Michel's Drug Store
Marble Falls, Burnet County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Ernst Gustav Michel (1865-1930), a native of Germany, and his wife, Lillie Agnes, opened a drugstore at this site in 1891. After fire destroyed the first store in 1905, Michel built a 3-story edifice here. The first floor housed the drugstore and soda fountain. The second floor was an opera house with seating for 300 people. The top floor had the family's living quarters. That structure burned in a fire that destroyed an entire city block in 1927. All four Michel children who lived to adulthood studied pharmacy. The Michel family has operated a drugstore at this location since 1891.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Ernst Gustav Michel, a German immigrant, and his wife Lillie Agnes opened a drugstore on this site in 1891. After fire destroyed the first store in 1905, Michel raised a three-story building with the drugstore and soda fountain below, a 300-seat opera house on the second floor, and the family's quarters above — only for it to burn again in the great block fire of 1927. All four of the Michel children who reached adulthood became pharmacists, and the family has kept a drugstore here since 1891.
Why it matters
A single immigrant family's drugstore, rebuilt through repeated fires and passed down generations, shows the enduring role of the corner pharmacy in small-town American life.
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Related people
- · Ernst Gustav Michel
- · Lillie Agnes Michel
Themes & tags
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