HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Site of Warner Building

Claude, Armstrong County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Erected at this site in 1909 by civic leaders Dr. William A. (1864-1934) and Phebe K. (1866-1935) Warner, the Warner Building played an important role in Claude's development. Designed by the Amarillo architectural firm of Heckman and Hartley, the building housed Dr. Warner's medical office, the Warners' Gate City Drugstore, public rest rooms, a barber shop, the "Claude News" newspaper office, a public reading room, a lodge hall, and rental office space. After a fire destroyed the building in 1915, the Warners reopened their drugstore at another location.

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

In 1909 civic leaders Dr. William A. Warner and Phebe K. Warner built a two-story hub at the heart of the young Panhandle town of Claude. Designed by an Amarillo architectural firm, the Warner Building packed in a doctor's office, the Gate City Drugstore, a barber shop, the Claude News, a public reading room, a lodge hall, and even public rest rooms. A fire destroyed it in 1915, but the Warners simply reopened their drugstore elsewhere.

Why it matters

Buildings like this were the beating heart of small frontier towns, where medicine, news, commerce, and community life all gathered under one roof.

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Related people

  • · Dr. William A. Warner
  • · Phebe K. Warner

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionWomen's HistoryFrontier HistoryLandmark

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