The Coyne House is being restored by Shannon Kelly and family

Shannon Kelly spoke about his renovation of the Thomas and Louise Coyne house on West Broadway during the monthly meeting of the Webb City Area Genealogical Society.

The Coyne house is located on the southwest corner of Broadway and Ball Street. It has been listed as 4 S. Ball St. and 506 W. Broadway. (Mrs. Coyne’s obituary lists her address as 506 W. Broadway.)

Thomas Coyne, an Irish immigrant who had moved to Webb City, built the house in 1897. He had become very successful in the mining industry and by age 28 he was able to build this fine home.

Thomas was married to Louise Miller on Dec. 29, 1890, and they had two children, Roy and Mary Louise Coyne.

Thomas was known as a kind and fair man to those who knew and worked for him. He expanded his interests into banking, lumber, and he continued working in the mining industry by buying and selling area mines.

In 1927, Thomas died at the age of 56 from heart disease. Business activities in Webb City were shut down on the day of his funeral. Louise and Roy Coyne continued to live at 4 S. Ball into the 1950s.

Louise Coyne died on July 13, 1952. She is buried next to Thomas at Mount Hope Cemetery.

After falling into disrepair over the last several years, the Coyne home was purchased by the Kelly family.

Shannon Kelly had been watching the house for awhile and finally decided to purchase it. He began the renovation by clearing the house of debris, which took 25 pickup truck loads and 2 1/2 roll-off dumpsters to accomplish.

After the home was cleared of trash and rodents (a raccoon family had taken up residence there), beautiful flooring was found, as well as door knobs, pocket doors, cabinet hardware and glass that will be used in the restoration.

The 128-year old oak flooring has been refinished. In this process, Kelly found pieces of wood with “Coyne Lumber Company” stamped on the back.

Work continues on the 3,400 square-foot home, which he said is a labor of love of history and community.

Webb City is fortunate to have this historic home preserved for the future.