Kohl, Ernst Martin, Building

Denison, in northeastern Grayson County five miles south of old Colbert's Ferry on the Red River, is a railroad and industrial center which came into existence as a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route in 1858. The town was named for George Denison, director of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad when that line was built in 1872. Served also by the Kansas, Oklahoma, and Gulf and St. Louis, San Francisco, and Texas Railroads, Denison is the location of numerous railroad stops.

Ernst Martin Kohl was one of those profiting from the railroad boom that followed the Civil War. Born in Weimar, Germany in 1857, the son of a railroad director, Kohl's interest in railroads started at an early age. As a student in navigation school, Mr. Kohl enlisted in the German Navy at Hamburg in 1873. Advancing to the rank of captain, he served for fourteen years in the German Navy and Merchant Marine. Kohl came to Texas in 1884 and visited Austin where construction on the State Capitol Building was in progress. He was connected with the project for a short time, until moving to Denison in 1855 where he established a grocery business that prospered. Moving from two earlier locations, in 1893 Kohl took his business into the hub of the railroad shop district to the 300 East Main Street location.

Kohl was linked to railroading in several other ways. He was General Agent for the Frisco Lot and Land Company, bringing prospective settlers by railroad to inspect railroad-owned lands in Oklahoma which he sold on commission. As a devoted observer of the industry, Kohl had an extensive collection of railroad memorabilia including bills of lading on the first freight shipped to Denison by several different railroads and the original Denison sign that marked the first station there.

E.M. Kohl's general grocery store and saloon prospered in the railroad district location. In 1908, he started construction on his residence built above the store. The two-and-one-half-story residence, using 70,000 bricks, was built on top of the existing one-story stone structure. The Kohl family opened the "Hotel Traveler's Home" in 1929 in the lower portions of their residence. Railroad passengers and crewmen, and "drummers" were the usual guests, however, the dining room was always reserved for family and friends.

Kohl closed his grocery and saloon in 1933, shortly before his death in 1935. The "Hotel Traveler's Home" was in operation for a relatively short time, closing sometime after Kohl's death but before 1940. The Interstate Fine Arts Society occupied the first floor of the building from 1949-1951 and was the only commercial occupation after the hotel's closing. Mrs. Erna Wilson, E.M. Kohl's daughter and administrator for her father's estate, sold the land and building at 300 East Main Street to the Bud Tuckers in 1968. The Tuckers, local antique dealers, used the space for storage and kept the building intact. The Tuckers sold the property in 1975, to Dr. and Mrs. D.H. Brandt of Denison, whose three sons are in the process of restoring the building for use as a restaurant and private club. The backyard and wine cellar will be utilized as a beer garden, with plans calling for the restoration of the adjacent barn as well.

The Ernst Martin Kohl Building, presently under restoration for adaptive reuse, is important to Denison as a tangible link with the city's railroad heritage. The present owners, realizing the historic value of the building, are emphasizing this connection by utilizing a railroad theme in their proposed "Down By The Station" restaurant and club. In addition to being historically important to Denison, the Kohl Building is significant to the community as a fine example of eclectic architecture.