Waples-Platter Grocery Company
Denison, Grayson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The Waples-Platter Grocery Company was established in 1872, before the City of Denison. Founded as Hanna, Owens & Co. In 1871, the company supplied Missouri-Kansas-Texas (mkt) railroad workers with provisions. The company moved to Main Street where a commercial district was quickly established. They set up a building in the 100 block of East Main Street in 1873 and became the first wholesale grocery company in the city. In 1885, E.B. Waples bought interest in the company and was named president of the firm. The same year, a large warehouse and headquarters was constructed by architect P. Lelardoux at 104 E. Main Street. It was a two-story building with cast iron pilasters in the façade, terra cotta lions head statues, keystones and segmented arch openings. The elegant building was meant to symbolize the company’s prominence in Denison and survived for 128 years until it was demolished in 2013. In 1887, the company was renamed Waples-Platter & Company and their line of grocery products became known as the White Swan Line. The first branch house at Gainesville opened in 1890 and the Fort Worth branch opened in 1893. The Waples-Platter Canning Plant, known as Ranch Style, Inc., opened in 1913. Known as the greatest accomplishment of Waples-Platter, Ranch Style Beans was the company’s most famous and lasting product. Once the headquarters of the company moved, the Denison operation remained until 1959. The original headquarters building in Denison was sold to Griffin Wholesale Grocer Company in 1941 when Waples-Platter moved to the annex building at 110-112 S. Houston until 1959.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Founded in 1871 to feed the crews building the Katy railroad, this firm grew into Denison's first wholesale grocery house and, as Waples-Platter, one of the region's commercial giants. From its ornate 1885 headquarters on East Main—terra cotta lions' heads and cast-iron pilasters advertising its prominence—the company shipped its White Swan line across Texas. Its canning plant gave the nation Ranch Style Beans, the company's most enduring legacy.
Why it matters
It shows how a railhead supply depot could blossom into a regional industrial empire, and how a homely can of beans became a lasting piece of Texas foodways.
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Related people
- · E. B. Waples
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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