Hock Building

Ireland native John Hock, for whom the building is named, built the historic building in 1872, shortly before he passed away. Hock came to Hannibal around 1860, a little more than forty years after the city's founding in 1819, to manage the Hannibal Gas Company, founded by a group of St. Louis businessmen in 1858. However, mounting debt during the Civil War forced the group to put the business up for auction, which allowed Hock to purchase the company outright in 1864. The building arose at a time when Hannibal began to experience robust commercial and financial expansion. 

Although Hannibal was founded about 1819, it did not see much growth, albeit conservative, until officials re-platted the city in 1836. Roughly thirty people called Hannibal home in 1836, but the population exceeded 450 by 1840. Initially, the city's business center existed in an area known today as what Mark Twain Historic District, named for the pen name of the famous author Sam Cleraens, who lived in the area. Because Hannibal is surrounded by hills, the city remained nearly isolated until modern road building allowed for better access into the town. In 1852, the Hannibal and New London Plank Road and Bridge Company organized; they constructed an access road that ostensibly opened Hannibal to outside locations by the 1860s.The new road also caused a shift in the business center, where the Hock Building and Hannibal Central Business District emerged.

Furthermore, construction of the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad during the 1850s coincided with the town's economic transformation, transitioning from a city that exported agricultural commodities to one recognized as a lumber center. The expanding lumber industry led to financial growth for the small city, demonstrated by the increased number of banks in downtown Hannibal. Moreover, the economic expansion allowed the town to mature, as seen by the development of its utility companies and infrastructure, including the gas company Hack came to manage.

The Hock Building survives as one of the few early commercial buildings in Hannibal for which the builder is known: J. M. Fatten (1837-1898). In addition to building the Hock Building, Fatten profited from the city's burgeoning lumber industry by operating a local planing mill. When the building opened, O'Hern and Hayward, Plumbers, Gas & Steam Fitters occupied the first floor of the building; they primarily served gas customers. O'Hern, another Irish immigrant, married Hock's daughter, Mary. Meanwhile, the third floor functioned as a public meeting hall where, during its early years, the Negro Masonic Temple met.

"Hannibal Missouri History." Marion County MOGenWeb. genealogyvillage.com. Accessed October 29, 2022. https://momarion.genealogyvillage.com/history/hannhist.html.

Hamilton, Eslev. "Hannibal Central Business District Multiple Resource Nonination." National Register of Historic Places. mostateparks.com. 1985. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/Broadway%20District.pdf.

Marschka, Lindsey. "Hannibal, MO: 'America's Hometown' Amidst Fictional Landscape." University of Missouri: Artifacts Journal. October 29, 2022. https://artifactsjournal.missouri.edu/2015/01/hannibal-mo-americas-hometown-amidst-fictional-landscape/