National Register Listing

Wright Building

1 E. James St., Cleburne, TX

<p>With a fa&ccedil;ade stretching a full city block, the Wright Building stands as one of the most prominent commercial buildings in downtown Cleburne, Texas. Constructed in 1893 as a wagon and saddle shop, with a major addition and exterior remodeling completed in 1916, the Wright Building represents the turn-of-the-century growth of the North Texas community near the Johnson County courthouse square and the influence of a locally prominent merchant family. The building is nominated to the National Register in the area of Commerce, at the local level of significance, for its association with the commercial history of Cleburne in the late 19th and 20th centuries. It also meets the criterion in the area of Architecture, as an excellent local example of an early 20th-century brick 2-part commercial block.</p><h6>Development of Johnson County and Cleburne</h6><p>The city of Cleburne, the seat of Johnson County, Texas, is about thirty miles south of Fort Worth. The county covers parts of three geographical regions including the Grand Prairie to the west, and the Eastern Cross Timbers and Blackland Prairie to the east. Numerous streams drain the area as well as the Nolan River, which runs south through the center of the county and empties into the Brazos River on the southwestern border. The average annual rainfall is thirty-three inches, and temperatures average a low of 35&deg;F in winter and a high of 96&deg;F in summer. The economy of Johnson County has traditionally been based on agriculture, especially the cultivation of cotton, sorghum, and grains. Expansion of the Fort Worth metropolitan area, however, has spurred population and related economic growth.</p><p>Anglo settlement in the area began in the mid-1840s. The county was formed from Ellis, Navarro, and Hill counties in 1854 with a population of about 700. Johnson County was named for Middleton T. Johnson, soldier, Texas Ranger and legislator. The seat of government was initially established in the town of Wardville and then was relocated closer to the geographic center of the county in Buchanan in 1856. In 1866 the creation of Hood County and a resulting boundary shift left Buchanan several miles from the county center, so the special election was held in which Cleburne was chosen as the new seat of government. By 1892, Buchanan was a ghost town."</p><p>Cleburne (2000 pop. 26,005), the current county seat, was established in 1867. Due to its excellent water source on West Buffalo Creek, the site had previously served as a stopping point for travelers and later as a temporary Civil War military facility, Camp Henderson. The town was named in honor of Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, under whom many of the men had fought during the Civil War. The town was incorporated in May 1871 with a mayor-council form of government.</p><p>Much of Cleburne's early building stock consisted of buildings moved from Buchanan. The first court sessions were held in a relocated one-story frame building and the Buchanan jail was relocated behind it. By the time of its incorporation, the town had a post office, newspaper, several churches, and a school. As the town quickly grew many citizens felt bringing the railroad to Cleburne was the only way to survive as a community. The impact of the railroad on the growth of Cleburne is immeasurable. It seemingly overnight transformed the small community into an up-and-coming, prosperous town.</p><p>The first railroad arrived in Cleburne in 1881, when the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad connected the city to Forth Worth and Temple, while second-line Weatherford was completed in 1887. In 1898-99, the Santa Fe Railroad constructed central machine shops in Cleburne, helping to double the city's population in the 1890s. Numerous other regional railroad lines followed in the next few decades. In just 20 years, the city grew from 683 residents to nearly 4,000'. With the arrival of additional railroads such as the Chicago, Texas, and Mexican Central Railway towards the end of the 19th century and two additional terminals and the turn of the century, businesses and people flocked to Cleburne. From 1912 to 1930, Cleburne was served by an interurban line to Fort Worth served Cleburne, and the city supported a local streetcar system from 1911 to 1917. The 1920s proved to be tumultuous for the city, as multiple bank failures and a 1922 labor strike at Santa Fe depressed the economy. During the Great Depression, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp with 200 workers operated west of the city and built Cleburne State Recreation Park. In the postwar period, the city's proximity to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex influenced rapid population growth in Cleburne.</p><h6>Andrew J. Wright</h6><p><br>A.J. Wright was born on April 24, 1856, in Rocky Branch, Morris County, in northeast Texas. As a young man, Wright settled near Daingerfield, Texas, five miles south of Rocky Branch. Upset with the close proximity of his home to the newly constructed Cotton Belt Railroad and with a promise of free bricks to anyone who constructed a brick building in Naples, Wright moved to the town in 1881. It was in Naples that Wright started his first mercantile business. During his time in Naples, he made a nice business for himself, but he soon moved to Quanah in northwest Texas to pursue more opportunities. Although A.J. Wright stayed in Quanah for seven years, the harsh, arid climate and a struggling business led him to relocate to Cleburne in 1899, where he purchased the T. R. James Saddlery building on Main Street to house his dry goods operation.</p><p>Thomas R. (T.R.) James had purchased the property in December 1892 from G. W. Day (JCDR vol. 52, p. 294). When James purchased the property from Day had been occupied by a frame commercial building that housed a meat market, a grocery, a lunchroom, and a candy store." T. R. James demolished the old frame building and constructed the brick building in 1893. The 1893 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the building as "being built." It was occupied by T. R. James &amp; Sons Harness &amp; Saddlery and John L. Cleveland Hardware Co. T. R. James and his sons, W. D. and William were in business with him. James died in 1895 and they sold the building to Andrew J. Wright for $8,000 in August 1899.