Faulk and Gauntt Building
217 N. Prairieville St., Athens, TXThe Faulk and Guantt Building is an excellent example of late Victorian commercial architecture. It is one of the few Athens buildings which remains intact from the prosperous railroad era. Furthermore, the history of ownership of the site and structure includes several pioneer families of the community.
Originally part of the 1821 Spanish grant to Thomas Palmer, the site, identified as Lot 1, Block 4, passed through several owners before being purchased by Judges W.L. and J.J. Faulk in January 1873. By 1893 J.R. Gauntt had purchased the property which then included a building that had served as the law offices of Faulk and Faulk. In preparation for the construction of the current building, the existing one was razed.
Constructed by Hawn Lumber Company, the new building housed first a mercantile business and later a grocery store on the ground floor, and the Faulk law offices as well as offices of both a physician and dentist on the second floor. Located near the St. Louis and Southwestern Railroad (later known as the Cotton Belt), the building was ideally suited for commercial use. However, with the advent of the automobile, the site, which afforded minimal space for parking, suffered a decline in use. After the closing of the grocery store and professional offices in the early 20th century, the building was unoccupied except for occasional, short-lived uses. From 1909-10 a small manufacturing business was housed there, and from 1944-46 it served as the City Hall of Athens.
In 1924 the Gaunt family sold the building to the son of W.L. Faulk. It remained in the Faulk family until 1975 when Joe M. Holloway purchased it. He in turn sold it to the newly founded Henderson County Historical Society in 1979 which plans to convert it into a museum.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
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.