25 Front Street

25 FRONT STREET, Hertzler–Vaughn House

Lot 14 was purchased from James Clemens via the same deed as Lot 15 by Thomas Clay, acting as trustee for his wife and children. Today the home on this site is owned by Dennis and Joyce Vaughn, who moved into the house in 1983. The house was built by Frank Garber Hertzler, a son of Dr. JohnHertzler, who came here from Ohio after the Civil War. Frank and Dr. John Hertzler both owned farms on what is today's Redstone Arsenal, but Frank also owned a store on Main Street in Madison, as well as investing in real estate in the town in partnership with this brother-in-law Matthew Harvey Anderson. John Hertzler likewise owned a large house in Madison on Church Street plus another large house on his arsenal land, along with a unique barn there that gained widespread attention in the area. In 1887 Frank Hertzler married Marietta Sullivan, a daughter of Dr. George Richard Sullivan, for whom Sullivan Street was named in Madison. Dr. Sullivan lived at 23 Front Street from 1868 to 1891, so that probably influenced Frank's purchase of the lot adjacent to where his bride-to-be was living. Historical Society publications state that Frank Hertzler constructed the house in 1905, but he may have resided on the lot before 1900 in an earlier dwelling since he is listed in the census of 1900 among families known to have lived along Front Street. Historical Society publications also state that the"Collier family" lived in the house at 25 Front Street after Hertzler built it and that the Colliers sold it to Frank and Annie Mae Bronaugh Finney in the 1930s. It was reported in Historical Society publications that the Robbins family and the Kurtz family owned the house at 25 Front Street after the Finneys and before Dennis and Joyce, Vaughn bought it in 1983. Joyce has sadly passed away, but Dennis still lives in the house.