Old Perry Building
Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Erected 1871, before Del Rio was founded, by John Perry, as General Store. Once the largest store between San Antonio and El Paso. Served also as courthouse, church, Masonic lodge, and post office. Given in 1965 to city and county by descendants of Walter and Will Whitehead. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John Perry raised this sturdy building in 1871, before Del Rio itself was even founded, to serve as a general store — reputedly the largest between San Antonio and El Paso. On the thinly settled border it doubled as courthouse, church, Masonic lodge, and post office, the kind of all-purpose hub that frontier towns grew up around. Perry's descendants gave it to the city and county in 1965.
Why it matters
Buildings like the Old Perry Store show how a single frontier general store could serve as the civic, commercial, and spiritual heart of a whole borderland community.
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Related people
- · John Perry
Themes & tags
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