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1. The
Courthouse on the Square. Built in
1880 at the cost of $800, it is a
two-story precinct courthouse in which
the old jail still exists on the second
floor, complete with leg irons attached.
The structure is mostly mortised with
few nails used, and opened for its first
court on February 17, 1881. A calaboose
was added in 1887 at the cost of $11.
There was a city attorney’s office here
at one time as well as the constable’s
office. The bandstand gazebo was built
in 1932, and the four-faced town clock
erected in 1934 by the Fayetteville
women’s “Do Your Duty” club, in advance
of the Texas Centennial. The clock still
strikes the hour and the half-hour,
making Fayetteville the smallest town
with a working four-faced town clock. On
the Square’s southeast corner, the
Picnic Oak tree is over 100 years old!
The two granite markers on the west side
of the Square commemorate Fayetteville’s
founders (erected in 1936) and the 1937
sewer project. |
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2. The
Fayetteville Area Heritage Museum—on
the west side of the Square—comprises
two buildings, one which once housed the
first Fayetteville post office, and then
the Cufr Store. The Western Auto Store
operated first by the Dybalas and then
the Heinsohns, occupied the other
building. Both buildings were combined
to house the Museum in 1995. The Museum
includes many artifacts of the good ol’
days including the historic altar from
the original St. John’s Catholic Church
(removed for rebuilding in 1969), the
pipe organ from St. Mary’s Catholic
Church, pre-historic bones & arrowheads,
a cotton gin, the Dawn Theater’s movie
projector, a fire engine pump, farm
equipment and even a restored 1965 Chevy
Bellaire. Memorabilia from the Baca Band
is also displayed as well as that from
numerous local schools, civic
organizations, elected officials, etc.
Museum hours are Friday, Saturday,
Sunday 2pm to 4pm and Saturday morning
10am to 12noon. For more information, to
book a tour, etc., call 979/378-2210 or
979/378-2378 or 979/224-5130.
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3. The
old Sarrazin Mercantile Store—left
(south) of the Museum and now the
Cottage Garden—was built in 1875, and
from 1892 was the location of Ed and
Leopold Sarrazin’s business. The
Sarrazins were an early pioneer family
who settled in Ross Prairie, just west
of Fayetteville. They were cotton
buyers, and also sold groceries, dry
goods and hardware in the front part of
the building, and had an office in the
back. Feed, farm equipment, buggies and
wagons were kept in the rear warehouse.
Chickens were raised in the coops in the
yard and shipped by rail to Houston.
After Leopold died, Edward bought the
store; Edward Jr. inherited it upon his
father’s death in 1925. It thrived in
this business, employing as many as 18
clerks, until 1967. |
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4. The
Spacek House—next door, and now
Jane’s Joys—is the small white building
south of the Sarrazin Store built in the
late 1800s as the Forres family home; it
was also the Kaderka Shoe Shop at one
time. |
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5. The
old Heinsohn House—on the corner of
N. Washington St. and W. Main St. (Hwy
159)—was moved to this location; the
site was the location of the old Forres
Store building which was a saloon and
general merchandise store in the 1880s.
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6. The
Fayetteville Community Center and the
Fayetteville Fire Department and EMS—corner
of W. Main St. (Hwy 159) and S.
Washington St.—are dedicated to
Sylvester Schmitt and have replaced the
original buildings which held a hat
store, a café, the Lange Mercantile
store, a broom factory and a feed store.
There was also an old house known as the
Hottman House which has since been moved
to a rural location. Located further
south on S. Washington St. was the old
Hottman Zdaril Lumber Yard, once a
livery stable owned by the Langes.
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7. The
Blacksmith Shop and Filing Station—down
W. Main (Hwy 159) at the corner of Ross
Prairie Church Rd—is a red building once
operated by Mayor Langlotz and Fred
Schultz. The old Kovar gin, which burned
down in the 1920s, was catycorner to
that. |
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8. The
Gulf Service Station—southeast
corner of W. Main St. (Hwy 159) and S.
Washington St. and now “Blast From the
Past”—was built in 1927 and owned by J.
R. Kubena (the great grandfather of
current Fayetteville mayor Ronnie
Pflughaupt). It was managed first by his
son, Jerry, and then later by his other
son, Rudy. The brand changed to Humble
and then to Exxon as John W. Kovar
assumed the management followed by his
son, Erwin. It operated as a gas station
until 1996. (Side note: the curved
tricycle tire tracks on the west end of
the pump island were made in the wet
concrete in 1927 by a little
five-year-old girl who lived next door. |
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9. The
Old Kurtz House—next door on the
left, continuing east on W. Main St.
