The Wissmath Property

The Wissmath Property. 107 South Main Street. , This property, 107 South Main Street, is officially known as Tax Lot 11 in Block 12 of Old Town, now City of Waterloo, Monroe County, Illinois. Property deeds date back to 1867, when its first owners, John and Mary Harms sold the property to William and Agnes Lofinck. In 1871, the Lofinck’s sold it to Henry Wissmath. The property stayed in the Wissmath Family for more than 70 years. , Other than the property deeds, there is not a lot of written record about the property. Therefore, what we do know is through stories passed down by word of mouth from one property owner to the next. The original building was a single story structure, with a basement. The second story was an addition in later years. Today the second story is an apartment. The original entrance was to the right and opened up to a flight of stairs that led to the basement. When the entrance was moved, the staircase to the basement was relocated and the original entrance was filled with concrete, although the original stairs remain. Throughout history, this building is only known to have been a bar. However, based on the layout of the original building, it is believed that the building could have originally been used as a store. The tin ceiling that still exists today is original to the building. It was initially an off-white color, but throughout the years has turned gold/brown from smoke., Some locals can remember back in the day when they would visit the tavern and be able to get some tasty eats. You could get pickled eggs or pigs’ feet for just a nickel. If that didn’t suit your taste buds, you could also get cold cuts or in later years, a juicy hamburger. The tavern was always known for its friendly faces and loyal customers., In 1949, the charming tavern was known as “Ira Hutchings Tavern,” under the ownership of Ira and Hilda Hutchings. It has been said that Ira had built living quarters in the back of the tavern for himleft and Hilda. The Hutchings only owned the bar for about 5 years, when they sold it to Arnold and Dora Ludwig. Less than a year later, the Ludwig’s sold to William and Esther Lieb. They operated “Lieb’s Tavern” for over 20 years. The Lieb’s sold the bar to George and Charlotte Heise in 1978. The bar became known as “Heise’s Tavern” and was so for 13 years. The current owner, Randy Rehmer, purchased the building from the Heise’s in 1991 and opened “Randy’s Double R Bar,” which is still a favorite hangout spot for Waterloo residents today.