The house at 414 W. 6th Street was built in 1902 and was the home of Joshua Abel “Jessie” and Lorena Belle Howe, owners of the J.A. Howe Candy Company. They owned the Candy Kitchen in Bloomington’s downtown square. When they closed the kitchen, they moved the business to their house.
Eventually, the candy company was relocated to the house at 420 W. 6th Street. Interestingly enough, Jessie was born in the same place. He later passed away at the age of 58 in 1927.
The J.A. Howe Candy Company remained in the family until Fred Howe, the last family member who owned it, retired, and sold the company to Max and Helen Fulk in 1962.
While CFC Properties, a real estate development and property management company, had plans to build the Fulk Building at the corner of Rogers and 6th Streets in 1998, they also decided to purchase the houses across the street at 414 and 420 West 6th Street.
The house at 414 West 6th Street was restored in 1999, while the house at 420 West 6th Street was fully renovated and converted into apartments in 2001. Both houses are part of the West Side Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
CFC sold both properties in 2022.
