DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's what the official marker has to say, in my own telling. Back in 1896, a man named Cornelius Randerson put up a one-story structure right here on this spot. His business was practical, the kind that kept a frontier town running: a grocery, a feed store, and a wagon yard, all under one roof.
Now that's a combination that tells you something about the people who needed it. Horses to feed, wagons to park, and dinner to buy, all in one stop. Cornelius had his hands full.
Then two years later, in 1898, John and Claud Lundell came along and purchased the building. The Lundells had plans. They watched the years roll by, and by 1910 they decided one floor just wasn't enough.
They added a second story, so customers could stay the night. You ride in with your wagon, you feed your horses, you buy your goods, and then you sleep right above the whole operation. Clever.
The building stayed in the Lundell family all the way until 1926, nearly three decades of the same name on the deed. What they left behind is worth a good long look, even today. Native limestone and brick, built in the way this part of Texas knew how to build, with simple Classical detailing that says somebody cared about how the place appeared, not just what it did.
Over the years, a number of different businesses have called these walls home. The names changed. The commerce shifted.
But that limestone and brick kept standing right through all of it. Some buildings outlast the stories told inside them. This one's still here to prove it.
What the marker says
Cornelius Randerson erected a one-story structure here in 1896 to house a grocery, feed, and wagon yard. John and Claud Lundell purchased the building in 1898 and in 1910 a second floor was added to board customers overnight. It remained in the Lundell family until 1926. A good example of a native limestone and brick commercial building, it features simple Classical detailing. A number of businesses have occupied the building. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1994