By Texas Historical Commission
The 1901 Lumpkin Building is a 2-story, 2-part commercial block limestone
building. The building occupies a
corner lot north of the Bosque County Courthouse in Meridian’ central business
district. The building
measures 26 feet wide and 65.2 feet long with a low gable roof concealed by
stone parapet walls. Corner
quoins and three round arched windows on the upper level characterize its
relatively unadorned facade. An
ongoing restoration project has reversed unsympathetic alterations to the
windows and storefront of the front
facade and has also revealed remnants of the historic interior, including
stenciled beaded board. Despite some
alterations to the Morgan Street elevation, the building retains a relatively
high level of historic and
architectural integrity.
Meridian, just east of the Bosque River, lies on low rolling hills in the
Bosque River Valley. The Lumpkin
Building sits diagonally across from Meridian’s courthouse square on a corner
lot of South Main Street and
Morgan Street, north of the courthouse. The building occupies all of Lot 1,
Block 4, with the front facade
facing southwest onto State Highway 144 (Main Street) and the southeast side
facade fronting onto State
Highway 22 (Morgan Street). The building occupies the entire width of the lot
and sits 7.8 feet from the front
property line running parallel to SH 144 and 24 and 2/10 feet from the rear
property line which parallels a 14
foot alley. Concrete sidewalks border the street-facing sides with the sidewalk
along the southeast (side)
facade public property. The northwest facade abuts an adjacent commercial
building.
The exposed exterior walls consist of solid limestone with stucco covering
the front facade and corner quoins,
which appears consistent with historic photographs (Figure 7-2; Photo 1). Stone
parapet walls conceal the
low gabled roof. Early photographs of the building indicate the building
originally featured a standing seam
metal roof. Thinly coated rolled asphalt currently covers the roof.
The principal (southwest) facade of the Lumpkin Building faces SH 144.
Historic photographs indicate that
the first floor configuration originally consisted of three round arched doors
(Figure 7-1). A c. 1916
photograph indicates that the street level facade was modified to feature
installation of a recessed entry with
double doors and a large plate glass window with transoms (Figure 7-2). A sloped
canopy across the front is
supported by metal braces. A single exterior wood door on the north side of the
storefront accesses the
staircase to the upper level. The current storefront reflects this configuration
which has been faithfully
restored based on historic photographs and physical evidence (Photos 1 and 2).
The upper level of the front facade and quoins at the south corner of the
building have been stuccoed and
painted. The upper floor facade features three round arched windows outlined by
stone. The existing wooden
windows made to order by Marvin Windows match the windows in historic
photographs and were installed
as part of the building rehab. Above these windows etched in stone is the date
1884, the original date of
construction before the building was rebuilt in 1901 after a devastating fire. A
limestone cornice terminates the
facade.
The first floor of the southeast (side) facade which faces SH 22 (Morgan
street) originally featured a single
round arched door and window now infilled with concrete blocks. Another door,
added after 1927, is also
infilled with concrete blocks (Photo 2) Plans are to infill the two doors with
matching limestone and install a
historically accurate wood window.
The second floor of the southeast (side) facade has five rectangular windows
consisting of aluminum
replacement units with insulated glass and one operable sash. Historically
accurate wooden windows will
replace these aluminum windows.
The rear (northeast) facade has one door on the first floor and two windows
on the second (Photo 3). The
most northerly window was originally a door opening onto a wooden porch, and a
wooden stairway gave
access to the building from the rear. The stairs and porch were removed after
1945.
The first floor interior was extensively, replacing the original floor with a
concrete slab and covering the
original beaded board ceiling with acoustical tile. Selective demolition
revealed original wood and remnants of
beaded board with decorative green stencil patterns. The side staircase leads
from the side street level entry to
the upper floor which retains the original corridor and room arrangement,
however wall, floor and ceiling
finishes were modernized in the 1980s (Figure 7-3).
The most serious alterations to the building’s exterior occur on the south
side facade facing Morgan Street,
with the lower level openings infilled with concrete blocks and the upper level
windows replaced with
aluminum sash windows. However, these alterations are easily reversible based on
historic photographs and
physical evidence. Although the majority of the historic interior and floor plan
were lost in an 1980s
remodeling, some of the original fabric does remain intact. A master plan for
the building’s rehabilitation was
prepared in 1993 and the current storefront configuration and upper level wood
windows reflect the efforts of
this ongoing project, which is being carried out in coordination with Texas
Historical Commission architects.
