W. C. T. U. Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just passin' it along. Picture a small Texas town, somewhere in Hemphill County, and a group of women who decided in 1902 that they had something to say about the way things were going. They organized a local chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, and they weren't the kind of women who organized just to have meetings.

Though, as it turns out, they did have a lot of those. Every Wednesday, in fact, without missing a beat, from the day they founded that chapter right on through to the present. Every.

Wednesday. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. First things first: they had a goal.

They were determined to abolish liquor by local option election, and they went out and won that first election a year after they organized. That's 1903, if you're keeping score. Now, winning an election is one thing.

Staying in the fight is another. So starting in 1906, the chapter began holding annual bazaars, raising money, keeping the lights on, keeping the mission alive. And all that patient, persistent fundraising, year after year, built something.

Literally. In 1911, they put up their own building. Not borrowed space.

Not a rented hall. Their own building, built with their own financing, maintained with their own upkeep. And here is the part that stops you cold when you hear it: that building is the only structure in the entire nation built, owned, and still operated by a local chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union.

The whole nation. One building. Hemphill County, Texas.

They also share it, because that's the kind of operation they run. The public library uses it. Civic groups use it.

And every Wednesday, the chapter still meets. Some stories don't need a dramatic ending. The fact that they never stopped is the ending.

What the marker says

Only structure in the nation built, owned and still operated by a local chapter of Women's Christian Temperance Union. Built 1911, with financing and upkeep from annual bazaars held since 1906. Also, used by public library and civic groups. Determined to abolish liquor by local option election, the chapter organized in 1902. Won first election a year later. Meetings have been held every Wednesday since founding. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965