Hardy-Williams Building
a.k.a. Williams Pharmacy;Hillburn's Pharmacy;See Also:Hays County C
127 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos, TXThe Hardy-Williams Building is the best preserved of the commercial structures on the north side of the courthouse square and is strongly reminiscent of the pre-boom, late 19th century. Of rough- and smooth-cut limestone, the building is accented with round arches on its second floor. Several businesses important to small-town life have occupied the structure.
The building was constructed before 1886 by H. Hardy as a feed store. At one point, there was a double door that allowed horse carts to enter. Talmadge and Hudson then operated a hardware store at this address. During the first decade of the 20th century, probably in 1906, Dr. William C. Williams opened his medical office upstairs. His brother, John, ran Williams Drugstore downstairs. Dr. Williams, a native of nearby Caldwell County, and a 1905 graduate of the University of Tennessee's Medical School, also ran the San Marcos Sanitarium at 1251 Belvin. Following Dr. William's death in 1947, the business was sold to Mr. B.D. Hillburn, although the building remained in the hands of Williams' heirs. John Carson now runs a drugstore there, and the soda fountain continues to be a downtown gathering point.
Bibliography
Interview with Myrtle Penn Williams Tarbutton, April 29, 1982.
San Marcos Record, Golden Anniversary Issue, September 20, 1962.
San Marcos Record, November 7, 1947.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.