Brownwood Town History

Courthouse

The first courthouse in Brown County was a log cabin east of its present site. The courthouse was moved due to the unavailability of a decent well. In 1865, a second story was added to a building that was to serve as a Masonic Lodge. When title to the land proved defective, the courthouse was moved to its current location, and it burned in 1880. There was no courthouse from 1880 to 1885. The cornerstone for a new courthouse on the same site was laid on October 30, 1884. In 1916 the County decided to repair or remodel the courthouse and in doing so the building was so thoroughly torn down and repaired that only the vault and a few walls from the 1884 courthouse survived. The courthouse of today is known as classical revival brick.

Brown County Jail

The old Brown County Jail, now the Brown County Museum of History, was started in 1902 and completed in 1903 and exemplifies the principles that governed jail design in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The building was constructed using stone cut in Brown County and many historians believe it came from what is now Lake Brownwood. One of the most famous prisoners to ever occupy the old jail was Ray Bourbon, an English actor. He claimed to have acted with Mae West and others of the era. He owned 35 cats and 75 dogs, among other critters. Bourbon boarded the animals with a Mr. Blount in Big Spring when he was on the road. Upon his return, Bourbon got into an argument with Blount over the bill and killed him. Bourbon was brought to Brownwood to stand trial. One day during his stay at the jail, he asked to make a phone call and when he had completed the call he could not find the jailer. Discovering the front door open, he walked out. As he walked down the street, he remembered some American movies where they turned prisoners loose in order to shoot them, so he promptly walked back to the jail. Bourbon died in jail before his sentence could be carried out. The museum was organized in 1983 by a group of Brownwood citizens to showcase the history of this area.

R. F. Hardin Museum, Inc.

The inception of Rufus F. Hardin High School began when George E. Smith, an ex-Buffalo soldier and elder, came to Brownwood from Fort Concho in San Angelo in 1883 or 1885. He established the school for African-American children, which eventually became known as R. F. Hardin High School. In the beginning, school was held in buildings and the local African-American churches. Rufus F. Hardin, an experienced teacher, was contacted several times and encouraged by school officials to come to Brownwood to teach the African-American children. He moved to Brownwood and became principal and teacher. He taught school in buildings located at the corner of Cordell and Hendericks streets and Beaver and Cordell streets. The school was referred to as the Cordell School. Originally the highest grade level was six but later was extended through the eighth grade. During the early stages of the development of the school, there were only two teachers. It was not until 1910 that the Board of Trustees of the public school district decided to purchase lots on which to construct a school for "the colored people." A building was not constructed; instead, two wooden buildings were placed on the lots. The two buildings burned in 1917.

The Coggin School located on Avenue D, which was built in 1891, burned in 1916. On May 12, 1917, BISD decided to use the stone from the burned Coggin School to build a "negro" school consisting of four rooms. The school opened in September 1917 with three classrooms and an auditorium. Principal Hardin and his male students built a balcony over a portion of the rear of the auditorium to have space for manual training as well as a science area. The school was called Brownwood Colored High School and the first class to graduate from the stone building were students in 1918. In 1934 the school's name was changed to R. F. Hardin in honor of Professor Hardin, who had become ill. During the late 1930s the school campus began to expand and improvements were made to provide the students with a better education. In 1947, R. F. Hardin, with its 12 grades, became a "fully affiliated and accredited high school." On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court called for the desegregation of public schools. To conform with the decree, Brownwood ISD integrated the ninth to twelfth grades during the 1955-56 school year. The elementary grades remained and Hardin High's name changed to R. F. Hardin Elementary. The school did not receive any improvements until 1960. However, the school was integrated and the district had to comply with the newly created federal guidelines of the Civil Rights Act. It was voted in June 1966 to close Hardin Elementary as a public school. In October 1966 a Project Head Start program utilized the old stone school. The program closed in 1970 and the old school closed, too. The real heritage of the R. F. Hardin School lies in its past and future. The future of the school is to be preserved as a museum. Efforts to raise money for restoration and the opening of the museum continue. Grant assistance has come from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Anyone wishing to donate on behalf of the museum should contact Carol Spratt at 646-8188 or 643-5644 or Becky Green at 643-5495 or 646-0462. Donations can also be mailed to P.O. Box 1968, Brownwood, TX 76804.

