DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker in Van Zandt County has to say about George Washington Tull, Sr. Now, some men leave a mark on a place. And then there's G.
W. Tull — a man who practically built the place mark and all. George Washington Tull, Sr. was born in 1827 in Georgia.
His family was a movin' kind — Georgia to Alabama, Mississippi, then Tennessee. And when 1852 rolled around, young G. W. made his own move, heading to Texas.
But Texas wasn't the end of the road. Not yet. He kept going west, all the way to California, chasing the kind of dream a lot of men chased and a lot of men never caught — gold.
We don't know exactly what he found out there, but we know what he came back with: his savings, and a plan. In 1858, G. W.
Tull returned to Canton, Texas. He partnered with a man named William B. Moore, and the two of them set up a mercantile business right on the courthouse square.
They called it Tull and Moore's Grocery and Saloon — though folks around town had a warmer name for it. They called it "Our House." And that tells you something right there about the kind of place it was. By 1860, Tull had bought out Moore's stake and was running the whole operation himself.
Then the Civil War came calling, and G. W. Tull answered it, serving as a Confederate army private.
He came back, walked into that store, and got back to work. For more than fifty years — more than fifty years — Tull operated that mercantile store. Long after other businesses had come and gone, "Our House" was still standing.
And so was G. W. Tull.
Now, the man wasn't just running a store. He was weavin' himself into the fabric of Canton itself. In 1872, the Van Zandt County Commissioners found themselves in a bind — they needed a new courthouse, and every bid that came in was deemed insufficient.
So they turned to Tull. They contracted with him to build the courthouse, then reimbursed him. Think about that.
When the county needed something done and couldn't find anyone else to do it right, they called on the merchant on the square. He owned commercial properties, owned rural properties. In 1892, he built the first brick store building in Canton.
His store was the anchor of that commercial district, and he helped shape what Canton would become during its formative years. The man's personal life carried its own weight. He was married three times, twice widowed, and fathered fourteen children.
The marker says plainly that he overcame many of the hardships and losses typically associated with frontier development. That's a quiet line that holds a whole lot of grief inside it. And yet — here's the thing about G.
W. Tull. He was regarded as the wealthiest man in Canton.
But they didn't call him that. They called him "the poor man's friend." He was noted as a generous man who believed his financial success depended on steadfast integrity, diligence, and prudence. Not luck.
Not cunning. Integrity. When G.
W. Tull died in 1917, his son — George Washington Tull, Jr., also known as G. W.
Tull — inherited the business and ran it until his own death in 1957. Nearly a century after the whole thing started with a partnership on a courthouse square and a man named Moore and a store they called "Our House." From a Georgia boy who once went west chasing gold, to the man Canton built itself around — that's the story the marker tells about George Washington Tull, Sr.
What the marker says
George Washington Tull, Sr. (1827-1917), better known as G. W. Tull, was one of the earliest and most successful merchants in Canton. His family migrated from Georgia, where G. W. was born, to Alabama, Mississippi, and then Tennessee. In 1852, G. W. moved to Texas, then traveled west to California in hopes of striking gold. He returned to Canton in 1858 with his savings and partnered with William B. Moore to start a mercantile business on the courthouse square. Tull and Moore's Grocery and Saloon was known as "Our House." In 1860, Tull bought Moore's stake and became sole owner. He served as a confederate army private during the Civil War, then returned to operate his mercantile store for more than fifty years until his death. His son, George Washington Tull, Jr., also known as G. W. Tull, inherited the business in 1917 and ran it until his own death in 1957, nearly a century after it opened. George Washington Tull, Sr. shepherded the development of canton in its formative years. His store was the anchor of the commercial district and outlasted many other businesses. In 1872, after Van Zandt County Commissioners deemed all bids for a new courthouse insufficient, the court contracted with Tull to build the new courthouse, then reimbursed him. He owned several commercial and rural properties, built the first brick store building in 1892, and helped develop Canton's commercial district. Tull was married three times and twice widowed, fathering fourteen children. He overcame many of the hardships and losses typically associated with frontier development. Tull was noted as being a generous man. Though regarded as the wealthiest man in Canton, Tull was called "the poor man's friend." He believed that his financial success depended on steadfast integrity, diligence, and prudence.