| The J C Turner Building was built in
the 1900s as a General Mercantile store. It was two stories high with a hardware
store upstairs, a grocery store downstairs, a feed store in the back of the grocery store
and a clothing store. This building was originally owned by John C. Griffith and sold to John C.
Merchant, the son-in-law of Mr. Griffith. It burned down in 1943. Rebuilding
this store took about one year. Due to the lack of supplies, lumber from the original
building was reused to build new trusses (which were all drilled and bolted
together). The building was also rebuilt one story high with a round front.
When it was rebuilt in 1944, Mr. Merchant bought a bank vault door that came out of a bank in Falls City, Texas. This bank vault door is connected to the store room today. The building was purchased by J C
Turner on Mar. 1, 1960. Mr. Turner worked for Mr. Merchant whose health was failing;
he had no sons to take over the business. The building burned again in 1984 on April the
tenth. This fire started in the refrigeration unit in the stock room. The building was
never reopened as a grocery store. When it was rebuilt, some walls were removed. This
building was developed into a mini mall named the J C Turner building. It remains so
today.
Credits: Personal interview with J C Turner. Thank you, Mr. Turner! To see historic photos of the Turner Building in earlier years, click on these links: one two three (Historic photos are courtesy of the Emergency Management Service. You may see many more such photos by visiting this web page.) |
