Lewis J. Wilson Building

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Lewis J. Wilson Building in Grimes County. Now, some stories start with a man and a dream.

This one starts with a family, a move, and a whole lot of dry goods. Lewis J. Wilson was born in Connecticut in 1832, and in 1851 he came with his parents to Grimes County, Texas.

His father Samuel wasted no time. Samuel opened a general merchandise business right there in Anderson, and young Lewis stepped in to manage the store. He kept at it, year after year, right up until 1861.

Then the Civil War came calling, and Lewis Wilson answered. He left the store and went off to serve. After the war, he came back to Anderson.

Some men come home and rest. Lewis Wilson came home and got back to work. He formed a partnership with two men, W.

R. Howell and John Quincy Yarborough, and together they opened a mercantile store. And then, in 1871, the three of them did something that was meant to last.

They completed construction of this brick building, a second establishment, solid and permanent in a way that wood-frame hopes rarely are. Now, partnerships have a way of shifting over time. By 1881, Lewis J.

Wilson was the sole proprietor. No Howell, no Yarborough. Just Wilson, running the business he had helped build, in the building he had helped raise.

He managed that store until his death in 1895. Connecticut boy, Grimes County man, brick-and-mortar legacy. That building was still standing when the marker went up, and that's a story that tells itself.

What the marker says

A native of Connecticut, Lewis J. Wilson (1832-1895) moved with his parents to Grimes County in 1851. His father Samuel opened a general merchandise business in Anderson. Lewis managed the store until 1861 when he left to serve in the Civil War. After the war he returned to Anderson and opened a mercantile store in partnership with W. R. Howell and John Quincy Yarborough. They completed construction of this brick building in 1871 for a second establishment. Wilson was the sole proprietor by 1881 and continued to manage the business until his death.