(Hwy 159)—is white with red trim and was
built about 1890. It is now a private
residence. |
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10. The
S. S. Munger Home—next door,
continuing east on W. Main St. (Hwy
159)—is now the Tennessee Guest Cottage
and Windmiller’s Hair Design. Built
about 1850, it is one of Fayetteville’s
oldest homes and had a detached kitchen.
The Munger family was one of earliest
settlers and had a Mercantile Store in
Fayetteville as early as the 1830s.
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11. The
Red & White Store—corner of W. Main
St. (Hwy 159) and S. Live Oak St.—is a
two-story building believed to be the
oldest commercial building in the area,
built about 1835 by S. S. Munger. It was
used as a grocery store, then an opera
house, a mortuary, a Masonic Hall, a hat
shop and eventually a grocery store
again. In the 1880s it contained the H.
Kurtz Furniture Store. In the early
1900s it was occupied by Doctor Levine,
who later built an office to the right
of the store. The ornate cornices are an
unusual detail under the eaves. The
upstairs was a residence for many years
and a café. It is now a private
residence. The addition on the right
side of the Red & White Store was the
Dawn Theatre from the early 1900s to the
1960s, providing entertainment for the
community until television became
common. Later it housed the Blaha
cleaners and tailors. |
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12.
Continuing east down E. Main St. (Hwy
159) are two buildings once owned by the
Knippel family: the left building held
both the Old Fayetteville Ice Plant
and the Power Plant. The Power
Plant provided electricity for
Fayetteville residents for scheduled
periods during the day. (In 1920, a
petition was signed protesting its air
pollution.) Later the plant was sold and
discontinued, though the Ice Plant
continued until the 1960s. The house to
the right was the Knippel family home
and was also a display area for
drummers’ (traveling salesmen’s) wares.
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13. The
Water Tower, visible from the
Square, is located further east behind
the current post office at S. Scott St.
and E. Main St. (Hwy 159). Dating from
the 1920s, it is one of the best
examples of its kind, and has been
called the “Tin Man’s head.” It was
repaired and repainted in 2006, now
greeting all “Welcome to Fayetteville.”
Fayetteville has received a Class A
rating from the Water Tower Appreciation
Society. |
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14. The
southeast corner of the Square—at E.
Main St. (Hwy 159) and S. Live Oak
St.—was once the location of Phillip
J. Shaver’s house and store, the
founder of Fayetteville. In 1893 it was
sold to Alois Polansky and later that
year burned. |
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15. The
Zapalac Drug Store—north of the
Shaver House and Store—was constructed
in 1926 by Emil Zapalac who previously
shared a store with Rudolf Baca and Dr.
Schramm further up the block. It is now
The Trading Post. |
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16. The
Otto Vetter Saddle Shop—north of the
Zapalac Drug Store, and now Yesterday’s
Past—was partly destroyed by fire in
1893 and later rebuilt. Mr. Vetter lived
on the second floor. The bottom floor
also included the post office as well as
the Knippel Meat Market, later the
Bertsch Meat Market. At one time the
building also housed a floral shop among
other shops. |
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17. The
Art Guild of Rural Texas—next to the
Otto Vetter Saddle Shop—occupies two
buildings that once contained the Fojtik
Tin Shop and the Kubala Saloon. Its
history includes time housing a liquor
store, a shoe shop, a real estate
office, and at one point the office and
courtroom of Precinct 2 Judge Fred Ross,
followed by his daughter Judge Terry
Ross, who also served as precinct judge.
The Art Guild of Rural Texas, a
non-profit organization exhibits artwork
of local artists and student artists.
Classes for children, young adults and
adults in visual arts and music are also
held, as well as weekend concerts.
Exhibition hall hours are Monday to
Saturday, 10am to 2pm. |
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18. The
Baca Saloon & Confectionary—the two
buildings next up the square—now house
Joe’s Place. Both buildings are over 100
years old and that closest to the Art
Guild was once a grocery store and an
antique store. The second, larger
building on the left was once the old
Rudolph Baca Ice Cream Parlor, shared by
Rudolph Baca, Emil Zapalac and Dr.
Schramm. It has an ornamental bar with
stained glass. For many decades, the
Baca family had a band and performed
regularly there. Baca made delicious ice
cream and custard, and it is said that
some of his recipes may now be used by a
popular ice cream company. |
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19. The
Schumacher’s Bank of Fayetteville—next
up the Square and now Pat Johnson’s art
studio—was built in 1907 as
Fayetteville’s first bank, and later the
Fayetteville State Bank where SPJST
business was conducted. For many years,
this building was a liquor store and
watch repair shop. |
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20. The
J. R. Kubena Store—next up the
Square on the corner of E. Fayette St.
and N. Live Oak St. and now Jerry’s
General Store—originally had a dance
hall on top. Later the corner was made
into a Ford car dealership operated by
Kubena’s son and John Cufr, Sr. Still
later it was the SPJST business office
until such moved to temple in about
1950, following which it housed the
Kubena Café. At one point, the middle
section operated as the Cufr Dry Goods
Store in the 1930s and 1940s. It is now
Jerry’s General Store, operated by Jerry
Chovanec, who took the business Chovanec
General Store from his father.
