Shopping At The Noble House In Downtown Waterford Is Like Walking Through History |

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Pictured is the storefront of The Noble House, 206B W Main St., Waterford, on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The shop sells soaps, perfumes and bathroom sundries and is retrofit to look like the original 1900 store.

WATERFORD — In 1900, the building perched on the corner of W. Main Street and N. River Street in Downtown Waterford was owned by a veterinarian and housed a post office and general store.

One-hundred-and-twenty-two years later, the building is once again owned by a veterinarian and has been retrofit to look like the original.

Selling soaps, perfumes and bathroom sundries, newly-opened The Noble House, 206B W. Main St., offers some of the oldest bath products made in the U.S.

Pictured are bottles of men's after shave, from the brand Caswell-Massey, which was founded in 1752 and was the first fragrance and personal care product company in the U.S.

Owner Meg Robinson is a veterinarian at Waterford Veterinary Clinic, which is located behind the store, at 206A W. Main St. She has been practicing medicine for decades.

Store hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays-Fridays and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays.

The store can be reached by calling 262-332-6677, or going to 1900noblehouse.weebly.com or the business' Facebook page.

Building history of The Noble House is posted inside the business.

According to Robinson’s research posted inside the building, The Noble House was built in 1900 and became a post office and general store. T.F. Moyle, a doctor of veterinary medicine, owned the building. Albert Topp and J. Hilbert ran the business.

Wiemer’s Millinery Shop opened in the space after and sold women’s hats. The business launched after Topp moved to another location.

Louis Grief bought the property sometime between 1910 and 1920. Grief was then believed to sell the building to Frank Tenfel, a baker.

Pictured is an old photograph circa 1923 of The Noble House, which then was an art or photo studio, called The Noble Studio.

The building was later an art or photo studio, called The Noble Studio, as documented by a photograph in 1923. Anne Noble, the shopkeeper’s wife, lived in the building until 1976.

Anne and Steve Dirks purchased the building also that year; they opened a religious store. A host of other small businesses followed, including an insurance agency, carpet store and nonprofit organization Absolutely Waterford, which is now Explore Waterford.

Robinson purchased the building in 2018. After three years of road construction, the COVID-19 pandemic, and small businesses including a shadowbox seller, a sign shop and a clothing store failed, Robinson decided to restore the building back to its 1900 look.

She said she no longer wanted to rent out the building and wanted to start a business there herself.

“I had to figure out something that would have general appeal to the public, and everybody uses bathroom products,” Robinson said. “Everybody has soaps or whatever. These are just glorious scents and things.”

Pictured are ladies' perfumes, hand lotions and a gift set from the brand Caswell-Massey, which was founded in 1752 and was the first fragrance and personal care product company in the U.S.

The retrofit building includes original Douglas fir floors, rough sawn stud walls, original samples of the wallpapers and pressed tin ceilings. The business opened in July.

The Noble House rotates five shopkeepers who work there. They wear vintage 1900-style outfits.

The Noble House offers wash cloths and body brushes from the brand, Baudelaire.

The business offers products for men and women, including soaps, perfumes, body wash, lotions, shaving soaps and shaving products, body brushes, gift sets and more. Brands represented include Caswell-Massey, which was founded in 1752 and was the first fragrance and personal care product company in the U.S., and Baudelaire bath accessories.

Robinson is planning to eventually have a teepee and a hitching post for horses out front. A grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 30 and 31.

Pictured are various types of body wash from the brand Caswell-Massey, which was founded in 1752 and was the first fragrance and personal care product company in the U.S.

“We’re really trying to get going here and we want people to know,” Robinson said. “We would love to have bikers. Biker groups are really, really welcome.”

Robinson also plans to recognize those who did the remodel — she’s hosting a dinner for tradespeople, and they will paint and sign roses to go on a ceiling corner.

“The tradesmen who do the work, they do it silently behind the scenes and they never get any recognition,” Robinson said. “They work their asses off. They work really hard.”

Pictured are soaps and body wash from the brand Caswell-Massey.

When asked how it feels to have the store open and ready to go, Robinson replied: “I’m just relieved that the bulk of the work is done.”

“It’s starting to grow, it’s just starting. We’ll go up from here … I honestly think the store is going to go over really big because there’s nothing like it in the whole area.”

Pictured are shaving products sold at The Noble House, 206B W Main St.

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Rachel Kubik covers Racine County government for The Journal Times as well as eastern municipalities such as Caledonia and Wind Point. She is the senior reporter and a frequent page editor. Follow her on Twitter @Rachel_Kubik.

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