The house at 100 Fourth Street was built in 1899 by Thomas Dugan. Dugan owned the Dugan Hotel (First Building on Lawrence Avenue) at 948 Lawrence Avenue where the Sons of Italy is today. The Dugan Hotel was the first building on Lawrence Avenue, built 1894, and only the second hotel in Ellwood City. Being heavily invested in the future of the town, Thomas was very influential in getting his nephew Harry Northwood to relocate his Northwood Glass Company from Martins Ferry, Ohio to Ellwood City in 1892.
When the Northwood Glass Company came to town, it brought along many fine people including the Eiselen family and the Hellings.
Though the Northwood Glass Company did not stay in Ellwood City long, those families did stay and another business operated out of the plant built at the end of Eleventh Street along Factory Avenue. In 1898, the American Lamp & Brass Company moved into the empty facility. American became Clark Brothers Glass Company, and again in 1905 it changed hands becoming Ellwood City Glass Company.
When Thomas Dugan died, his widow erected the largest private mausoleum in Locust Grove Cemetery in memory of her husband.
We are trying to uncover the history behind not only this house but also the families that have lived here. If you have any memories about this house, whether it be who lived here, or when was the house turned into a duplex, please leave a comment below or email us your memories by CLICKING HERE. Information for this post was gathered from the book Ellwood City Houses and the People Who Lived in Them by Charles R. Moser available at the Ellwood City Historical Society.
