Allen Hardware Store

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it right along to you. There's a building in Hearne, Robertson County, that's been standing since 1872, and if walls could talk, these walls would need a week and a half to get through everything they've seen. It started with a land purchase, land bought from the International Railroad Company, and two men named Drew and Holt put up what would become the Allen Hardware Store.

That was 1872, and the building hasn't gone anywhere since. Now, a store that old doesn't stay in one set of hands, and this one changed names a few times before it found its people. Jas.

Ferguson came through, then W. T. Watt, then R.

A. Allen, then H. K.

Davis. And then, in 1891, Allen bought the store back. R.

A. Allen, back in the building, this time for keeps. His son Robert joined him, and when you've got a father and son working the same counter, something tends to stick.

Their heirs still own and operate the store. Still. Right now.

Think about that for a moment. Now, part of what makes this place so worth stopping for is the inventory it carried over the years. Seeds for planting.

Saddles for riding. Wagons. Building hardware.

Implements. And coffins. That last item on the list has a way of quieting a room, doesn't it.

One store, in one Texas town, ready to help you build something, grow something, or, when the time came, see somebody off proper. That's not just a hardware store. That's a whole life, start to finish, under one roof in Hearne.

What the marker says

Built 1872 on land purchased from International Railroad Company by Drew and Holt of Hearne. After ownerships by Jas. Ferguson, w. T. Watt, R. A. Allen and H. K. Davis, Allen bought store in 1891; was joined by son Robert. Their heirs still own and operate the store. Goods carried in the past included seeds, saddles, wagons, building hardware, implements and coffins. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968