Praeger Building
Beeville, Bee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
San Antonio businessman Albert Praeger (1864-1930) moved to Beeville in the 1890s to open a hardware store and tin shop. He built this Romanesque Revival structure in 1906 to house his business, which included buggies and wagons as well as barbed wire and tools. In 1925 when Sam Mitchell became store manager, the second floor storage space was converted into apartments. Since the turn of the century, this has been a landmark on the courthouse square. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
San Antonio businessman Albert Praeger settled in Beeville in the 1890s and opened a hardware store and tin shop. In 1906 he built this handsome Romanesque Revival building to house his trade in buggies, wagons, barbed wire, and tools. In 1925 its upper floor of storage was converted into apartments, and it has anchored the courthouse square ever since.
Why it matters
The building embodies the merchant enterprise that outfitted the ranching country of South Texas, when barbed wire and wagons were the tools that closed the open range.
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Related people
- · Albert Praeger
Themes & tags
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