|
|
|
|
|
|
The Nacogdoches
Historic Town Center stands in the middle of
Nacogdoches' public square in the heart of
downtown. It was originally the Nacogdoches
Federal Building and housed Nacogdoches' Post
Office and other federal offices.
|
|
Construction on the Nacogdoches
Federal Building was completed in the center of
Nacogdoches' public square on February 22, 1918. This
building has served the city in many ways: as a post
office, as office space for various government agencies,
as an army induction center, a public library, and
currently as a tourist center. Despite some renovations,
the building stands today on the public square much as it
has since its completion.
The Federal Government obtained
title to the property on August 12, 1915. The city held
an election to see if the people of Nacogdoches desired
to deed the site to the government; two hundred and fifty
- five people voted in the election, and two hundred and
thirteen voted for the sale. John C. Walker of Galveston
County and his brother, A. C. Walker of Tarrant County,
facilitated the sale of land by renouncing all claims to
land inherited by them that abutted the proposed site.
The government purchased the property from the City of
Nacogdoches for $4,500.00.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The site of the
Federal Building in 1917. The man on the right
is holding blueprints in his hand.
|
|
When construction of the new post
office was delayed, Mr. C. A. Hodges, the Nacogdoches
City Attorney, wrote a letter to James A. Wetmore, the
project's supervising architect. Mr. Wetmore responded by
explaining that:
"... at the
present time a general revision is being made in
the types used for post offices, and the
Nacogdoches building is included under this
heading. For this reason it is impossible to state
at this time just when the working drawings will be
taken up, but it is probable that if further
inquiry is made about the matter two months hence
the Department will be in a position to give more
definite information".
A. Y. Donegan, the Postmaster of
Nacogdoches, also tried to find out through Congressman
Martin Dies when the new building was to be started.
Congressman Dies responded that he has taken the matter
up with the Treasury Department, the agency responsible
for the building's construction.
|
The Battle of
Nacogdoches historical markers stands on the
south side of the Federal Building.
|
|
The letters from the city
attorney and the postmaster were not in vain.
The Daily Sentinel reported on February
6, 1917, that Mr. Kenneth McDonald representing
the firm of contractors that were awarded the
contract for the new post office, had arrived in
the city. The paper further reported that "The
Sentinel has not had opportunity to interview
the gentleman up to time for closing out
typesetting for today's paper, but we understand
that he has come prepared to inaugurate the work
at once, and push the building to completion".
Nacogdoches received heavy
rains during the month of February. This
hampered construction on the Federal Building.
The ground "... [was] so wet that it
could not be handled." This fact pushed back
construction for days.
M. A. Dolan,
superintendent of construction of the Treasury
Department, came to Nacogdoches in March to
inspect the project.
By April of 1917, the
basement had been excavated and the foundations
for the Federal Building had been completed. The
local paper reported that the erection of the
walls was the next order of business and that
this work would proceed more rapidly that did
the excavation work. Excavation of the basement
was also slowed down by the fact that the
building was built on top of an old Spanish
well. In order to circumvent this problem eight
feet of concrete was poured down the well shaft.
|
The following month the Sentinel reported that the
plumbing contract for the Federal Building went to Mr. S.
L. Randolph of the Lufkin Sanitary Plumbing and Heating
Company. The building itself was described as being still
under construction, but this is no indicator as to how
far the work was to completion.
The local paper remained silent on
the Federal Building's construction until February of
1918. This is understandable when one considers that the
United States had become involved in World War I. On the
13th of February, the Daily Sentinel reported that
the post office would move to its new location on March
1st. The paper also stated that all of the major work was
complete and only a few small details remained to be
completed. Post Master Donegan , remarking on the fact
that all of the equipment inside the post office's new
location was new, said that all that would be moved was
"... the stamps, mail and supplies." The paper commented
that the building was "...not so imposing in its
appearance from the outside as was expected." When the
building was completed the paper described the building
as "... one of the most handsome edifices which adorns
our pretty little city ...." The building's construction
cost $50,000.00.
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Nacogdoches
Federal Building under construction in 1917.
This photograph originally appeared in the
booklet 23 Reasons Why Stephen F. Austin
State Teachers College Should Be Located in
Nacogdoches.
|
|
Mr. A. Y. Donegan, Postmaster of
Nacogdoches from May 29, 1913 to March 3, 1923, oversaw
the post office's move from the Nacogdoches County Court
House to the new Federal Building. After the move, an
interesting incident occurred in the basement of the new
Federal Building. Two of the rural letter carriers were
working in the basement noticed that it had become quite
cluttered with old magazines and junk mail. They decided
to burn the mail for fuel rather than coal.
Unfortunately, this occurred on the same day that a
postal inspector came by the office to make his
inspection. Mr. Donegan was sent to federal court in
Tyler for destruction of mail, and one of the workers was
transferred to work at Texas A & M.
The government added a loading dock
on the back of the building to ease the process of
loading and unloading the Mail. As the city of
Nacogdoches grew, so did the volume mail. This situation
could only be remedied by a larger facility.
In 1964, Nacogdoches' post office
moved to a larger location on West Main next door to the
police station. The Federal Building remained the
property of the Federal Government, which used the
building to simultaneously house the offices of the
Farmer's Home Administration, the Armed Forces
Recruiters, the Federal Land Bank and the Federal Land
Administration.
The government, at the request of
the city, transferred the deed to the Federal Building to
the City of Nacogdoches on August, 10,1973, for "…
educational use." It served as a public library until
April of 1997, when the Americans with Disabilities Act,
and the need for more space, forced the library to move
to a new location. The City of Nacogdoches renovated the
structure for use as a library, which included lowering
the ceilings, removing walls, vaults and the boiler in
the basement. No changes, other than the addition of a
sign, were made to the exterior of the building.
The building has undergone
renovations to make it compliant with the Americans with
Disabilities Act. The building serves as the offices of
the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, and as a
center for tourist information. Renovations to the
basement are not complete, but the rear loading dock was
converted into a stage and several ramps were added to
the building.
The renovated interior of the
Nacogdoches Federal Building, now called the Historic
Town Center, can be view in either a large
(better quality) or small
(faster load time) QuickTime VR file.
The
Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors
Bureau
200 East Main Street
Nacogdoches, Texas 75961
1-888-564-7351
|
|
Hours of Operation
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM Monday -
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00PM Saturday
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM on Sunday
Tours of Downtown
Nacogdoches begin in Spring (Call for
times).
|
