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Businesses in and around Anderson
Anderson, the
county seat of Grimes County, was booming between 1846 and 1885. According to The
Handbook of Texas Online, Anderson had "two steam
sawmills, six cotton gins, five hotels, a drugstore, a mercantile house, a
hardware store, a tailor, a blacksmith, and a pistol [munitions] factory".
Six different newspapers were published here during 1854 to 1900. The
population grew to about 3,000. Major road or rail construction never passed
through Anderson, so people and businesses gradually moved away. The population
of Anderson in 1990 was only 320.
A. Buffington
Hotel
Listed as hotel
keeper on 1860 Grimes County census in Anderson P. O.
Fanthorp Inn
This inn began
as Henry Fanthorp's home that he built in 1834 on
land that he had bought in 1833 from Francis Holland. The house was originally
a double-pen cedar-log dogtrot house and was reportedly built for Fanthorp's new bride, Rachel Kennard. Stores began to be
built around the home in a town that was called Alta Mira. When Grimes County
was organized in 1846, Alta Mira was absorbed into Anderson, which had been
selected as the county seat. Stagecoaches came right up to the door of the Fanthorp home and many travelers stayed with the Fanthorp's. Between 1848 and 1850, Fanthorp
expanded the home and it became known as the Fanthorp
Inn. Besides being an inn, it also served as the first mercantile establishment
in the area and as the first post office in 1835 with Henry Fanthorp
serving as postmaster. This inn was also the place that Kenneth Lewis Anderson,
then vice-president of the Republic of Texas, died in 1845. Anderson was buried
in the Fanthorp Cemetery near the home, as are Henry
and Rachel Fanthorp who died in the yellow-fever
epidemic of 1867.
The Fanthorp Inn is now a Texas State Historical Park. It is
located at 579 S. Main in Anderson. Tours are conducted on weekends, between
9:00 A.M. and 3:30 P.M. Fees - free for TCP members; $ for non-members; $1.50
for children 12 and under. On the second Saturday of each month, they have
stagecoach days, where you can ride a replica stagecoach to the courthouse and
back for an extra dollar fee.
Fanthorp Inn State Historical Park tours
Fanthorp Inn State Historical Park Information
Fanthorp, Womack, and Kennard General Store
A mercantile
business opened in 1837 by Henry Fanthorp, his
brother-in-law Mike Kennard and Abraham Womack. It was opened at Fanthorp Inn and was probably the first mercantile business
in Grimes County.
General
Merchandise Store of Samuel Wilson
Started soon after 1851 by Samuel Wilson. Managed
by his son Lewis J. Wilson until 1861.
Kellum Springs Spa
Established around 1850, ten miles north of Anderson.
Munitions
Factory
This factory was
established in 1861 about two miles west of Anderson and was used to make
cannon, cannon balls, guns, pistols, swords, sabers, bayonets, and gun powder
for the Confederacy. It stayed in operation until 1865.
Piedmont
Springs Resort and Spa
This popular
resort and health spa was built around 1850 about seven miles west of Anderson
at three sulfur springs. The resort had numerous bathhouses and drinking
establishments. A four story hotel with 100 rooms was built in 1860. The hotel
offered billiards, poker, and horseraces among other things. C. S. Taliafero was listed as the hotel keeper on the 1860
census. In 1865, the ballroom of the hotel became a military hospital and the
hotel building became the headquarters for Gen. John George Walker. The owner
closed the building in the 1870's after losing money in the panic.
Businesses in Navasota
Navasota
began as a double log cabin built as a stage stop by James Nolan in 1852. It
was originally called Hollendale. Navasota began to
boom with the arrival of the railroad in 1859. A cluster of commercial
structures was soon built along Railroad Street and Washington Avenue. Early
prosperity and growth was slowed by the Civil War and nearly stopped by a
yellow fever epidemic of 1866-1867. The population dropped from 3,000 to 1,200.
Then a fire was started by disgruntled, unpaid Confederate Soldiers in 1865
which partially destroyed the city. The town was rebuilt and incorporated as a
new city in 1866 and by 1873, the population was about 2,700.
Blumenthal's
Fruit Palace
A Popular
turn-of-the-century fruit shop/ice cream parlor. It was owned by A. C.
Blumenthal who perished aboard the HMS Titanic in 1912. The building has housed
several commerical enterprises since then including a
hotel named the "Mayfair". The building is located at 119 Railroad
St.
Citizen's
Bank
Opened in 1870.
Freeman Inn
This inn was
built by Ira M. Freeman in 1856 as a way station and hotel for passengers on
several stage lines through the city. It was a two-story pine building.
Giesel House
Three story
restaurant and hotel built by R.H. Giesel and his
wife Fannie in 1860. It was located near the Houston & Texas Central
Railroad Depot. Fannie renamed her restaurant "The Good Morning John"
in 1871 and managed it until her death in 1881. The hotel was called "The
Exchange" and "The Hoyle" by later owners. This building is the
oldest commercial building in Navasota.
H. Schumacher
Oil Works
A cottonseed oil mill that was established by Henry Schumacher in
1873.
