This beautiful home belonged to William P. Bolles, a tailor in Bloomington from 1878 until 1912. The ornamented stick architecture of this home is completely charming to me. The round framing of the porch, the grillwork of the corners and the line of circles on the eaves is so sweet. The home was at 305 S. Low on the West Side -- an empty lot today. So often the first thing to fall into disrepair in these homes was the porch. So even if the house had survived, probably its most charming aspect would have been lost.
William lived here with his wife Melissa and their two children, Robert and Della. Bolles worked with one of his brothers, who was only remembered by his initials in newspaper reports -- H. H. His mother lived in Normal. William Bolles was born in Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1853 and came to Bloomington in 1874. Before coming here, he had married Melissa Hart in Janesville, Wisconsin.
On December 13, 1912 (a Friday), William was walking home from his tailoring establishment in downtown Bloomington. A policeman on Olive Street reported that he saw William walking toward the crossing and also saw that the railroad gates were closed. He was stunned when he saw William walk through the railroad gates, oblivious to the approaching train. William was thrown away from the train and died half an hour later. He was attended by Dr. A. R. Freeman, another West Sider, but nothing could be done for him. Later examination showed that his back had been broken by the collision. William was just 60 years old when he died, but his wife reported that he had very poor eyesight and poor hearing as well.
As William was walking down Olive Street, his wife became worried that he did not appear for dinner when he said he would. She walked one block west to take a street car downtown and was told that William had just left the tailor shop. By the time she arrived at home she was met with the tragic news that her husband had been struck by the train and was dying.
Such accidents were happening continually during this age of railroads. Although the trains would have been incredibly loud, people were constantly walking right into trains, or being overtaken by trains without being aware of their presence. Either people had extremely poor hearing, or the noise was simply constant. People would have "tuned out" the noise to their peril.