Articles
A Historical Tour Around the Square
East Side of the Square
Jeff Rylee Building
122 North Crockett
This native limestone structure was built in 1907 on the site of an
old livery stable by prominent Granbury citizen, Jeff Rylee. Rylee’s
parents were early Hood County settlers, arriving in this area in
the late 1850’s. Rylee leased this building to the Gordon-Oxford
Furniture Company and Undertakers. The firm’s licensed mortician was
a woman, Edith Oxford Gordon. The Granbury Masonic Lodge chartered
in 1874, purchased this building in the mid-1930s. The Lodge
continues to use the building’s second floor as it’s meeting hall.
Notice this building’s heavy stone parapet that contains Jeff
Rylee’s name and the construction date. There is a patented iron
threshold at the entrance bearing Rylee’s name.
Thomason Building
118 North Crockett
The small lot where this building now stands was vacant for many
years. This building was constructed in the mid 1940s for Herman D.
Thomason, who was a partner in the Goforth-Thomason Hardware Store.
Thomason was from nearby Tolar and he was a schoolteacher for many
years. Thomanson’s daughter said that he had this building
constructed because he didn’t like to see empty lots on the Town
Square.
The Thomason Building’s first occupant was the Granbury Dress
Manufacturing Co., established in 1943. The dress manufacturing
company’s sewing machines were located in the lower level of the
Masonic Lodge Building next door. After the Thomason Building was
completed, the dress manufacturing company used it for storage of
dresses and equipment. In 1944, the dress manufacturing company’s
payroll was $1,000 per week, and each week its employees churned out
80 dozen “Marcy Lee” dresses. The completed dresses were picked up
by large trucks and taken to Dallas, where they were distributed to
retailers throughout the country. All of the women who worked at the
dress manufacturing company were from Hood County. In October 1944,
the Hood County Tablet wrote that “a number of seamstresses were out
harvesting the county’s bumper peanut crop, but they planned to
return to dress manufacturing in a few weeks.”
Jess Baker Building
116 North Crockett
This building was constructed in the late 1880s or early 1890s for
Jess baker and his partner Sam H. Smith, to house the Baker and
Smith Implement Company. Notice the Jess Baker Building’s elaborate
pressed-in entablature topped by two triangular pediments. The
original corrugated metal awning still remains on this building. In
1894, their partnership was dissolved, and Jess Baker continued to
operate his shop as the Jess Baker Wagon and Implement Business. In
1904, Baker’s brother, D.O., joined him in business and the name
changed again to Baker Hardware and Implement Company.
Baker-Rylee Building and Town Square Service Station
100 North Crockett
This cut limestone structure was built in 1895 to house the hardware
operation of D.O. Baker and J.D. Rylee. The following year, Baker’s
brother, Jess, joined the partnership and in 1898 the store became
the Baker Hardware Co. Baker and Rile had a well dug inside their
hardware store, and they installed a windmill and water tank on the
roof, therefore they had their own 1890s water works system.
The first automobiles in Granbury appeared in 1907, registered to a
handful of wealthy businessmen. Until the 1920s, very few residents
of Granbury owned cars, and roads in the area were virtually
impassable. Bur “Highway No. 10” between Granbury and Fort Worth was
completed after 1924, and five years later Hood County had 30 miles
of paved roadway. In 1929, this building was converted to a gasoline
service station by the Transcontinental Oil Company of Tulsa,
Oklahoma. Part of the building was removed to provide drive-through
auto access, and gasoline pumps were added. From 1930 up to World
War II, this was the busiest corner in Granbury. Both the service
station and a café added during the 1930s were open 24 hours a day.
Today there is a bypass for U.S. Highway 377, but at that time,
Pearl Street was the main route through the city.
