When Nate Welch, Executive Director of the Vermillion Chamber and Development Corporation (VCDC) ,  approached me about writing a book about the building  that the VCDC were planning to remodel (2-4 East Main Street, now known as 2 East Main Street and McVicker Plaza), I jumped at the chance. During the time Phyllis Packard owned the building, prior to selling it to the VCDC, she gave me a tour and I noticed that although the first floor had been remodeled, other parts of the building needed renovation. Moreover, several buildings had been added to the original structure. On the second floor there were apartments and a storage room that the Clay County Historic Preservation Commission (CCHPC) had used to house booklets, data, minutes and books. This led me to question what had happened to the building since it was constructed in 1884. Thus, the book which is in PDF format as part of the CCHPC website examines the origins of the building including the various owners of the land and/or the building (including G. T. Salmer, Ole Anderson, Frank Burdick, Robert James McVicker, Nels Abrahamson, John (Jack) Henry Litzelman and David DeRouchey, Cynthia and Keith Brown, Phyllis Packard, and the VCDC) and the numerous businesses that occupied the building over the last 136 years.

Download A History of 2-4 East Main Street