Many of Meridian’s commercial buildings surrounding the courthouse square
have sustained various
alterations over the years, including metal replacement windows, such has
occurred to the 1889 First National
Bank Building (NR 1979) and the 1896 IOOF Building directly across Main Street
from the Lumpkin
Building. Other typical alterations include non-historic exterior paint, covered
transoms, aluminum storefronts
and even more extreme gabled shingle roof-type coverings such has occurred to
the 1-story building adjacent
to the Lumpkin Building (Photo 2). The recent restoration of the Lumpkin
Building’s primary facade, which
strongly reflects its c. 1915 appearance, and the relatively minor and
reversible changes to the side facade
make the building one of the most intact historic commercial buildings in
Meridian, therefore retaining a high
degree of historic and architectural integrity.
Statement of Significance
The 1901 Lumpkin Building in Meridian, the county seat of Bosque County, is
one of the earliest stone
commercial buildings in the town, built by local resident J.M. Williams. In 1894
prominent Meridian
physician and civic leader Dr. J.J. Lumpkin purchased the building to house his
drug store, which thence forth
became known as the Lumpkin Building. A devastating fire heavily damaged the
building in 1901, and Dr.
Lumpkin rebuilt this building, on a prominent corner lot in Meridian’s central
business district, that same
year. The building housed a number of occupants over the years, including the
Farmers Guaranty State Bank,
a hardware store, and various professional offices on the second floor. For its
long association with the
history of commerce in Meridian, the Lumpkin Building meets Criterion A in the
area of Commerce at the
local level of significance. As one of the earliest and most intact local
examples of vernacular commercial
architecture reflecting the 2-part commercial block form, the building also
meets Criterion C in the area of
Architecture at the local level of significance.
The town of Meridian originated as the county seat for the newly established
Bosque County in 1854. The
origins of the town’s name remain somewhat unclear. George B. Erath surveyed the
townsite that year and
lots were sold at public sale on July 4, 1854. Persons buying lots were asked to
erect some sort of building on
the lots they purchased as soon as possible. The central courthouse square was
left vacant while a temporary
log cabin served as courthouse until a permanent courthouse could be
constructed.
The town grew slowly, primarily as a regional center for trade and shipping
for the surrounding farms and as a
stop on the state route between Waco and Stephenville. The area’s rich soils and
plentiful grassland
encouraged livestock production, especially cattle.
The biggest period of economic growth appears to have occurred in the 1880s,
when the Santa Fe Railroad
came through Bosque County in 1882-84, laying tracks about two miles east of
Meridian. Although Valley
Mills and Clifton, in the southern part of the county, were slowly moving their
settlements closer to the rail
lines, Dr. J.J. Lumpkin led the fight, along with other leading Meridian
citizens, to prevent Meridian from
relocating in order to be closer to the railroad. A prominent factor in their
argument was already developing
commercial center around the courthouse square, including the newly completed
stone commercial building on
Lot 1, Block 4 just north of the courthouse. An area called East Meridian did
develop around the new railroad,
but the center of population remained at the original site. The construction of
a new 3-story limestone
courthouse in 1886 finally settled the issue of the town’s location.
Meridian resident J.M. Williams acquired Lot 1, Block 4 in July 1881. Mr.
Williams built what was
apparently the first stone commercial building in Meridian on this lot in 1884
(see Figure 8-1). The limestone
used for the building was quarried from the hills about a mile west of Meridian.
One of the early tenants of
this building, Dr. J.J. Lumpkin, pharmacist and doctor of medicine, operated
"the first exclusive drug store" in
Meridian and later purchased the building in 1894. A newspaper clipping from The
Bosque Citizen shows that
the building was referred to as the "Lumpkin Rock Building" as early as 1887.
Typical of 2-story stone commercial building built in Bosque County during
the turn of the century, the first
floor of the Lumpkin Building was used for businesses while the upper floor was
divided into office space.