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21. Henry
Steves’ Furniture & Hardware Store—northeast
corner of N. Live Oak St. and E. Fayette
St. and now Robyn’s Nest Antiques,
Collectibles & Gifts—is a two-story
building. Steves was the postmaster and
the store held the post office from 1889
to 1893, before most of the northeast
side of the Square was destroyed by
fire. Steves was the first captain of
the Fayetteville Volunteer Fire
Department. The Fayetteville Masonic
Lodge no. 240 occupies the second floor.
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22. The
Henry Steves House—yellow building
on E. Fayette St., east of Robyn’s Nest
Antiques—was the Lickskillet Hotel in
the 1980s and is believed to be one of
the oldest houses in Fayetteville, built
about 1847. |
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23. St.
John’s Catholic Church—continuing up
N. Live Oak St. to Bell St.—displays
historic, 19th-century
paintings by Moravian painter Johann
Ignaz Berger on its altar (after decades
forgotten in storage). |
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24. The
E. J. Knesek Building—on the
Square’s northwest corner at N. Live Oak
St. and W. Fayette St.—contains both a
hardware store (Kubala Hardware) on the
left and a funeral home (Koenig Peel
Funeral Home, Inc.) on the right. Built
in 1875, one of its first owners was
Frank J. Spacek, an agent for newly
arrived Czech immigrants. The
recognition of Fayetteville as “cradle
of Czech immigration to Texas” was due
in part to Spacek’s helping new
immigrants find homes and jobs. The
right part of the building once housed
the first town newspaper, Vestnik,
printed by the SPJST, then later the
Fayetteville Fact newspaper; it was
also once Drawe’s Barber Shop. The left
section of the building was once a
furniture store and the Buckhorn Saloon.
Upstairs contained the offices of Spacek
Sr. and was also a dance hall. The
Knesek family ran the funeral home
before Koenig Peel and were also beer
distributors; the family might have been
involved in the ownership of the Janak
Brewery. The funeral chapel, to the
north on N. Live Oak St., was once a car
dealership. |
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25.
Keilers Restaurant & Lodge—west of
the Knesek building—has been rebuilt and
was once the site of the C. J. Klimicek
Saloon and the Wertzner Barber Shop.
Part of the building was a general
merchandise store and offices for R. B.
Spacek while he was a state legislator
and insurance agent. The Klimicek Saloon
building was one of the oldest in town
and had a wine cellar. |
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26. The
Old Garage—west of Keiler’s
Restaurant and Lodge—contains two
structures, built in 1917 by J. Cufr,
Sr., and included a garage and
International Harvester Dealership;
later it held the Forres Confectionary,
the John Vitek Electric Company and then
the John Mynar Café. |
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27. The
Kaderka Building—now Town Square
Realty on W. Fayette St. west of the Old
Garage—is a nostalgic store front
building constructed in the 1870s. The
first occupant was a bakery providing
delicious Czech baked goods. The store
was purchased in 1913 by Dr. Charles
Kaderka, one of Fayetteville’s first
physicians. Dr. Kaderka had his practice
next door (in the current insurance
office) and leased the building to Kenny
Halamicek who opened an ice cream parlor
called the Horn Place, after the
collection of horns mounted on the wall
of the parlor. Halamicek’s collection
was so extensive that when he closed his
doors he donated the horns to the Pearl
Brewery in San Antonio where they still
hang. In 1955, the building was
purchased by Frank and Mildred Uhyrek
who opened Frank’s Plumbing & Hardware.
In 1977, the building became an antique
store, Blue Meadows, then a malt shop
and an antique store. |
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28.
Kaderka’s Office—now the
Fayetteville Insurance—served as Dr.
Kaderka’s office and his music studio
where he made violins. Later it housed
Kyle Tailor Shop for many years.
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29.
Orsak’s Café—next building west on
W. Fayette St.—comprises two buildings.
The right building was the first
Fayetteville movie house and was
operated by the Michalsky family; it was
also a saloon. The left building was the
old Pagel Tire building, formerly a
steam cleaning and pressing tailor shop,
and a ladies’ ready-to-wear operated by
R. B. Spacek. The building still
contains the old clothing racks.
