South Side of Wallace & South Cherokee Street
Begin just west of the traffic light on the south side at:
The Campbell-Hagan Building which was built in 1910. J.C. Campbell's
establishment wanted their customers to make the store their headquarters while in town.
So the Campbell's offered their patrons a "rest room" on the balcony in the south end of
the store where there was a "good breeze." The area included a couch, rockers, a library
table, stationary and a lavatory with a "surplus" of water. In later years, before it
was absorbed by the San Saba National Bank, the Campbell-Hagen Building was the home of
Hartley's Paint & Wallpaper.
The Dofflemyer Building was built in 1913 by W.C. Dofflemyer for the
San Saba National Bank. The artificial stone finish was "something quite new" at the
time. The third floor was immediately leased by the San Saba Club, a gentlemen's social
club of the day. It was outfitted with two pool tables, one billiard table and a player
piano with the latest music. The front of this building was made into a parlor and
reading room. The bank remained in this location until, as a branch of the Arrowhead
Bank, it moved across the street.
404 E. WallaceIn December of 1906, a major fire destroyed the T.C. Henry
"store houses" on this corner. Mr. Henry immediately rebuilt the two-story building with
two store fronts. In 1935, new owners rebuilt the structure. The tenant housed in the
building was "The Economy Store" (dry goods). Later, this structure become the home
of "Harry's Fabric Store & Ladies Store."
406 E. WallaceIn 1935, the existing two-story building and its neighbor were
torn down and rebuilt. Dooleys "5, 10 & 25" was the tenant until 1942. In the 1950's,
Taylor Electric housed its business in this building. It also served as additional
building space for "Harry's Fabric Store & Ladies Store."
408 E. WallaceAnother victim of the 1906 fires, was the Woods and Laird Hardware
Building. It was rebuilt as a single story in early 1907. In 1910, W.A. Martin had the
front removed and rebuilt and a "deck story," the mezzanine level, was added. In the early
1930s, this address was the "Piggly Wiggly." In 1936, it was the home of the first
Modern Way Grocery. In 1942, Dooley's relocated in this building and it became a variety
store until 2006.
410 E. WallaceThe building in which Sisters Country Store is located was built
for W.T. Murray prior to 1885. This simple stone building survived the 1906 fire. During
the 1920s, the building was part of the Morris Mosley Dry Goods business, located next door. The
archway is still visble on the east wall. In 1931, the space became Dickerson's Variety
Store. The store then became affiliated with the Ben Franklin chain in the late 1940s.
Charles Little bought the store in 1953 and reorganized it to be the first "self-serve"
variety store in central Texas. The variety store remained in the Little family until 2006,
when Chuck Little, son of the late Charles Little, sold it.
414 E. Wallace(Miller & Spinks Law Offices) was complete in 1910 by T.A.
Murray. It suffered interior fire damage in 1934. Recently, Dick Miller renovated the
building. During the history of the building,
it has housed a furniture and hardware store, department store, dress shops, insurance
agency and an alterations shop. A jewelry store was located under the arch at the east
end of the building.
Metal-Sheathed Building at the Corner of Wallace and Cherokee
(Three Buildings):
105 S. Cherokee(Mbellishments) was completed in 1909 and
contained a basement. From 1910 until 1996, there were pharmacies in this location; Watkins
Pharmacy and Everett's Pharmacy, two of the more recent. For
many years, prior to 1950, Doctors Farley and Felts had their offices on the second floor.
The two buildings facing Cherokee Street are among the oldest business buildings in San Saba.
They were both in place by 1885. Top Donuts has been home to cafes, dry goods and grocery
stores. Renovations in the 1950s to the second revealed square nails This building could then
be as old as 1878. It was home to meat markets, grocery stores, a dairy store and White's
Home & Auto Store for over 40 years. For many years, there was a pool hall on the
upper floor.
110 S. Cherokee(Ivy's/H&R Block) was built in 1912 by W.T. Murray. It was
immediately leased and operated as a post office until 1922. A variety of
businesses, including Mr. Townsend's Tailor & Dry Cleaning Shop and Hendricks Barber
were located at this address.
