Fellrath Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'll tell it to you. Somewhere between 1881 and 1891, a building went up in Bell County. Built for a man named J.M.

Spencer, it rose from native brick, the kind pulled right out of the Texas earth. And whoever laid those bricks had an eye for more than just function. Round arched doors.

A corbeled brick cornice running along the roofline. This was a Commercial Italianate structure, which is a fancy way of saying someone wanted a workhorse of a building that also knew how to dress. In its early years it did double duty, housing the Smith and Peyton Hardware and Buggy Shop on one hand, and the Everett Grain Company on the other.

Hardware, buggies, grain. The necessities of a working Texas life, all under one good-looking roof. Then comes 1914, and a man named John Fellrath walks through those round arched doors and opens a tin and plumbing shop.

Now, tin and plumbing may not sound like the stuff of legend, but consider this. John Fellrath stayed. He stayed as owner of that building for the rest of his life, right up until his death in 1961.

From J.M. Spencer's day to John Fellrath's last, that native brick held. The arches held.

The cornice held. Some buildings just decide they're going to last, and this one made that decision early.

What the marker says

Built for J.M. Spencer between 1881 and 1891, this building served in its early years as part of the Smith & Peyton Hardware and Buggy Shop and as the Everett Grain Company. In 1914 John Fellrath opened a tin and plumbing shop here and continued as owner of the building until his death in 1961. The Commercial Italianate structure is constructed of native brick and features round arched doors and a corbeled brick cornice at the roofline. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1984