Gustav Stickley & His Syracuse Home
Restoring a Legacy

1858 – Gustave Stickley born in Osceola, Wisconsin (he later dropped the e and is known as 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 (located at Washington and Montgomery Streets); Gustav, wife Eda, children Barbara, Mildred, Hazel, Marion, Gustav Jr., and Ruth
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, Eda Stickley (Gus’ wife) 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
1955/56 – Gustav’s grandson Richard Wiles lives in third floor apartment
1956 – November, Irving Frank purchases the house “for investment purposes”
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
1995 – Miscellaneous repairs to house
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
2022 – Project receives NY State CREST Grant, Senator Rachel May, Sponsor