South Side of the Square
Gordon Building
122 East Pearl
These two native limestone structures with circular window arches
may have been built as early as 1874 by W.E. Perkins. A dry goods
and grocery merchant, Perkins, opened his business that year in a
“stone building southeast corner square, Granbury, Texas.” During
the 1880s, prominent Granbury merchant, A.P. Gordon ran a saloon in
these buildings and he sold dry goods and groceries. Gordon and his
brothers also owned and ran a prosperous local cotton gin. A
well-known and much published legend surrounds a Gordon’s Saloon
bartender named John St. Helen. Even today, many history buffs
believe that St. Helen was actually John Wilkes Booth, President
Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, who was supposedly killed shortly after
Lincoln’s death. St. Helen kept his identity a secret in Granbury
until he became ill and made what he believed was a deathbed
confession to both a Catholic priest from Dallas, and Gordon’s
brother, F.J. Gordon. St. Helen also revealed to F.J. Gordon where
he could find the pistol used to shoot Lincoln, a firearm still
owned by Gordon family descendants. Upon recovering from his
illness, St. Helen disappeared from Granbury. Years later, a man
claiming to be both St. Helen and Booth died in Enid, Oklahoma.
Granbury Opera House
116 East Pearl
The most elaborate building on the Granbury Square, this two-story
Italianate theater was built in 1886. Notice the detailed pressed
tin cornice and pediment that crown the Opera House and the ornate
hood molds over the upper windows. Kerr’s Opera House, which
featured vaudeville acts, minstrel shows, singers, and melodramas
occupied the top floor until 1911. The lower floor of the building
housed many different businesses over the years, including a saloon
and a saddle and harness shop. The Opera House was restored in a
communitywide effort in the early 1970s and was reopened in 1975 by
the Granbury Opera Association. The managing director and a resident
acting troupe present entertaining musicals and original productions
in the old Opera House 11 months a year.
Harris Building
129 East Pearl
Local stonemason I.W. Walley erected the rock walls of the masonry
commercial building in 1899 and is also credited with helping to
build the Hood County Courthouse. A cast iron storefront and
decorative brickwork enhance the plastered façade. The two-story
structure was built for Wesley Smith Harris (1854-1930), who ran a
furniture home here. The two businesses were associated because at
that time furniture manufacturers made casket parts. Ben Estes later
took over the operation of both in 1927.
Haynes-Burns-Ewell Building
105 East Pearl
Early site of the Granbury Post Office, this native stone structure
was erected by James C. Haynes, Postmaster from 1872 to 1874. He
sold the edifice in 1878 to Thomas A. Burns, who served as
Postmaster until 1883. The property was then sold to Thomas T. Ewell,
a newspaperman who published as early history of Hood County.
The Granbury House
101 East Pearl Street
Martha Washington (Garrison) Stringfellow, a widow with three
children, migrated to Hood County about 1871. To support her family,
she opened a boarding house, known as “The Granbury House,” at this
location. In 1874 she married local builder Joseph W. Anderson.
Anderson was a stonemason and constructed many of Granbury’s homes,
churches, and Victorian commercial buildings. In 1871 a contract was
given to Anderson to rebuild the courthouse (which burned in 1875.)
He was given several town lots in lieu of money Anderson was also a
partner in the Holland and Anderson Lumber Mill.
South-West Corner of the Square
Hood County State Bank Building
101 West Pearl
This impressive red brick building was constructed in 1905 by John
E. Brown for the Hood County State Bank. The wide round arches of
the bank building’s entryway and windows and its pyramidal turret
distinguished it as an example of the Victorian Richardsonian
Romanesque architectural style. Brown also built the elaborate
Victorian “Round House” for himself that same year. The rooms in the
house were pie-shaped, radiating out from a central hexagonal grand
hall, which spanned 32 feet. Unfortunately, the house is no longer
standing. After eight years, Hood County State Bank sold its
building, which has housed business offices since that time.
West Side of the Square
Crites Building
105 North Houston
The Crites Building was constructed between 1905 and 1910 for C.L. (Lum)
Crites, Jr., a dry goods merchant from the nearby rural town of
Tolar. “Lum” Crites advertised his dry goods store in the Granbury
News in 1910, touting the services of an experienced dressmaker and
designer. In the mid1990s, Linda and Bill Anderle, owners of the
City Flower Market, were stripping the south limestone wall of its
old plaster and uncovered an old advertising mural. The faded but
totally intact mural was painted on what was once the outside
limestone wall of the building next door when it was a dry good
store. The historic ad pronounces “Old Virginia Cheroots, 3 for 5.”
