Red Store Story

The education center is believed to have been built in the early 1890’s, about the time President Eisenhower was born two blocks to the south. First listing in Denison City Directories on the property at 600 South Lamar shows a Thomas Marr Grocery at the location in 1891-92. Another store, the Douglas and Freeman Grocery, was listed less than a block away at 518 South Lamar.

By 1898 the Red Store grocery was owned by Mrs. Estella P. Kemp and the grocery in the next block had become the M.P. Reynolds Saloon.

Wm. Etzel paid the taxes, amounting to $1, on the Red Store in 1903 and by 1907 was operating a grocery at 600 South Lamar. A photograph dated 1908 shows the building with a vertical false front, a lean-to roofed area to the south, and a full length porch. A smaller building of similar configuration with false front is positioned in the copy of the photograph about 12 feet to the south. Both buildings display a board and batten exterior. The 1908 and 1914 Sanborn maps show a full addition across the back side of the building. That addition has not existed for many years.

Roofing materials indicated the main roof was wood and the south and east roofs were sheet metal. The building is constructed on both wood and stone piers. The structure consists of one large rectangular room with two smaller rooms to the South, all under one offset gable roof. The west entrance is original to the building.

Two well-known present residents of Denison and Sherman have strong ties to the Red Store.

Senior District Judge R. C. Vaughan, his parents, Samuel B. and Anna Vaughan, and his sister, Inez, later Inez Hord, lived in the building in the late 19-teen years when his parents operated a grocery there. Denison Herald Editor Emeritus Claud Easterly worked in the store and delivered grocery by bicycle in the mid-20’s when his uncle, F.R. Lawrence operated a meat market in the building.

By 1917 the Denison Directory lists F.B. Armsworthy as operator of a grocery in the building and by 1920 Kile W. and Willie Dowdy were listed as running a store there. By 1925 F. R. Lawrence operated a grocery there, then in 1946 the focus changed to antiques when Louise Bales opened a shop. For a number of years after then, the operation was the Red Barn Antiques and Gifts.

The building had been vacant for a number of years when the property was acquired in 1990 by the citizens of Denison and turned over to Texas Parks & Wildlife on President Eisenhower’s 100th Birthday.

When exterior renovation work began in about 1995, the seven layers of roofing were removed to shore up the roofline, windows were reworked, the building was leveled as much as possible and the exterior was painted to match the new roof - red of course.

Grants from three local foundations were responsible in large part for the renovation of the interior. While the building is now insulated, sheet rocked, carpeted and centrally heated and cooled for comfort, the flavor of the old building has been retained with ceiling fans, the wooden ceiling and west wall and the original eight foot tall front doors.

The side rooms of the building have been turned into a small kitchen area, a storage room and a small meeting room to be utilized by the park’s Friends group, United Supporters for Ike’s Birthplace which is sponsoring the Eisenhower Seminar.

The building will be used as an educational center for programs when student or adult groups visit the park. This will be especially helpful on days of inclement weather. Programs such as the Eisenhower Seminar cam be held regularly in the building whenever inside events are called for.

The building also is available to rent for a small fee for individual or community activities such as business meetings, dinners, reunions, receptions, weddings, etc. Contact the office at 903/465-8908 to reserve the building.

Next door to the building is a covered pavilion which seats about 50 people and has handicap accessible rest rooms attached. This building also is available for use by persons visiting the park and for rent after hours for special activities.

The above material was provided courtesy of Donna Hunt. She can be contacted at dhunlimited@texoma.net

Denison History

Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site
609 South Lamar
·Denison, TX 75021 ·
(903) 465-8908 · Fax: (903) 465-8988
e-mail: birthplace@glassportal.net