&nbsp;</p><p>As Cleburne grew and business prospered, Wright needed to expand his business. In 1916, he purchased the adjacent Hamilton Hotel building that fronted Caddo Street."2 In order to expand his business, he purchased the adjacent Hamilton Hotel building and site at the intersection of James and Caddo Streets to extend the existing building. He purchased the hotel from I. B. Goldsmith and his wife in August 1918 for $14,000.00. According to Sanborn maps, the Hamilton Hotel was built between March 1885 and June 1888. Lizzie Currie leased the Hamilton sometime after December 1904 and before March 1910 and changed the name to the Currie Hotel. The name of the hotel changed once again as the 1910 Sanborn map shows it as the Chaney Hotel. It later was renamed the Raymond Hotel sometime between March 1910 and August 1916 when A. J. Wright announced the purchase of the Raymond Hotel and plans to rebuild and expand the current dry-goods establishment.<br><br>Wright doubled the building to stretch from Main to Caddo along James Street, making it the largest mercantile space in Cleburne. The Wright Building expansion was designed with new brick on the exterior, windows, and new entrances on Main, James, and Caddo Streets. The total project cost: was $49,000 of which $35,000 was the cost of the addition and remodeling. The expansion also included a Grinnell Automatic Wet Sprinkler System with 352 heads and water was supplied by the City of Cleburne Water system. None of the original plans for the project have been located. The exterior was completely redesigned in a then-updated style with the same architectural features and a canopy around the three facades. The showroom windows and transoms on the Main Street facade were changed to accommodate the new Main Street entrance. The Caddo Street facade matches the Main Street facade. The new James Street entrance was placed in the portion of the expansion that was newly constructed to connect the two existing buildings.</p><p>The addition of the railroad and especially the Interurban in 1912 (with a passenger waiting room situated on the same block as the Wright Building) positively affected Wright's business and his activity in Cleburne. In addition to the Wright Building, he also constructed the Liberty Hotel across Caddo from his mercantile store in 1924. When the Santa Fe came to town there were no hotels or inns and with the increased visitors brought to Cleburne by the railroads, Wright decided to construct a place for traveling salespeople to stay as well as a place for them to display their goods. A.J. Wright became one of the more prominent businessmen and citizens of Cleburne and left a profound impact on the development of the city with his contribution to brick construction. He continued to operate his business until his early 20s. His sons took over shortly before he died in 1928.</p><p>Wright operated the business until 1924 when he gave it to his two sons, Marvin and Vestal." Wright also built several other brick buildings during the first decades of the 20th Century in Cleburne before his death on August 23, 1928. The two sons continued to run the family business until 1942 when the building was divided. Marvin Wright opened the "Gift and Tot Shoppe" on the Caddo Street Side, while Vestal Wright operated the original dry goods and clothing store. Both businesses were profitable and continually operated through the late 1960s, when Marvin closed his shop, according to city directories. Vestal ran the family business until its closure in the late 1970s. The Wright Building was purchased by several businessmen in 1977.</p><p>The reputation and importance of the Wright family and their businesses were summed up as follows: "The Wright Dry Goods Company, established in 1899. These old stores and establishments carried within them qualities of character reminiscent of the pioneer qualities not found among the newer stores. Their customers had for them a feeling of loyalty and the stores reciprocated with credit until better times arrived or until the crop came in. These organizations had among their customers in 1950, the third generations of the same families ("A history of Cleburne, Texas", Masters Thesis, Ernest E. Quinn, B. E. Cleburne, Texas, August 1950), A. J. Wright and his descendants owned the building and owned and operated the business until 1976 when his son, Vestal, passed away. In February 1977, Vestal Wright's widow, Bess Wright, sold the building to Randy W. Hamilton, et al, who owned a furniture store and had a small caf&eacute; in the building. Hamilton then sold the building to Robert S. Pedigo in October 1983. Pedigo remodeled the interior of the store, adding spaces for shops, much like a mini-mall. Pedigo sold the building to Kenneth and Donna Davidson in December 1996. Davidson, who owns the Silver Horse, a store in the building, sold the building to the current owner, Howard Dudley, in May 2002. Davidson currently leases a space in the building for the Silver Horse.</p><p>The Wright Building is a good example of a Commercial Style two-part commercial block. The two-part commercial block is the most common composition for small (2- to 4-story) commercial buildings built in the period 1850-1950. Divided horizontally into two zones, the ground floors of two-part commercial blocks typically feature storefronts and other public spaces; the upper floors are devoted to more private spaces, such as offices or apartments. Numerous brick warehouse and retail establishments built in Texas through the first half of the 20th century follow this 2-part arrangement, and feature hallmarks of the Commercial Style such as regular fenestration and ornament limited to polychromatic brickwork, corbelled cornices, and geometric parapet designs. The use of columns and piers allows for open floor plans, making such buildings adaptable for warehouse, commercial, or office use.<br>Despite the dissolution of the Wright companies, the building has retained its use as a commercial building. In the 1980s, the owner remodeled the interior of the space, greatly altering its original appearance. In 2004, however, a local businessman purchased the building to restore it. Using Federal Historic Preservation Tax credits, the building has been beautifully restored and returned to its original appearance and is still used as a commercial space for the citizens of Cleburne, TX. The Wright Building is a significant contributor to the commercial heritage of Cleburne, and it is nominated in the area of Commerce, and Architecture, at the local level of significance.</p>

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2009.