Source: North Manchester Leader, May 28, 1897

...Along in the early days of North Manchester, Wallace & Rogers ran a woolen mill on the spot where Enyart & Son's blacksmith shop now stands. While it was a small concern, it did a thriving business and turned out yards of woolen goods. Now, however, there are but few woolen mills in the great state of Indiana.

Source: North Manchester Journal, February 8, 1883

THE "OLD BEE HIVE"
A True Story of its Existence
INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH ITS HISTORY

Everything has a history of its own, written or unwritten. There has never anything existed or lived, be it either great and famous or meek and unpretending, that has not a story of its existence. Although some histories are of more importance than others, it is never the less a fact that the history owes its degree of importance to the measure in which its subject has been connected with public thoughts and actions. One of the most fruitful sources of stories and legends are the old and ruined castles and palaces in the Old World. We have many old mile posts in the history of the town still standing. Two of them have been lately destroyed by fire, the American House and the "Bee-Hive." We gave a sketch of the former in our last weeks issue, and now it is of the latter that we would speak. Both of these buildings have quite a story connected with them. They were both old land marks in the history of the town. The story of the old rattletrap that burned Sunday morning is a varied one. The house was built thirty-three years ago last summer by M.C. Frame, father of Greely Frame, of this city. The original purpose of the house was for a store and hotel. In the day that it was built, it was thought to be a perfect mansion and structure of immense size. In fact it was a building of good size when it burned. It was built in a day when lumber was plenty and cheap, and many of the large timbers was made of black walnut. To do a thing like that at the present day would be considered a piece of unparalleled extravagance. It was used for many years as a business room and dwelling house, by Frame Bro's, general merchandise dealers, but for some reason other was never used a hotel. From Frame's the property passed through many hands, and was bandied about until the close of the war, when Wallace and Switzer got it and started a woolen goods factory in it. This part of the history of the old shell up to this time was rather an uneventful one as far as we can learn. The most stirring scenes were enacted after this date. The narrative we are not relating might be greatly enriched by many little anecdotes connected with its history, but unfortunately we are not the possessors of any of the mirth provoking incidents that happened about this time. The woolen mills were run in full blast for several years, and turned out large quantities of yarn and woolen goods. That quality of goods that so greatly characterized our late lamented Governor, James D. Williams, was no small product of these mills. We refer to that article which is "warranted not to rip, ravel or un down at the heel, all wool and a yard wide--blue jeans." The building which is now situated on the alley and is used by Whitlow & Horn as a wagon shop, was then a part of the factory. It was originally a stable, but was moved up to the west end of the old house and used as a storage house for the large quantity of wool taken in at the mills. Since then it has been moved to the position it now occupies. These were the palmiest days of the old shack, and it was then the scene of a bustling, grasping monopoly. Since then it had undergone a most wonderful change. In fact it was a sorrowful wreck, a mere shadow of its former life. Wallace & Switzer sold their machinery of their woolen factory to some parties who shortly afterward moved it to Silver Lake, where it has sunk into oblivion, and has in all probability  been sold for old iron. J.M. Burdge, the present owner, then got hold of the real estate. This was the turning point in its history. The building that had enjoyed so grand a season in its early day, and had such bright promises for a useful and profitable old age began to sink into utter dilapidation. Since then it has been rapidly going to rack and ruin, and so well had the ravages of time done their work that nothing was left of the once fine house but a decayed and almost worthless shell. ...