Old Rock Store, 1879

Duane's take

The official marker's got the story, and here's my telling of it. Now, out in Kimble County, there's a building that's been a whole lot of things to a whole lot of people; and it all started back in 1879 with a man named G. W.

Ragsdill. Ragsdill wasn't exactly a man of one ambition. He already had a hotel going, and a wagon yard to boot.

But apparently that wasn't enough to keep him busy, because he went ahead and put up a rock store: solid rock, mind you, built for general merchandise. You want flour, rope, a new saddle blanket? Ragsdill had you covered.

And the building he raised to sell it in? That thing was built to last, which turned out to be the whole point. Now, here's where it gets interesting.

That top floor (the one sitting up above all the dry goods and commerce) that floor had a life of its own. It served as a lodge hall for the A.F. and A.M., the I.O.O.F., and the W.O.W. Lodges.

Three separate fraternal orders, all meeting up there above the merchandise. And then in 1912, somebody decided the top floor had one more trick up its sleeve; they showed a movie up there. A movie.

In 1912. In a rock store in Kimble County. That building had been a mercantile, a lodge hall, and a picture show, and it still wasn't done changing hands and purposes.

By the time the records catch up to it, ownership had passed to Judge M. E. Blackburn, Sr.

One building, built in 1879, that managed to be almost everything a small Texas town could ever need. That old rock store earned its landmark designation, no question about it.

What the marker says

Old Rock Store, 1879, built for general merchandise of G. W. Ragsdill, who owned and operated a nearby hotel and wagon yard. Later used for many other businesses. The top floor has been hall for A.F.& A. M., I.O.O.F. and W.O.W. Lodges, and in 1912 a movie. Owner: Judge M. E. Blackburn, Sr. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1964