The Texas Historian, Volume 37, Number 2, November 1976 Page: 2
30 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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HENRY
t i i il
iii II
:1.11
,.. 1 I;I x- ~.........hI~..doors and window casements with sheet iron.
Solid iron shutters were adjusted to repel all
possible external flames reaching from adjacent
buildings, or live cinders blown on high winds
from across town.
After enjoying their new structure for a
while, the Masons realized they could not pay
the overwhelming debt and the building re-
verted to Henry. Being a merchant and a
thrifty businessman, he took possession of the
building and moved his stock into the lower
floor, which left the second floor hall tem-
porarily vacant. Henry put groceries in the
west half of the building and drygoods, hats,
and shoes in the east half. The rear of the
store was converted into living quarters for
Henry and his two daughters.
Henry's was first complete department store
in Huntsville. This enterprising merchant in-
stalled a "modern basket system for convey-
ing purchases from [the] counter to an ele-
vated office in the rear for wrapping and
checking." He also employed the first female
clerks and bookkeepers in Huntsville. The
ladies of this small East Texas town no longer
had to send to Galveston for the latest fash-
ions, as milliners from New York visited
Henry's each season with "pattern hats" and
the newest materials.----
-~----------- ---
---- ---- -------- ---- ---.~.~
IBuilt in 1880 as a lodge hall, owner John
Henry converted upper story of building to
an opera house, center of Huntsville's social
life for over two decades. Courtesy: the author.
In 1898 the Eastham Brothers acquired the
Henry store, expanded the inventory, and
changed the name to the New York Store. The
problem remained, however, of what to do
with the second-floor space. With growing
numbers of stock companies and theatrical
troupes touring the country in the 1880's and
1890's, most cities built theaters, or opera
houses to accommodate those groups and pro-
vide their communities with this popular type
of entertainment. Responding to the signs of
the times, the enterprising Henry foresaw the
former lodge hall as a place for theatrical per-
formances. Powell describes the transformation
as follows:
Encouraged by eager advance agents, he
[Henry] had a stage built across the north end
equipped with the best footlights, the brightest
tin reflectors on oil lamps until electricity came
to Huntsville in the later nineties. A dress circle
of elegant opera chairs was installed. The sec-
ond best seats rose on graduated elevations to-
ward the rear. A "peanut balcony" with
benches permitted Negroes on one side. The
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Texas State Historical Association. The Texas Historian, Volume 37, Number 2, November 1976, periodical, November 1976; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth391307/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 7, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.