Burton Cafe
Burton, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Built in 1937 by Edward Whitener and Quintus Zwernemann, this cafe has been a popular feature of downtown Burton through the years. Serving as both a cafe and social center for generations, it also included a liquor store at one time. Outdoor bathroom facilities were replaced in 1984. Its simple architectural features include a false front stepped parapet sheathed in metal stamped in a brick pattern. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1992
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Built in 1937 by Edward Whitener and Quintus Zwernemann, the Burton Cafe has anchored this small town's main street for generations, serving as both an eatery and a social gathering place — and for a time a liquor store. Its simple false-front stepped parapet is sheathed in metal stamped to imitate brick.
Why it matters
The cafe embodies the everyday social life of small-town Texas across the twentieth century.
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Related people
- · Edward Whitener
- · Quintus Zwernemann
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Burton State Bank
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Chartered in 1906, the Burton State Bank served this small Washington County farming town under its founding president, C. W. Homeyer. When banks failed across the country during the Great Depression, Burton State closed for just three days, was examined and found solvent, and reopened—operating on this site until 1965.
Steiner & Dallmeyer Building
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Built by 1875 to house the Burton Farmers Co-op, this commercial building took on new life in 1903 when German immigrants William Dallmeyer and Joe Steiner opened a mercantile store that ran for more than fifty years. It held the town's first telephone and served as a cotton-marketing hub, its double-gable roof, wooden balustrade, and 1913 false-front addition still marking Burton's main street.
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