To the editor:
More history of Knobloch Brothers Mobil Gas Station:
A wooden outbuilding owned by the predecessor of the Basil Teed farm located about ½ mile west of the stone building, was put on skids and pulled by a team of horses to its current location on the northeast corner of 30th Street and 128th Avenue (known as Knobloch corners).
The person actually sat on the peak of the building to drive the horses.
That would have been fun to watch!
Pete McNab from Monterey did all the stone work for this gas station, as well as other buildings in the area,
Jeffrey J. McElwee, formerly of Allegan, posted a current photo of the Knobloch corners stone building so here’s a photo of the building when it was being built as a Mobilgas Station in 1935, as well as a short story about this building:
It was originally built in 1935 by the Knobloch Brothers as a Mobilgas Station. Levi and Julius Knobloch built it for their brother, Herman, to run because Herman was diabetic but wanted to work to earn money. Herman died five weeks after it opened. Levi and Julius ran it for awhile but they were farmers and it became too much for them, so they rented it out to others.
After Merlin Knobloch was discharged from the Army in the early 1950s, he and his family lived in the stone building until around 1955. Later, some of the other Knobloch children, as well as some friends and relatives, lived in the stone building as a “honeymoon” home.
In 2004, the west side of the building was destroyed by a truck due to an accident. The wall was rebuilt and this building is known to locals as “the little stone house on the corner of the Hopkins Road” which is still used as a reference in giving directions.
Cindy Truax
Ms. Truax,
Very interesting, thank you for the letter.
So nice to hear some of the history of this landmark. I sincerely hope it can be repaired once again. Maybe even moved to the Allegan County Fairgrounds as part of their historic exhibit?
No,no,no! Please don’t move this historical building! Preserve it’s history right where it sits.