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The general store,
post office, doctor's office, saloon and blacksmith store at
The Grove.
Photo
Copyright© Laura Kestner |
If you’ve ever thought you’d like to
step back in time, then step into the W.J. Dube General Store in The
Grove, Texas. It’s probably the closest you’ll get. My family and I
made the trip recently after hearing about The Grove from our friend
Fred, who’d visited the historic “museum town” some years ago and
deemed it worth the drive.
Located just off Hwy 36, between
Gatesville and Temple in Coryell County, The Grove, a tiny little
place, is equal parts now and then, with a handful of homes and
churches comprising the “now” and a handful of old buildings –
completely outfitted with their original fixtures, artifacts,
turn-of-the-century accouterments and old items – providing the
“then.”
Moody Anderson, an elderly man with an
apparent love of the past, is responsible for maintaining the
historical accuracy of The Grove. Although Mr. Anderson wasn’t there
the afternoon we toured the place (due to ill health, we’re told) a
friend of his had opened the doors for others (who want to have a
wedding at the site) and that man invited us to take a look as well.
The general store is only one of
several businesses – there’s also a doctor’s office, a post office,
a blacksmith shop, a saloon and others – but it is by far the most
spectacular. Complete with wooden floors and tin ceilings, the old
store is jam-packed with things from the past, including bolts of
material, threads (still on the wooden spools), shoes, medicine
bottles and boxes, tins, house wares, etc. According to a pamphlet
available there, the general store supplied the surrounding area
with all the essentials of life – including a social gathering place
where folks could sit around the wood-burning stove and swap
stories. There are old coffee grinders, washing machines, coffins,
tools, and hardware items on display as well. Some of the stuff was
original to the store, and other pieces were collected through the
years.
The Planters State Bank, established in
the early 1900s, occupies one corner of the store, and the pamphlet
notes that the original fixtures – including a walk-in safe – can be
seen just as they were when robbers made an unscheduled withdrawal
in 1927.
If you walk through a door on the
opposite side of the general store, you’ll find The Grove U.S. Post
Office, established in 1874. The original window and numbered boxes
are still in place.
In the center of the road that runs in
front of the buildings, there’s a well. It was the original water
source for The Grove, and has allegedly never gone dry.
A doctor’s office (which we did not see
the inside of) is directly upstairs from the post office. It was
noted that the first doctor arrived in the area in 1867 and that the
office is outfitted with items typical of medical offices of that
time period. We were also told that the furnishings and materials in
that office were used in the movie Lonesome Dove.
In addition to the general store and
post office (a quick look) two other businesses we got to tour were
the blacksmith shop -- packed with old tools of every kind – and the
Cocklebur Saloon. According to the young woman who was planning her
wedding when we were there, the saloon is sometimes used for private
parties, but that often visitors and tourists can purchase soft
drinks there as well. The young woman said she’d heard that the
group of buildings – representing life as it will never be again –
was up for sale. I can only hope that whoever purchases it doesn’t
change a thing.
According to the Handbook of Texas, in
1900 The Grove was one of the most prosperous towns in the county.
In 1904, it had a two-teacher school with 60 students, and many
businesses. The community began to decline in the 1940s, when it was
by-passed by State Highway 36. A short-time later, some farmers were
forced to relocate when Fort Hood was established, and others lost
land when the Belton Dam was built in the 1950s. The population was
listed as 65 in 2000.
But at 6 p.m. on the third Saturday of
every month, new life is still breathed into the old town, when
musicians from around the state gather to play and sing at The
Grove. According to the pamphlet, there are professional musicians
as well as amateurs who perform and there are always plenty of those
“who just like to listen” in attendance. I’m sure there is music
from many eras presented, but I can’t help but believe that the
buildings themselves must surely enjoy the old stuff. |