Boysen Meat Market

Most folks do not remember when North Fisk was East Broadway, but that's what it was in 1947. If you walk down the street, you must surely see Julie A. Taylor's CPA office at 205 Fisk. The B. S. "Steve" Boysen family, who came over from Denmark, built this two-story building in 1880. They opened the Boysen Meat Market on the first floor and the family lived on the second floor. There was an ad in the 1913 telephone book that stated, "Choice meats of all kinds, fish and oysters in season." I always wondered how they got their oysters to Brownwood in 1913. It must have been by train, as you just didn't travel from the coast in a wagon and keep the stuff cold. Boysen owned a large pasture near town and his pens were always filled with "beeves, hogs and sheep" for his customers' needs! The Boysen Market was still in business in 1930.

The Graham Hotel

I was told that next door to Taylor's office was the old Crown Hotel, built in 1904 and in business till 1919. The William Graham family took over the hotel from 1919 to 1932 and named it the Graham Hotel. When the Grahams took over the hotel, it had only three stories. If you look up, you will notice that a fourth floor was added. This was done in 1920, and one of the first elevators in town was added. The Brownwood Rotary Club, which was organized in 1920, first met in this hotel.

At the beginning of World War II and the building of Camp Bowie, the old hotel was remodeled and was used by the Salvation Army USA for a USO Club until the war was over. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Chamber of Commerce offices, as well as the Soil Conservation Service office, were in the building. A clothing center was located on the third floor, and the Jaycees had a boys' club on the fourth floor. They had a boxing ring and a boxing club. Ed Devenry had boxing matches on the fourth floor. In the late '50s the building was sold to the VFW. They held bingo on the second floor and had their meetings on the first floor. The Eagles Club also met on the second floor. Insurance specialists have occupied the building since 1988. Prior to that time, Landmark Life was in the building when Putter Jarvis bought the building, remodeled it and moved in February 1968.

Courthouse Square

If one would take a trip around the courthouse square in 1880, they would have seen a much different set of businesses than are there today. For instance, there were nine saloons to quench the thirst of any cowboy. Starting with what is now the offices of Charlie V. Gamblin, Attorney, and prior to that the Corner Drug, there was the Happy Jack's Saloon. In the 1880s the White Elephant Saloon was next door with its sign, a white elephant on a pole, out in front. Next door to this saloon was Hodges and McCord, a general mercantile store, followed by another saloon known as the "OO Saloon." You can still see "saloon" written on the wall inside the remodeled building. Other businesses included J. M. Summers, a clothing and grocery store; a drug store; Ramey, Smith & Company, which was another clothing and grocery store; then a fruit and confectionery called "The Hole In The Wall," operated by Jim Smith. The corner store was occupied by the Looney Dry Goods and Grocery. J. C. Weakley, of Weakly-Watson Hardware Store, had his first hardware store in the same block, at 209 S. Broadway, in 1876.

George Edward Smith

George E. Smith moved to Brownwood in 1885 and found there was no school for the small population of African-American children. He saw the opportunity to create a school and approached the School Board. After meeting the Board's requirements he established the first school for "negros" in Brownwood and was the first teacher and principal beginning in 1886. Before arriving in Brownwood, Smith served with the Buffalo Soldiers in the 10th Cavalry in campaigns against the Apaches in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. After leaving the Army, Smith was appointed a deacon in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in San Angelo. In 1883 he was ordained an elder by Bishop Richard H. Cain, who was appointing enlisted soldiers at Fort Concho in San Angelo to go into unoccupied territories and organize AME churches. Since Brownwood had only one African-American church, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, he undertook the task of establishing an AME church. In 1888, he organized a church and named it Lee Chapel AME. He was instrumental in securing water for the Bailey neighborhood. The program was completed on the day of his death. He died on August 9, 1912, and is buried at Greenleaf Cemetery. Years later, Brownwood citizens, with the cooperation of the Federal Housing Authority, named the George Smith Housing Project in his honor.

Click here for a bibliography of Brownwood history. (PDF document.)

Click here for before and after postcards/images of Brownwood, Texas