Bush Morgan Cherry Building
120 North Houston
Constructed in 1891, this building has been associated throughout
its history with prominent businesses. From 1891 until 1894, it
served as the dry goods store of F.C. Bush, who was the city tax
collector and secretary in 1892. In 1895, the building housed the
Morgan Drug Store, run by Eugene H. Morgan, who later became a
prominent local physician. For the next 72 years, the building was
associated with other drug stores including that of William H.
Cherry, who served as mayor of Granbury and as director of the First
National Bank.
J.D. Brown Building
124 North Houston
This one story stone building was probably built by J.D. Baker and
originally housed a grocery store, but by 1896, J.D. Brown purchased
the building for his dry goods store. He and his family operated
this store until 1908 when it was lost for bad debt on the
courthouse steps. This building was leased over a number of years to
a number of different businessmen. The first silent movie theater
began in this building. Eventually several different hardware stores
were operated in this building and then it evolved into a book store
which is it’s current business operation.
E.A. Hannaford Drugstore
130 North Houston
E.A. Hannaford came to Granbury in 1871 and established his first
drugstore in a tent on the north side of the square. By 1881, he
purchased one half of the lot from J.D. Baker and together they
built the two-part commercial building in the Italianate Style. Tax
records indicate both buildings were constructed in 1882. The
cornice on Hannaford’s side advertised his drub and book business.
“Doc” Hannaford was a prominent civic leader, instrumental in
promoting higher education in the Granbury area, including serving
on the Granbury College Board of Directors. Second floor tenants
included the Granbury Graphics, an early newspaper owned and
published by Ashley Crockett, a grandson of David Crockett, doctor’s
offices and even a beauty parlor.
Baker-Doyle Building
132 North Houston
John D. Baker had this building constructed in 1882 for his dry
goods store. Built of native limestone, the high Victorian
Italianate structure features arched window openings with fanlights
and a simple stone cornice. These two buildings were advertised as
the “Arch Block” because of their distinctive arched façade with a
six-bay storefront. Baker began his own dry goods business with $500
of borrowed capital. He hauled his dry goods from Dallas to Granbury
in horse drawn wagons. Baker was one of the founders and original
shareholders of The First National Bank of Granbury, established in
1887. He also participated with fellow merchants,. P.H. Thrash, the
Nutt brothers, and E.A. Hannaford, in building the first bridge
across the Brazos River in 1878. In 1891, Baker moved to
Weatherford. In 1894, he became President of the First National Bank
of Weatherford and helped establish Weatherford College.
Baker’s partner, James H. Doyle, became sole owner of the building
in 1899. The store featured a millinery department upstairs,
complete with a hat decorator from St. Louis. Doyle sold his
building in 1908 to the City National Bank of Granbury, which
operated until 1928. In October 1908, the bank added an iron
stairway to the north side of the building (still in existence
today) to provide access to dentists’ and physicians’ offices. Dr.
S.T.R. Green practiced dentistry on the second floor from 1909 until
his death in 1933. Granbury native, Albert Porter recalls, "That was
the first dentist I ever visited. He didn’t deaden your teeth to
pull them. He just pulled them."
North-West Corner of the Square
B.M. Estes Building
201 North Houston
This building was built in 1893, for Bevly Memphis Estes, a lawyer
and county judge. He housed his law firm on the second floor while
Sam Ferrell’s Grocery Store was on the ground floor. Sam Ferrell was
one of the early day merchants who helped carry many farmers through
the winter and summer months until their cotton was harvested.
This red brick and stone building portrays Romanesque Revival
features in stone archways, corbel table, round arch windows and
distinctive castiron exterior stairway, although the original
storefront has been altered.
