If these walls could speak
Abraham G. Nickey was a carpenter born on May 26, 1869 in York. The 1910 census shows him living at 801 West King Street in York City where he worked in a “Plaining Mill.” By 1920, he had moved out of the city to West York with his wife, Catherine, where they were boarders at 1825 West Market Street along the Lincoln Highway. By the 1930’s, he worked as a body builder for York-Hoover Body Corporation. At the time, the company was best known for the wooden bodies they manufactured for Ford’s Model T. Abraham and Catherine dreamed of building their own home and was granted permit to construct a brick home on the vacant lot located at 1829 West Market Street at an estimated cost of $500. The residence was the last property in West York Borough along the northern side of the Lincoln Highway and the last trolley stop into York City. Many families followed the trolley lines out of the city to live only to commute to work back in the city. Over the years, the Nickey family became part of the community and Abraham was a member of St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, the Makusa Tribe Order of Redmen and Knights of Malta. After his death in 1946 he was buried in Greenmount Cemetery.
The house he built is described as two story bungalow detached home with seven rooms with all conveniences including a bathroom. The property included a detached garage, and chicken house with many fruit trees and grape vine. One apple tree remains standing in the back yard on the property. In the 1950’s the property was listed for sale at $6,500 as a once a year bargain. In recent years, the building as served as a dentist office and more recently as an office for an investment advisor. There are so many historic homes and buildings along the Lincoln Highway yet seldom do we know the stories of the families that lived at each location. We often wondered the stories of the families that lived here over the years as we’re passing by in our cars. If only, the walls could speak.
When my son, Taylor, and I established Lincoln Highway Legacy at the start of the pandemic our primary goal was to find a way to renovate and preserve properties along the Lincoln Highway in York County, Pennsylvania. This was a new adventure and over the past few years we’ve discovered that the unexpected costs associated with old property renovation were higher than planned, the responsibilities of being a landlord were very challenging and the real estate market changed very quickly in the middle of inflation and rising interest rates. The property has been sold and we wish the new owner success in their investment in the West York community.
We are thankful that we experienced this together and while we were successful in renovating and selling our property we have decided to move away from property renovations under the banner of Lincoln Highway Legacy LLC. Tom Davidson, will continue telling the stories of the Lincoln Highway through this website, social media and public presentations. Contact Tom at 223-254-8121 or Tom.Davidson2642@gmail.com to schedule a Lincoln Highway presentation. Thank you for your support throughout this project.