Sharp General Store

Duane's take

Well, I'm gonna tell you what the official marker has to say about this place, in my own way. Pull up a chair and let that engine cool a minute. This is the story of the Sharp General Store, right here in Milam County.

A Civil War veteran by the name of Daniel G. Davis, Sr., born in 1836, took it upon himself to build something lasting. He put this structure up in two stages, 1895 and then 1896, and when he was done, he had himself the largest mercantile facility in the area.

Now that is not a small thing to say in a county like this. Daniel G. Davis, Sr. lived all the way to 1927, which means he got to watch his store become the backbone of the community for a good long while.

And when he was gone, his descendants kept right on running it. The Sharp General Store stayed in operation until 1985. Think about that.

From 1895 to 1985. Generation after generation, same building, same purpose. You needed to move your produce, this was your main outlet.

You needed banking services, this was your stop. You needed a public scale to weigh your goods honestly, here it was. And if you just needed to stand on that porch and talk to your neighbors and drink cool water from a barrel, well, the Sharp General Store had a barrel waiting for you.

That detail gets me every time. The barrel on the porch. Simple and neighborly and exactly right.

Architects and historians call it a fine example of late nineteenth century free-standing commercial architecture, and they are not wrong. But the building earned something more than that. It earned ninety years of a community's trust.

Daniel G. Davis, Sr. built it in two stages. His people carried it forward.

And now the marker carries the story. Not bad for a general store with a barrel on the porch.

What the marker says

Civil War veteran Daniel G. Davis, Sr. (1836-1927) built this structure in two stages in 1895 and 1896. The Sharp General Store, which Davis and his descendants operated here until 1985, was the area's largest mercantile facility and main outlet for local produce. It offered banking services, public scales, and a place for local citizens to socialize and enjoy water from a barrel on the porch. It is a fine example of late 19th century free-standing commercial architecture. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1995