A History of Gustav Stickley and his Columbus Avenue Home

1858 – Gustave Stickley born in Osceola, Wisconsin (e is later dropped, now Gustav)

1870 – Left school to work as a stonemason to help support his struggling family after his parents separated

1875 – Stickley’s family moved to Pennsylvania where Gustav received his first formal training in the furniture industry, working in his uncle’s chair factory

1883 – Forms Stickley Brothers Company with siblings Charles and Albert

1883 – September marries Eda Ann Simmons (1859-1919), they would have six children. Barbara (1887), Mildred (1888), Hazel (1890), Marion (1893), Gustav Jr. (1894), and Ruth (1897).

1891 – Forms the firm of Stickley & Simonds in Binghamton, NY with Elgin Simonds, a furniture salesman

1891 – Stickley divides his time between his company and serving as foreman of furniture operations at Auburn State Prison, alongside his brother Leopold

1890s – Opens new furniture production factory located on Burnet Avenue in the Eastwood neighborhood of Syracuse, NY

1898 – Ousts partner Elgin Simonds and changes company name to Gustave Stickley Company; dropped the “e” in Gustave in 1903

1900 – April, Stickley family is living at the Yates Hotel Syracuse

1900 – House on Columbus Avenue designed by young architect Wellington Tabor is constructed; address was originally 416 Columbus Avenue

1900 – June, Property sold to Gustav Stickley through sales agent, Simon Rosenbloom

1901 – December, fire on Christmas Eve destroys interior of the house

1902 – January, Architect Gordon Wright and contractor E.M. Allen work with Stickley on modifications to the house

1902 – December, Craftsman Magazine article by Samuel Howe, “A Visit to the House of Mr. Stickley,” features the renovated interior of the house

1905 – Stickley moves his business and sales office to New York City, family remains in Syracuse

1910 – Stickley family moves to Craftsman Farms in New Jersey; Columbus Avenue house listed for sale

1911 – January, Isaac Fleishman purchases house from Gustav Stickley

1911 – October, Barbara Stickley marries Ben Wiles at Craftsman Farms

1915 – March, Gustav Stickley files for bankruptcy

1916 – December, final issue of the Craftsman Magazine is published

1917 – Gustav and Eda return to Syracuse, live in a boarding house called the Wolcott on Fayette Park.

1917 – Eda Stickley suffers a serious stroke while visiting family

1917 – Gus rents the upstairs of a house 832 Sumner Ave, three of his children move in with him

1919 – March, Gus’s wife Eda Stickley dies at their daughter Mildred’s house on Roosevelt Ave

1919 – April, Barbara Stickley Wiles purchases the Columbus Avenue house

1919 – Gustav Stickley moves into the house with his daughter Barbara’s family

1942 – April 20, Gustav Stickley dies at 438 Columbus and is buried in nearby Oakwood Cemetery

1955 – January, Adah G. Singer purchases house from Barbara Wiles

1956 – November, Irving Frank purchases the house “for investment purposes.” The house is subsequently divided into five residential apartments.

1977 –Norman Roth purchases house and saves it from demolition. Subsequently obtains Protected Site from the City of Syracuse.

1984 – Gustav Stickley House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, applicant Norman Roth

1994 – March, Stickley Partners Inc. purchases house. One partner is GSHF President, David Rudd

1996 – House sold from Stickley Partners Inc. to L & J.G. Stickley, Inc.

2016 – The Audi family and L. & J.G. Stickley company donate the house to the University Neighborhood Preservation Association (UNPA)

2016 – Gustav Stickley House Foundation (GSHF) established May 2016 to support the restoration and fundraise for the property

2017 – August, Phase 1 Restoration, Exterior Restoration and foundation work begins

2018 – June, Phase 1 Restoration Complete

2019 – House Title transfers from UNPA to The Greater Syracuse Land Bank

2020 – GSHF to Launched Capital Campaign for Phase 2, Interior Restoration of the House

2020 – Project receives coveted Save America’s Treasures Grant form National Park Service

2021 – GSHF hires Crawford & Stearns Architects for Phase 2

2021 – Following a Covid “pause” in fundraising, process begins again

2022 – Project receives grant from Onondaga County

2022 – Project receives NY State Grant, Environmental Protection Fund

2024 – Several small interior construction projects occur in prep for Phase Two

2025 – Phase Two RFP is prepared for Phase Two construction

2026 – Contract Awarded to Casper Construction and Restoration for Phase Two