. In 1898 when Republic acquired its first post office and adopted the name "Republic" after one of Mr. Clark's major holdings, Mr. Stack became the first post master. The store and post-office occupied the space between the storage building and Clark Ave. now occupied by the city hall. A history of the area written in 1904 refers to Mr. Stack as "A sterling and capable business man of Republic... also one of the pioneers of the town" and states that he "Is known as a moving spirit in the development of Ferry County". The same publication (Steele) also cites Mr. Stack as "One of the largest wholesale and retail merchants in the county, handling a very complete stock of general merchandise and supplies" who "Owns and operates considerable mining property in the Reservation country and some real estate in Republic."
Older residents recall that the building was used on one occasion for a pistol exhibition but its normal use appears to have been storage. It is now used by the town of Republic as a garage and storage facility.
Evaluation of Significance
This building is the only structure remaining which was connected with the commercial establishment of pioneer merchant and post
master John Stack. It is, however, more recent than Stack's now-vanished store. These factors combine to give it a moderate
local significance.
While the quote above is from WISAARD, (the Washington Information System for Architectural and Archaeological Records Data), pages are not accompanied by a specific URL.