We speak of it in whispers, a mystery that has plagued KCtoday for ages (ahem, 2022)...
“Calling all historians with 20/20 vision. Can you make out what this sign says? Layers of faded paint have obscured what may be many names. We can see “Miller & Co.” but it appears incomplete [...]”
Thanks to a little research by reader Steven S., we finally have a new lead on this faded West Bottoms relic.
“The sign saids Aultman-Miller & Co. Before the windows were added, you can see it says “man.” I was looking closely and noticed the A, U + L.”
Aultman, Miller & Co. was a farm implement manufacturing company that ran from 1863 until 1904. Perhaps the Kansas River flood of 1903, which killed 19 people and caused $22 million+ in damages, was the beginning of the end for this tenant’s residency at 1400 W. 13th St.