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30. The
Zapp Building—northwest corner of
the Square on N. Washington St. and W.
Fayette St. and now the Country Place
Hotel—displays the name of the first
owner, Zapp, a prominent local family
who started their business in 1865.
Constructed in 1900, the building served
first as a mercantile store with office
upstairs for dentist, doctor and
photographer as well as space for a
small hospital. The building was used as
a hotel for the drummers’ (traveling
salesmen’s) trade. There was a
“speak-easy” in the basement during
prohibition and a saloon during World
War II. |
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31. The
Compton-Zapp House—up N. Washington
St. on the corner of Market St.—dates
from the 19th century. Its
central hall plan is typical of Texas
vernacular homes of the time. It was
occupied by many prominent Fayetteville
residents including the Zapp family who
lived in the house from 1865 to 1945.
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32. The
Sladek-Hillman House—at the corner
of Hwy 159 and FM 955—was built in 1896
by R. J. Sladek, a Bohemian immigrant.
In 1897, ownership was transferred to
Anna Hillman, widow of Ludwig Hillman,
an early settler to the area. The
cottage features 12-foot ceilings and
millwork carvings of intricate detail.
The front porch columns are bracketed
and the bay window is decorated with
fish scale siding. |
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33. St.
Paul Lutheran Church—at the corner
of Rusk St. (Hwy 159) and W. Fayette
St.—reflects the length of time the area
has had Lutheran worship. In 1851,
Pastor J. C. Roehm of Basel Switzerland
organized the first Evangelical Lutheran
Synod of Texas and then began preaching
in the area, establishing St. John
Lutheran Church of Ross Prairie in 1859.
In 1894, the growing number of St. John
members in Fayetteville erected a church
building on this site, calling the Rev.
Vaclav Pzadral who served until 1911. By
1938, the church’s name had changed from
St. John to St. Paul; services were held
in English and German until 1947.
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34. The
Old Germania School site—across W.
Fayette St. from St. Paul—was under
leadership of Prof. William Eilers and
was the public school until 1910 when
the Fayetteville Public School was
built. |
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35. The
Kubena Chevrolet building—at end of
block at corner of Rusk St. (Hwy 159)
and W. Fayette St.—was later Jerry Vavra
Chevrolet and then various garages,
including those held by Emil Sury and
Joe Orsak. |
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36. Ye
Old Garage—on the opposite corner of
Kubena Chevrolet building—is the Old
Kubena Garage. |
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A Little
Further Away, a little longer walk….
37.
Fayetteville Public School—northwest
on Hwy 159 near city limit—was built in
1911 and is a red, two-story brick
school building. Ground was broken for
the $10,000 building on Monday, February
13, 1911 on land purchased from J. R.
Kubena for $300. On July 19, 1911, all
of the businesses closed and the entire
town, as well as large crowds from
neighboring towns and communities,
congregated to form a procession around
the Square and out to the new school
building. The opening ceremonies
included speakers, trustees, Baca Band,
school children with flags. Little Miss
Lester Stierling presented the keys to
the building to the president of the
school board, Ed Sarrazin, who then
opened the doors, inviting everyone to
enter and inspect the building. The
spacious hall on the upper floor was
crowded with capacity with County
Superintendent Stierling addressed the
crowd on the consolidation of the two
schools—Germania School and a Bohemian?
school—existing earlier. Upon the
conclusion of the addresses and after a
photograph was taken of the assembly,
the procession brought the guests down
to the Germania Hall where a bountiful
supply of BBQ, pickles, bread and cake,
and liquid refreshments were served for
which Fayetteville is so well known. The
remainder of the afternoon was passed
with additional speeches and various
amusements. At night, a ball was held
which was well attended and greatly
enjoyed by everyone. |
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39. The
Railroad Hotel—the yellow building
across R.R. tracks down Scott St. (FM
1291)—housed men working on the
railroad. Their restaurant was to the
right where the old well is still
visible. The old M. K. T. Depot was once
nearby. |
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40. The
Fayetteville City Cemetery and Catholic
Cemetery. Located four blocks from
town, on the outskirts of town off of FM
1291. These two adjoining cemeteries
contain graves for many prominent
pioneers. In addition, there are
veterans from the war of 1812: Dr.
William P. Smith (surgeon general of the
Texas army as well as Methodist
preacher, Board Member of Rutersville
College and editor of the Texas Monument
Newspaper), David Wade and Umbleton
Gregory. The three fought in the
historic battle of New Orleans. The
first Catholic priest of Fayetteville,
Father Josef Chromcik, is also buried
there. An unmarked grave holding Civil
War soldiers is situated next to the
City Cemetery. |
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41.
SPJST
Hall |