The June 15, 1900, issue of the Meridian Tribune lists occupants of the Lumpkin
Building, including A.P.
Cruse & Son, who advertised their large stock of hardware, tinware, glassware,
as well as "Shoes, Hats and
Gents furnishings." This same issue of the Tribune also carried an item
concerning C.M. Cureton and E.R.
Pedigo who housed their law office and library in the Lumpkin Building.
By 1900 the population of Meridian approached 1000, and the business district
around the courthouse square
included a bank and insurance office, the offices of land agents, two saloons,
and other active businesses. On
September 11, 1901, fire destroyed the Lumpkin Building. Newspaper reports state
that the fire started in the
Lumpkin Building in the room occupied by A.P. Cruse & Son. High winds quickly
spread the fire and badly
damaged nine other commercial buildings on the courthouse square. The September
13, 1901, issue of the
Meridian Tribune listed Dr. Lumpkin’s losses at $10,000 on office fixtures and
surgical instruments and A.P.
Cruse & Son’s losses at $7,000 on hardware and gent’s furnishings. Attorney
Cureton & Pedigo lost $1300 in
office fixtures. Several other Meridian businesses suffered substantial losses,
including real estate agents, drug
stores, grocery stores, restaurants, saloons, the telephone company, and the
First National Bank. Lumpkin
built this more modest building later that year, but placed the first building’s
date of construction, 1884, on
the front facade.
Several of the Lumpkin Building’s occupants played prominent roles in the
Meridian community. E.M.
Cureton and H.C. Odle, early tenants of the Lumpkin Building, became community
leaders who achieved
noteable roles in Texas governmental affairs. Calvin Maples Cureton practiced
law in Meridian and later was
elected to the state legislature. He went on to serve as Attorney General of the
state and ended his career as
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. H.C. Odle, a well known realtor in
Bosque County, was
appointed the first Texas Highway Commissioner.
Dr. J.J. Lumpkin and P.S. Hale, prominent citizens of Meridian, were the two
persons most closely
associated with the Lumpkin Building.
Julius J. Lumpkin was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, in 1852. He studied
medicine and graduated from the
Medical College in Charleston in 1876. He came to Texas that year, settling in
Meridian, and began the
practice of his profession immediately. On January 8, 1878, he married Ida E.
Fuller, who came to Meridian
with her parents when she was six months old in 1860.
Dr. Lumpkin was a pioneer physician in this section of the state with a
practice in the early days of the
county that extended over a large territory. Both Dr. and Mrs. Lumpkin were
active in civic affairs and greatly
interested in the cultural upbuilding of the community. In 1913 Dr. Lumpkin
built the St. James Episcopal
Church for his wife, and in 1916 the Lumpkins built and equipped a public
library which they gave to the
town in memory of Mrs. Lumpkin’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Moses Fuller. The
Victorian home of the
Lumpkins on Main Street still stands and is designated a Recorded Texas Historic
Landmark (1982). Dr.
Lumpkin died in 1921; Mrs. Ida Lumpkin died in 1954 at the age of 96.
Phillip Smith Hale was born at Church Hill, Tennessee, in 1867. He came to
Texas in 1887 where he first
taught school in Rockdale. Later he moved to Bosque County, settling in Meridian
in 1890. Hale, an attorney
and Justice of the Peace was listed as an occupant of the Lumpkin Building in
the write-up of the fire in 1901,
and he kept an office on the second floor of this building until his death in
1944. During this time his public
service to the town of Meridian and Bosque county included: Justice of the
Peace, 1900-1904; County Judge
of Bosque County, 1904-1916; and Mayor of Meridian, 1924-1930. He also served as
president of the school
board of the Meridian Public School for nine years. Following his death his
daughter, Mary Pearl hale, kept
the insurance office until c. 1960.
From 1911 to 1926, the Lumpkin Building also housed the Farmers Guaranty
State Bank. Farmers Guaranty
was the second bank in town, competing for business with the First National Bank
directly across the street,
fervently encouraging small accounts in its local newspaper ads. Around 1926
this bank merged with First
National Bank, and later moved out of the Lumpkin Building.
Other occupants of the Lumpkin Building over the years included: J.T.
