DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm passing it along to you. Now, some buildings just stand there. They hold up a roof, keep out the rain, and that's about the sum of it.
But every now and then, a structure plants itself on a town square like it owns the place — and friend, it kind of does. That's the story of the W.V. McConnell Building in Crockett, Houston County, Texas.
William Van McConnell was a Crockett native, born in 1855, and whatever it was that town put into him, he gave it right back. In 1891, he purchased the site from Major J.C. Wooters — a former mayor of the city, no small connection to have — and he wasted no time.
Up went a Victorian commercial structure, the kind that announces itself. McConnell opened a mercantile store inside, and he wasn't just selling goods. The man was known for his wit and his Irish stories, which means stepping into that store was probably as much entertainment as it was errand.
You didn't just pick up your dry goods and leave — you stayed a while. That reputation has a way of building something bigger than any single man's tenure, and sure enough, the business he started outlasted him by more than fifty years. McConnell himself passed in 1919, but that mercantile business kept right on going, holding its place on the square all the way until 1973.
A landmark for many years, the marker says, and that's not a word to use lightly. Some men build a business. William Van McConnell built a piece of Crockett itself — and the building is still standing there to prove it.
What the marker says
Crockett native William Van McConnell (1855-1919) built this victorian commercial structure soon after he purchased the site in 1891 from Maj. J.C. Wooters, a former mayor of the city. Known for his wit and his Irish stories, McConnell opened a mercantile store here which developed into a business that lasted until 1973. A landmark on the square for many years, the McConnell Building now serves as a reminder of Crockett's early growth.