Everett's Flooring was built in 1912 for Sam McAtee. It shares a party wall
with the previous building. Mr. McAtee equipped his building as a pool hall. When he
sold the building, it became home to a series of restaurants and Mrs. Howard's bakery.
Downtown Video was built in 1938 by Guy Riesen. He installed a domino
parlor in his building.
is located in the
center of the block. It is San Saba's oldest stone building. Attributed to innkeeper,
Nathaniel Burden, it was constructed of native blue limestone in the late 1850s. It
has upper and lower porches across the east face of the building. When used as a hotel,
the family lived downstairs. The upper level was filled with beds for guests. As time
went by, it also served as law offices and was eventually annexed to a building that
housed a domino parlor. This building has since been removed. Plans for restoration of
the building and its surrounding plaza are underway.
122 S. Cherokee (Everett's Furniture) was built in 1947 for Jim Circle Motors.
There were apartments on the second level. In June of 1949, it was severely damaged by
fire, which started in one of the apartments. The business reopened in June of 1950
in a reconstructed one-store building. Following its use as a car dealership, the building
was home to Western Auto for many years.
at the center of the town square, is the county's third courthouse building. It was
completed in 1911. The first building, completed in 1857, was
severely damaged by a wind storm. The second was completed in 1878. All three of these
buildings have been used for social and civic affairs. The Pioneer Monument was erected
in 1940. The monument was financed by "$1.00 per name" subscriptions by family members.
North Side of the 400 Block of East Wallace Street
401 E. Wallace(Harry's Boot Store) was destroyed by a major fire on December 6,
1906. An all building of stone was completed in the summer of 1907. This
address then became the home of
Dr. S.W. Rimmer's new drug store. Later, Dr. Rimmer joined with E.E. Fagg
and W.C. Dofflemyer to re-open the business as The Corner Drug Store. It became the
Laird Corner Drug Store in 1924 when the business was purchased by E.S. Laird. Upon
Mr. Laird's death in 1936, his son, Sam Laird, took over the business. During the
1940s and 1950s, the building was a morning coffee spot. When this business
closed in 1970, the building became the home of Harry's Boot Store.
403 E. Wallace(Harry's Department Store) was completed in 1908 for Ernest Williams.
Mr. Williams, in turn, leased the building to J.W. McConnell & Sons for their grocer
business. The next
year, Mr. McConnell purchased the building. In 1940, McConnell leased the building to Gus
Mayes. Mr. Mayes installed a men's store knownn as Hopper & Walker. In the early 1950s,
the building was purchased by the Harry Shapiro family.
405 E. Wallace(Harry's Department Store) was built in 1907 by J.W. McConnell. The
McConnell's businesses included groceries, produce, pecans and cotton.
In 1938, Harry Shapiro began
his career in the People Department Store, housed at this address. His father, Ike, and he
soon started The Leader Dry Goods Store. They bought this space in 1942. In
the early 1950s, the name of the business was changed to Harry's Department Store.
Harry's Fourth Building was completed in 1885 for R.G. Murray and J.W. McConnell
to be used as a general mercantile. The brick and plate glass doors were installed in 1933.
For many years, the building housed San Saba Hardware, owned by Dick Keyser and Lynn
Ward. The hardware store was a gathering place for the local men. On the back wall, the
local weather of San Saba was recordered. Much of this history is still visible today.
In 1998, the building became part of Harry's Department Store. During renovations, the
original archway, shared by the former hardware store and Harry's Department Store, was
opened. The archway had been filled with rocked and plastered shut when what was originally
one building became two.
413 E. Wallace was built also in 1885 for J.N. Eddins
and John H. Martin. J.J. Eddins & Company, which dealt in drugs, medicines, chemicals,
paints, oils, varnishes and toliet articles, occupied the first floor. Mr. Martin's
real estate and surveyor offices were located upstairs. Later, E.E. Fagg's drugstore
was located at this address.