McConnell, grocery store, c. 1904;
Community Public Service (electric company), c. 1930-1960; drug store, 1970s;
John Hastings, attorney and
abstract offices, 1980s. John Hastings remodeled the upper floor in the 1980s.
In 1992, Bosque County
purchased the Lumpkin Building as the future home of the Bosque County
Collection, a research center for
local history, part of the Bosque County Historical Commission.
The succession of various businesses housed in the Lumpkin Building reflect
the steady nature of Meridian’s
economic growth. According to the 1900 census, the population for Meridian was
923. By 1910, Meridian’s
population had dropped to 718. The population rose to 1024 by 1920, however the
onset of the Great
Depression further hurt the slow growth of the town, whose population fell to
759 by 1930. Since the town
lacked significant transportation outlets that played so vital a role in the
growth of Texas communities during
the early 20th century, Meridian’s commercial area remained small, and buildings
like the Lumpkin survived
because of little need to replace them with larger, newer buildings.
The Lumpkin Building is a good example of turn of the century commercial
architecture in Bosque County,
exemplifying the 2-part commercial block form. Rectangular in shape, the 2-story
office building housed
businesses and retail establishments on the lower floor and offices on the upper
floor. The building’s
configuration reflects this usage, with large plate glass storefront windows and
an overhanging canopy on the
street level and smaller, more private arched windows on the upper level. The
vernacular architecture of the
Lumpkin Building using readily accessible building materials such as limestone
typifies commercial buildings
of this time period in Bosque County.
Of the remaining commercial buildings built in Meridian during this time
period, the Lumpkin Building stands
relatively intact. The courthouse, built in 1886 of limestone from the quarry
west of town, was remodeled in
1935 at which time the towers were removed. The two commercial buildings from
this period which remain in
use are the 1889 First National Bank Building (NR 1979) and the 1896 IOOF
Building, just across Main
Street from the Lumpkin Building, both of which have sustained alterations.
The Lumpkin Building carries a long association with the commercial
development of Meridian as a small
rural Texas county seat. Occupying a prominent corner lot just north of the
courthouse, it served as an anchor
for surrounding commercial development throughout the late 19th and early 20th
century. Its variety of
occupants illustrates the sufficiency of the building to provide commercial
facilities for the needs of the town
which has maintained a relatively consistent level of economic and population
growth throughout its history.
Further, its recent rehabilitation of the primary facade makes it an important
and intact local example of
vernacular commercial architecture in Meridian.
Bibliography
A Glimpse of Meridian, Texas, County Seat of Bosque County. Meridian: The
Dunlap Publishing Company., c.
1920.
Bosque County Deed Records, Meridian, Texas.
Bosque County Historical Committee. Bosque County: Land and People. Dallas: Curtis Media Corp., 1985.
Bosque County Probate Records, Meridian, Texas.
Cureton, H.J. Sketch of Early History of Bosque County. Meridian, Texas: Tribune Printing Co., 1904.
History of Texas Supplemented with Biographical Mention of Many Prominent
Persons and Families of the
State. 2 Vols., Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1896; reprint, Ann Arbor:
University Microfilms
International, 1980.
Oral history interview with J.T. Lomax, 1994. On file with the Bosque County Collection, Meridian, Texas.
Pool, William. A History of Bosque County. San Marcos: San Marcos Record Press, 1954.
The Bosque Citizen. Meridian, Texas, 1886-1900.
The Clifton Record, Clifton, Texas, various issues.
The Meridian Tribune. Meridian, Texas, 1901-1927.
The Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide. Galveston: A.H. Belo & Co., 1904, 1912, and 1925.
The Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide. Dallas: The Dallas News, 1931.
The Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide. Dallas: A.H. Belo Corporation, 1943.
Tyler, Ron, ed. The New Handbook of Texas (Vol. 1 and 4). Austin: The Texas
State Historical Association,
1996.
Vertical Files - Bosque County. Texas Collection, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Vertical Files - Meridian County. Texas Collection, Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Volz, John. Preservation Master Plan for Rehabilitation as the New Home of
the Bosque County Collection.
Austin: Volz and Associates, 1993.
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County Coordinator:
Gayle Triller
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