Struve Family Businesses
Abernathy, Hale County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Fritz W. Struve (1877-1959) came here from Burnet County in 1912, 3 years after city was founded, started a grocery store; was joined by brother Ben F. (1879-1947) in 1918. Family operated wide variety of businesses vital to the early economic success of the community: grocery (1912-1962), hardware (1913- ), implements (1913- ), dry goods (1918- ), tin shop (?-1923), cheese factory (1929-1951). The cheese enterprise was unique to this region, producing an average of 1800 pounds per day. Fritz W. Struve was elected as first mayor in 1924, serving 3 terms in that office. (1972)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Fritz W. Struve arrived in the young town of Abernathy in 1912, just three years after its founding, and opened a grocery; his brother Ben joined him in 1918. Over the following decades the Struves ran an interlocking web of enterprises—grocery, hardware, implements, dry goods, a tin shop, and a cheese factory that turned out some 1,800 pounds a day, an unusual venture for the region. Fritz also served as Abernathy's first mayor, elected in 1924.
Why it matters
Family-run mercantile networks like the Struves' were the economic backbone of the small High Plains towns that sprang up as the Panhandle was settled and farmed.
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Related people
- · Fritz W. Struve
- · Ben F. Struve
Themes & tags
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