North Side of the Square
First National Bank
101 East Bridge
The Victorian commercial structure on the northwest corner of the
square was the original bank building, which was constructed in 1883
for a private bank and loan company owned by local businessmen John
Traylor and D.C. Cogdell. Traylor and Cogdell’s private venture
proved so successful that the bank was chartered as the First
National Bank of Granbury in 1887. In 1952, the First National Bank
expanded into the second building in its third building in 1970s,
originally using this building as a drive-through bank. The First
National Bank of Granbury has remained in business in this location
since 1887. Notice the elaborate pressed-tin bracketed cornice above
most of the buildings on the north side of the square. This cornice
was probably expanded from the bank’s original building in 1891,
after a fire damaged the four buildings to the east of the corner
building. Also notice the old iron plate at the base of the original
bank building that still bears the inscription, “Traylor and Cogdell,
1883.”
Hardware and Tin Shop
107 East Bridge
A cabin dotted woodland in 1870s; this square soon had buildings of
stone quarried less than a mile away. Investor John D. Baker built
this structure in 1882 and in 1890 sold it to saloonkeepers Aston &
Landers. Extensive repairs were made in 1891, after a fire in this
and neighboring buildings. By 1895 ex-County Clerk, J.R. Morris, had
a hardware and tin shop here. Lon Morris, a widely known lawyer and
college benefactor had his offices on the second floor.
The Glenn Brothers’ Building
109 & 111 East Bridge
Erected in 1885 by town-builder James Farr, an attorney, bought in
1888 by the Glenn Brothers (Clark B., Dan, John L. and James M.)
civic leaders interested in many businesses beside their family
grocery housed in this structure. After a fire in this store and the
three to the west, contractors Elliot & Halsley made extensive
repairs in 1891 using heavy timbers clad in iron to support the
brick veneer front of the upper story with its handsome Victorian
styling.
Aston-Landers Building
113 East Bridge
This native Ashlar structure was built in 1893 as a saloon for Andy
Aston and George W. Landers. Notice the cast-iron pilasters on the
building and the patented iron threshold bearing the Aston-Landers
name. Both Aston and Landers were from early Hood County Pioneer
families. Their saloon was highly successful. Early residents
recalled that when a patron imbibed too heavily, Mr. Aston would
start the hanging light swaying and was soon able to lead the
customer outside to his horse. Prohibition was finally enforced by
local government in the early 1900s. According to an old Granbury
newspaper article, Aston and Landers sold every drop of liquor in
their saloon, taking in over $100, on the last night before
prohibition began in December 1902.
When the saloon closed down in 1903, Aston and Landers moved their
saddle and harness shop into the saloon building and added buggies
to their stock in trade.
The Fair
115 East Bridge
Erected in 1888 by Andy Aston for a harness and saddle-making shop.
Ironwork was added during a 1906 remolding, while George Landers was
part owner. After the harness shop was relocated about 1908, various
retail stores operated here including the grocery store of Joe Kerr
and several drygood firms. Notable were “The Fair” and the store of
“Blue-Front Riley,” a merchant nicknamed for the façade of his
earlier store, on the west side of the Square.
J.F. and J. NUTT Building
121 East Bridge
The two-story limestone structure was built for blind brothers Jesse
F. and Jacob Nutt to house their mercantile establishment. Their
first store was a 16 feet by 12 feet log building constructed on the
same site in 1866, with a wagon yard in the rear. This hand-hewn
stone structure was built for the Nutt brothers by local contractor
Jim Warren. The Nutt family settled in this area in the 1850s. Jesse
and Jacob Nutt, together with Thomas Lambert, donated the 40-acre
site that became Granbury, county seat of Hood County. In 1919,
after the family grocery store was remodeled, the second floor of
the building became the Nutt Hotel, famed for its dining room. One
of the first buildings in Granbury to be restored in the 1970s, the
Nutt House was reopened by Nutt family descendants Mary Lou Nutt
Watkins and Joe Nutt. The building had been occupied by three
generations of the Nutt family.
North-East Corner of the Square
Schultz Blacksmith Shop
201 East Bridge
Carl Severin Schultz was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1876. After
marrying Nelsing Vestermann, he came to the United States and
settled in Granbury. Schultz had several professions including the
ownership of a soft drink factory. He later became the village
blacksmith and operated his blacksmith shop on this site, which he
purchased in 1900. Known throughout the town and county for his fine
craftsmanship, Schultz represented the kind of settler and business
leader who lived in Granbury at the turn of the century.