A History of Tyler and Smith County, Texas Page: 58
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A HISTORY OF TYLER AND SMITH COUNTY, TEXAS
Gary's fine two-story frame residence surrounded by trees, shrub-
bery and flowers. This home, with its Corinthian columns, many
years ago was moved to the southeast corner of North Bois D'
Arc Avenue and West Locust Street, where it remained for a
number of years.
On the northwest corner of the square and the south side of
West Ferguson Street, was a two-story building occupied by a
drug store owned by Drs. W. H. Park and W. J. Goodman. South
of this drug store was a small frame building occupied by Ed
Wiggins, grocer, and adjoining it on. the south was the saddlery
and harness store of S. S. Gibbs. Next to this was a two-story
brick house owned and occupied by J. G. Woldert, dealer in fur-
niture and dry goods. Adjoining this property on the south was
a two-story brick building occupied by J. L. De Shong, grocer.
Next to it was another two-story brick building occupied by
M. L. Fleishel, dry goods merchant. All of these brick buildings
were one night destroyed by fire originating in one of the small
wooden buildings farther southward in this west block of the
square.
The law office of Colonel W. S. Herndon and Judge John C.
Robertson was once situated about the middle of this west block
of the square. Close to this building was the book store of R. B.
Long, where books and supplies were sold to children attending
school. Southward from about the center of this west block were
several frame buildings occupied by renters conducting various
kinds of business, one being a tin shop. All of these buildings
subsequently burned. On the southwest corner of the square and
north side of West Erwin Street (where the Peoples National
Bank Building now stands) was the dry goods store of Elif and
Tom Albertson. This Albertson building was a two-story brick
structure, which covered two lots. The upper floor was a large
hall without any pillars to support the roof, and was Tyler's first
opera house. It was built in 1879 and known as the Albertson
Opera House, where many favorite operas and dramas of the day
were presented. In this opera house Frederick Warde, the noted
actor, and his company presented, to the delight of his audi-
ences, the plays of Shakespeare, including Hamlet, Macbeth,
Julius Caesar, and others of a high order. West of the Albertson
Opera House on the same side of West Erwin Street was a frame
residence fronting south, surrounded by shrubbery, owned by
Dr. Ben Selman. Across West Erwin Street and south of the
Selman home was the large two-story frame Methodist Church
building. The upper floor was used by the Masonic Fraternity.
East of this Methodist Church was a large lot on which in the
early days was a small frame building at one time occupied by
the bank of Thomas R. Bonner and E. C. Williams. On this block
58
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Woldert, Albert. A History of Tyler and Smith County, Texas, book, 1948; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth130177/m1/84/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .