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Building History

Building History

Our funeral home has a unique history and committed relationship working within the community. We invite you to explore our legacy.



The large Edwardian mansion at the corner of East Central Avenue and Market Street in South Williamsport, PA started as a dream of one of the grand children of immigrant brewer Augustus Koch. Edmund V. Koch, the eldest child son of August J. Koch, Jr. became the vice president of the Koch Brewery Co. located in South Williamsport upon the death of his father. His wife was Annie Barbara Luppert Koch, the youngest daughter of George Luppert a local furniture magnate. The three lot property at the northwest corner of East Central Avenue and Market Street was purchased in 1899 by Edmund Victor Koch as a future building site for a stately home for his wife Anna Luppert Koch and himself. The property sits opposite the residence of his uncle Edmund Gustav Koch that was completed in 1895.

The home was designed and built by the Jacob Gehron Company of Williamsport. Construction began on the home of Edwin V. Koch in 1900 and was completed in 1906. The original address was 5 East Central Ave. later being changed in 1912 to 1 East Central Avenue, the current address. The home was built with state of the art technology ahead of its time from the iron movable louver awnings to each of the bedrooms in the home containing a full sized closet space.

Elegantly appointed for a family of status business owners, the home has parquet hardwood inlaid floors on the first floor of oak and walnut and oak and maple floors on the second floor. The entrance ways and bathrooms of the home were equipped with the finest tile from Indianapolis Indiana. The home also contains two priceless Tiffany stained glass windows. All of the hardwood window sashes, sills, doorways, and moldings are made of tiger stripped chestnut, oak, beech and gum. No woodwork in the home during the tenure of its three owners has been altered or refinished.

The homes garden was designed by a notable Swiss designer and contained pools of ivy and greens contained inside of an ornate wrought iron fence with the property being encircled in maple trees. The original property had a large yard in the back of the home and a bowling green style yard to the eastern side of the house off the driveway. This bowling green shape has been maintained to this day as well as a pool of original ivy landscaping on the south side of the property. The property was placed on the Lycoming County register of historical buildings because it has one of the few untouched custom ornate wrought iron fences in the county.

The garage/carriage house was built in 1912 exclusively for the housing of an automobile and chauffeur/gardener, not horses. Just like the house it was a state of the art facility boasting its own water service, car servicing area, car washing trap floor drain, and inside Gilbert and Barker Self Measuring Gas Pump. The interior has one of the few original tin ceilings left in South Williamsport, and was appointed with painted pine and maple woodwork.

Throughout the years the home has undergone renovation. However, spectacular attention to detail has be observed from utilizing the original architectural and construction firms to reusing original interior aspects in the additions; such as original doors and windows when the need to relocate one has arose.

We are very proud of our 114 year old building, that has provided a stately backdrop for our families that we have served throughout the years in exquisitely appointed detail. Now into its second century providing a home to the current generation and a warm space for families we serve we hope that our building will age gracefully and quietly while providing a dignified image of where the past meets the present for the next century.

Charles M. Noll Funeral Home | (570) 322-0743
1 East Central Ave., South Williamsport, PA

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