Joe Weisman and Company

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Joe Weisman and Company, out of Harrison County. Now, some businesses leave a mark on a town. And some businesses become the town, at least a piece of it, for generation after generation.

Joe Weisman and Company is that kind of story. It starts in Syracuse, New York, where Joe Weisman was born in 1847, one of seven children of Meyer and Mary Doppelmayer Weisman. Joe was a studious young man, the kind who enrolled at Bryan-Stratton Business College, and you get the sense he was always headed somewhere.

That somewhere turned out to be Marshall, Texas. In 1866, he followed his uncle, Daniel Doppelmayer, down to Marshall, and before long, five of his siblings had followed him. That right there tells you something about Joe Weisman.

When he moved, people moved with him. He spent his early years in Marshall getting his footing, and then in 1878, he made it official. Joe formed Joe Weisman and Company, a mercantile store set up on the north side of Peter Whetstone Square.

Three of his brothers worked alongside him. A family operation, all the way. In 1881, Joe wed Lena Young, born in 1858.

Together they had four daughters: Hallette, Estelle, Edith, and Valrie. And if you think the Weisman story was just about dry goods and ledger books, think again. Joe and Lena were active at Temple Moses Montefiore, and they threw themselves into the life of Marshall with real generosity.

They helped raise funds for local churches, charities, and schools, including the College of Marshall, which later became East Texas Baptist University, and Wiley College. A Jewish merchant family, pouring resources into institutions across the community's full breadth. That's worth a pause.

By 1900, the business had grown from a mercantile store into a full department store, and Weisman relocated it to this very site. The building was designed by C.G. Lancaster, and it still stands today as a commercial landmark.

Now here's where the story gets another layer. A young man named Joe Nathan Hirsch, born in 1883, came to work at Weisman and Company as a stock clerk. He went off and opened his own mercantile for a spell.

Then, in 1910, he married Valrie Weisman, born in 1890, Joe and Lena's daughter. He came back to Weisman and Company and took over its management in the mid-1910s. Joe Nathan and Valrie had four children together, and they kept the business running for more than fifty years, maintaining what you'd have to call the Weisman-Hirsch commitment to community service.

Fraternal organizations, the Marshall Symphony, the whole fabric of civic life. When Joe Nathan and Valrie were gone, their sons Martin, born in 1912, and Joe, born in 1923, carried the business forward. Joe Hirsch finally sold it in 1972, but even then the story wasn't finished.

Subsequent owners kept it operating until 1990. And the building itself? The city restored it.

C.G. Lancaster's design still stands on this site, a structure that outlasted every chapter of the story it housed. One family came to Marshall following an uncle in 1866.

What grew from that was a department store, a dynasty, and a deep root in the community that held firm for well over a century. Not bad for a kid from Syracuse.

What the marker says

Jewish merchant Joe Weisman (1847-1918), born in Syracuse, New York, was one of seven children of Meyer and Mary Doppelmayer Weisman. Joe studied at Bryan-Stratton Business College before following an uncle, Daniel Doppelmayer, to Marshall, Texas in 1866. Five of his siblings followed him to Texas. In 1878, Joe formed Joe Weisman and Company. Three of his brothers worked with him at the mercantile store, located on the north side of Peter Whetstone Square. In 1881, Weisman wed Lena Young (1858-1930), and the couple had four daughters: Hallette, Estelle, Edith and Valrie. Joe and Lena were active at Temple Moses Montefiore and contributed greatly to the community, assisting with fundraising efforts for local churches, charities and schools, including the College of Marshall (later East Texas Baptist University) and Wiley College. In 1900, Weisman relocated the business, which had grown into a department store, to this site. Joe Nathan Hirsch (1883-1966), who began at the store as a stock clerk before opening his own mercantile, wed Valrie Weisman (1890-1963) in 1910. He returned to Weisman and Company and took over its management in the mid-1910s. He and Valrie had four children and continued the business for more than 50 years. They and their extended family also maintained the Weisman-Hirsch commitment to community service and were active in local groups including fraternal organizations and the Marshall Symphony. Martin (1912-1968) and Joe (1923-1994) Hirsch continued the business after their parents' deaths. Joe sold it in 1972, but it was operated by subsequent owners until 1990. The city restored the building, designed by C.G. Lancaster, and it remains a commercial landmark. (2004)