Cobb's Market

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just along for the ride. Out here in Robertson County, there's a building that's been standin its ground since before most of the state had running water. The story starts in 1868, when this spot was first put to work as a meat market.

Nothing fancy, just a working place doing working things. But here's where the tale gets interesting. A decade later, in 1878, a woman named Mrs.

Ella Oscar decided that building deserved better. She didn't just patch it up or slap on a coat of paint. She remodeled the whole thing into a Victorian building, and she did it with handmade brick.

Handmade. Every brick shaped by hand before it ever saw a wall. That takes a certain kind of patience, and a certain kind of vision.

Now here's the part that ought to stop you cold. Step inside Cobb's Market today and you're not looking at reproductions or careful restorations. You're looking at the originals.

The cast iron wood burning stove, still there. The marble top counters, still there. The meat saw rack, still holding its place like it never considered leaving.

From 1868 to right now, some of those fixtures have never moved. Mrs. Ella Oscar built something in 1878 that was already standing on a foundation from 1868, and the whole thing is still here to prove it.

Some buildings tell you history. This one just keeps living it.

What the marker says

Original meat market here in 1868 was remodeled into present Victorian building of handmade brick in 1878, by Mrs. Ella Oscar. Original fixtures still used include wood burning stove of cast iron, marble top counters, meat saw rack. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967