Davenport Grocery
Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas
Marker Inscription
DAVENPORT GROCERY RALL D. DAVENPORT (1902-1998), A NATIVE OF ARKANSAS, AND ORA L. DAVENPORT (1905-1997) MOVED TO WICHITA FALLS AROUND 1920 AND SETTLED IN THEIR HOME AT 3RD AND SEYMOUR STREET (NOW FARRIS STREET). RECOGNIZING THE NEED FOR A GROCERY STORE, THE DAVENPORTS DECIDED TO CONVERT THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE INTO A STORE IN 1926. AT THAT TIME, THE AREA WAS STILL IN THE OIL BOOM AND THE STORE SERVED OIL FIELD WORKERS AND RAILROAD EMPLOYEES. THE ORIGINAL HARDWOOD FLOORS REMAIN AS WELL AS THE ORIGINAL COUNTER AND AN EIGHTY-YEAR-OLD SOLID OAK MEAT-CUTTING BLOCK. FOR MANY DECADES, DAVENPORT GROCERY, HOME OF THE HOT LINKS, HAS SERVED THE COMMUNITY. THE DAVENPORT FAMILY CONTINUES TO OPERATE THIS THRIVING BUSINESS.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1926, at the height of the North Texas oil boom, Rall and Ora Davenport turned the front of their Wichita Falls home into a neighborhood grocery serving oil-field hands and railroad men. Generations later the store still stands, its original hardwood floors, counter, and decades-old oak butcher block intact, and it remains famous locally as the 'home of the hot links.'
Why it matters
A family grocery that has outlasted the boom that birthed it is a living reminder of the small enterprises that anchored working-class oil-patch communities across Texas.
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Related people
- · Rall D. Davenport
- · Ora L. Davenport
Themes & tags
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