04/03/2026
Check out the fascinating history of the The Shumaker Lofts below! We are incredibly grateful to see this historic property beautifully restored and brought back to life with new energy and purpose. 🤩🎉
Before it was downtown living…it was downtown industry. 👞 Built in 1900, this building at 219 N. Columbus Street was home to the Fairfield Shoe Company, owned by the H.C. Godman Shoe Co. of Columbus. What began as a single factory soon expanded after the purchase of the neighboring Baptist Church property in 1909, creating the building that still stands today.
Inside, thousands of workers once filled these floors producing nearly 20,000 pairs of shoes each year, making it one of Lancaster’s most active industrial workplaces.
Over the decades the building would evolve: later housing Essex Wire Company, which manufactured electrical switches for automobiles, and eventually Fairfield Industries until 2005. For nearly two decades, the factory stood quiet.
Today, a new chapter begins.✨ The Shumaker brings new life to this historic space, preserving the original post-and-beam construction, arched windows, and skylit ceilings while creating a new downtown community where people can live, work, and connect in the heart of Lancaster.
The story continues. 🔑 Now Leasing | Residential + Commercial
