W. Henry Rodgers Auto Service - New Castle PA

W. Henry Rodgers (1887-1952), the son of G. S. and Jane (Wolford) Rodgers, was born in Slippery Rock in Butler County. In 1912 he relocated to New Castle where he married Hazel Stoltz a few years later. He was an automobile enthusiast and in 1918 he opened an auto garage at #127 N. Beaver Street. He owned and operated the business for many years until he suffered a heart attack in October 1951. He briefly recovered but passed away in February 1952 at the age of sixty-four. The garage continued in operation under his name, but was sold in the summer of 1958. It was the subsequent home of Kennedy & Herman Auto Service from 1958-1969 and then briefly co-occupied by Thompson Automotive and B&G Auto Service. The property was sold to the city in 1972 as part of the Falls Street Urban Renewal Project, which saw the new Falls Street extension built across the Shenango River. The general site of the auto garage became the new home of the McGonigle funeral business – which relocated from its old building just to the north (and now part of Falls Street). (c1932) Full Size

(Jan 1927)

(Jun 1929)

W. Henry Rodgers was a well-known member of the Lawrence County Sportsman’s Association. He is buried in Oak Park Cemetery. (c1932)