Home Mercantile
Nazareth, Castro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
For 90 years, starting in 1905, Nazareth residents purchased goods here. The original wood-frame structure, built by Fred Heidgerken with living quarters above, opened its main floor to home shopping needs and the storing and selling of fresh meat and dairy products. In 1928, Ed Kern and Conrad Schulte built a new brick and concrete building, the first in town, that came to include the post office from 1937-1980. The building also hosted such social activities as weekly poker games, amateur boxing matches, a community bulletin board, and occasional liquor sales from the back door. While the store closed in 1995, social and cultural events of the community continue to be celebrated here. (2014)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
For ninety years beginning in 1905, Home Mercantile supplied the German Catholic town of Nazareth with groceries, fresh meat, and dairy. The original wood-frame store had living quarters above; in 1928 a new brick-and-concrete building—the town's first—rose in its place and later housed the post office from 1937 to 1980. Beyond commerce, it hosted poker games, amateur boxing, and a community bulletin board.
Why it matters
The store shows how a single mercantile could serve as the economic and social heart of a small rural community for generations.
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Themes & tags
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