222 E Main St.- The Gettings Group, Owner

Based on the abstract information, a lease was granted for a drug and book store at 222 East Main in
March of 1875 for “the first floor, cellar, and part of the second floor”, and recently, a descendant of the
Canny family explained that her great grandfather, A.P. Canny, had a cigar factory on the second floor
“in the early 1900's”, which produced the cigar brands “Uzonna” and “Canny's Old Kid”. She provided
a copy of a photo if the cigar operation (seen here), in which the three north-facing windows of the
second floor can be seen.

We are unsure of the entirety of uses that the building has served over the years, but, in more recent
years, it has been used for a few different restaurants, and, most recently, it was the location of the
Ottumwa Teen Center, which utilized the first and second floors.

As you can see, the building has deteriorated extensively, and, at one point, there was public discussion
of demolishing the building to make a pass-through from Main Street to the parking lot in the rear. The
Gettings Family has, once again, decided that this building is worth saving, and are setting in motion
the rehabilitation of the property, otherwise it might have no longer existed. Preliminary plans are to
have first-floor retail/commercial space, and a two-bedroom second-floor space.

The Canny family descendant expressed her appreciation that the building was being rehabilitated.