Upon learning baker’s trade in Omaha, William Poesch came to Columbus in 1898 at age 24 and set up his original business on south 27th Avenue. He then built a new facility on 13th Street which included a bakery, candy factory, ice cream manufacturing, retail sales room, and a confectionary parlor. In 1906 Poesch purchased a cone-making machine and introduced an ice cream cone to Columbus. The three-story production facility included a third-floor baking room featuring an automatic dough mixing machine and an 18-ton oven. In 1919 William Poesch retired and died in 1926. He was the grandfather of the late Paul W. Abegglen of Columbus.

The business was operated by subsequent firm names, the most notable being Syder and Son, until 1948. It was a restaurant for a time followed by various commercial businesses. As time went on, the third floor was rented to Saunders Archery and the first floor served as Marjorie’s Smart Shop owned and operated by Bill and Marjorie Wiggins. Later the first floor continued to serve as a clothing store under the names of Jerold Shop and Tobers. Those enterprises were followed by a bookstore and are currently the home of Insurance Services of Columbus. The west building elevation became the site of a historical mural, painted by Dave Reiser, commemorating Columbus’ Sesquicentennial in 2006.