It produced cottonseed oil, meal, and cake. He assembled the machinery for this
mill with only the aid of an old encyclopedia. Before building this mill, Henry
had also started a wooden blind manufacturing shop in 1865, a grist mill, a
cotton gin, and a planning mill. This mill remained in operation until 1954,
when the firm changed over to warehousing cotton. The building is located at
104-107 Duke Street.
J. Youens & Co Lumber
Established in the late 1860's by Joseph Brooks. The lumber company
operated a planing mill and workshop. Jesse Youens became a partner in the business in 1871. The business
at this time was in a large stone and wood building between Railroad and 10th
Streets that is now demolished. It is the oldest continuous business in
Navasota. The business is currently located on W. Washington Ave.
Mercantile
Store - Lewis J. Wilson Building
This store was
built in 1871 - the first brick commercial structure built in Navasota. It was
a second store to complement one owned in Anderson by Lewis J. Wilson and James
Q. Yarborough. Yarborough left in 1875 and the business continued under the
name of Wilson and Howell for six more years. The building is located on the
northwest corner of Washington Avenue and Railroad St.
Morning Star
Hotel
Hotel keepers
were listed as James and William Nolan on the 1860 census. Navasota history
states that James Nolan built a double log cabin as a stage stop in 1852 that
was the beginning of the town of Navasota. He also built a combination smith
shop/grocery.
Old First
National Bank
Located in a building built in the 1880's by local architect,
contractor and stonemason James Davern and his
brother-in-law C. C. Camp. The bank occupied this building until 1952. The building has also
housed a hotel, offices, a telephone company, and many other stores. Located at 107 W. Washington St.
P. A. Smith
Hotel
Built in 1876 by Captain Philip Aurene
Smith.
It served as a hotel until the death of his wife in 1890. After that time, the
top two floors were used for the Smith residence and the bottom floor was
leased as commercial space. P. A. Smith also owned a furniture store, operated
the Navasota Opera House, and founded the Navasota Weekly Tablet. This hotel is
still part of the Navasota commercial district. The bottom floor has been
modified to house several commercial establishments, but the other two floors
still have the original hotel room organization. The building is located on
Railroad St. in Navasota.
Wansata Depot Hotel
L. Lofton was
listed as hotel keeper on the 1860 census.
Early Sawmills
Alex Williams
In operation in 1879 and 1880. Produced 1,500,000 feet
of lumber cut during the reporting period of the 1880 census. Located in enumeration district #64. Employed
16-18 men. Power source was a 30-horsepower steam engine.
Alexander
& Collins
In operation in 1859 and 1860. 750,000 feet of lumber cut during the
reporting period of the 1860 census. Used a 20-horsepower
steam engine. Employed two men. Unknown location.
Edwin Bowin
In operation in 1869 and 1870. Unknown location.
400,000 feet of lumber cut during the reporting period of the 1870 census. Employed ten men. Power source was steam.
Fowler
In operation in 1879 and 1880. 900,000 feet of lumber cut during the
reporting period of the 1880 census. Used a 40-horsepower
steam engine. Located in Enumeration Dist. 59 in
Precinct 1. Employed 10-12 men.
J. M. and J.
A. [illegible]
In operation in 1859 and 1860. 390,000 feet of lumber cut during the
reporting period of the 1860 census. Unknown location.
Used a 18-horsepower steam engine. Employed
seven men.
J. M.
Randolph
In operation in 1884. Located in Bedias.
Listed in an 1884 railroad directory.
J. W.
Mitchell
In operation in 1859 and 1860. 1,000,000 feet of lumber cut during the
reporting period of the 1860 census. Used a 40-horsepower
steam engine. Unknown location. Employed ten men.
J. Youens and Company
Located in Navasota along the Navasota River. Established in the late
1860's by Joseph Brooks and continued by Jesse Youens
in the 1870's.
James Firogard?
In operation in 1869 and 1870. 400,000 feet of lumber cut during the
reporting period of the 1870 census. Used a 30-horsepower
steam engine. Unknown location. Employed eight men.
Montgomery
& Co.
In operation in 1859 and 1860. 3,000,000 feet of lumber cut during the
reporting period of the 1860 census. Used a 20-horsepower steam
engine. Unknown location. Employed
seven men.
Post &
Terrell
In operation 1859 - 1884. In 1860, 960,000 board feet; 1870, 500,000
board feet; 1880, 1,500,000 board feet of lumber cut. Located
in Precinct 1 of Grimes County. The power source grew from a
20-horsepower steam engine in 1860 to two engines totaling 50-horsepower in
1880. Listed as being in Montgomery in an 1884 railroad
directory. Employed 10-20 men at different times
during this period.
W. H. Allen
Listed in an 1884 railroad directory. Located
at Bedias.
Stock Certificates
State Oil Stock Certificate
Stock certificate for State Oil Company, 1920's Bedias.
Submitted by Bob Powledge
Bedias Hardware Stock Certificate Stock
certificate from Bedias Hardware, 1920's. Submitted
by Bob Poweledge