The building then became the First National Bank from 1907 until 1925. After 1925,
the building was home to Jones Dry Goods. In 1951, the building housed Sterner Dry Goods.
415 E. Wallace was built in 1906 by Sullivan & Hinyard. Their store carried
buggies, surreys, hacks, hardware, harness and saddles. It continued
as a hardware/furniture business under different owners. The best remembered
business at this address was Little's Hardware.
417 E. Wallace (Select RISC) was completed in the spring of 1906 by J.E. Sorell.
E.A. Murray opened a drug store on the first floor. The drugstore eventually became
City Drug Store which operated until the late 1970's. At one time, Dr. W.S. Pence,
and other physicians, had offices in the upstairs of the building. Recent restorations
have revealed details of twentieth-century paint colors and decorative stenciling.
423 E. Wallace (Texas Department of Human Resources) was originally the Jake
Williams building. In the early 1880s, the J.S. Williams Company occupied the first
floor. The company advertised the sale of groceries, agricultural implements and a
"sampling room." The "sampling room" was another name for the Wiley Williams Saloon.
In 1942, this address was absorded by the bank building and ladies' ready-to-wear store
called Bonsteins. Following the second world war, the building became the home for
Little Butane, owned and operated by Garth and Kathryn Little.
San Saba Company Appraisal District was built by T.W. Ward and Wiley Murray in
1884. Made of stone, this building housed the Ward-Murray Bank, which later became
the City National Bank. The building has been renovated several times. In 1942, a
basement was added, an extension to the rear was built, and an expansion installed which
adjoined the neighboring Jake Williams building to this address. The metal facade was
installed on both buildings in the 1970s. A portion of the original architecture
of these buildings, ornamental columns, is visible under the metal sheathing.
500 Block Of East Wallace Street
501 E. Wallace(Burnham's Lodging) was completed in 1935 by J.D. Carter to
replace an earlier wooden structure destroyed by fire in 1931. Later in the summer
of 1935, Mr. Carter opened a cafe with a dance floor located on the roof top of the
building. On Saturday nights, the city square was filled with music. The City Market,
a butcher shop, was located in the rear of the building.
503 E. Wallace was built by W.C. Dofflemyer in 1935. This building replaced
what was once the offices of John McKenna Lumberyard. When Frank Churchill opened his
Watch & Trophy Shop in 1957, he shared the space with Arch Clements Insurance
Agency, real estate firm of Temple West & Gene Faubian, and the Farm Bureau, run
by Henry Ratliff.
505 E. Wallace(San Saba News & Star) was also built in 1935. The existing
building replaced a wooden structure which had been erected in 1904.
507 E. Wallace(Burnham's Lodging) was built in 1911. This building has been
home to Owl's Pool Hall, Jeff Byrd's Grocer, and Whitley's Sporting Goods. Whitley's
Sporting Goods later became Reavis' Sporting Goods Store.
509 E. Wallace was built for W.K. Ray in 1897. The San Saba News
occupied the upstairs of the building from 1898 until 1904. For a time, it was home to
the Queen Hotel. The Alpha Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows purchased it
in 1917. The lodge occupied the second floor while the first floor was leased to various
businesses, one in particular known as Community Appliances.
The Second "Two Story Building"was completed in 1905 by J.H. Martin. The First
National Bank occupied the first floor. In 1907, the First National Bank moved to the
address of 413 East Wallace Street. The "newly formed" San Saba National Bank then
occupied the space. For many years, the Martin building was home to the San Saba Star
until the editor, Mrs. Amelia Cowan, retired and sold the paper to the
owners of the San Saba News.
517 E. Wallacewas built in 1920 by S.T. Taylor and B.F. Hardt to serve as a
"garage." The building was renovated and became a retail space in 1940. It was
occupied by Modern Way Grocery. Then in 2000, it became the home of Logan Furiture.
The building's parking lot was the original site of S.T. Taylor's Tin Shop.
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