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1820
South Commercial Avenue
Legal Description: |
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"In
1929, Gantt Service Station, dealer for Cities
Service Gas and Oil Company was located on South
Commercial Avenue, on the northwest corner of
Twelfth Street (now known as 1918
South Commercial Avenue). L.
D. Cain was the owner and agent. They dealt
in wholesale oil and lubricants. Their
telephone number was 294." (Coleman
City Directory, 1929 - Hudspeth.)
Sometime after 1929,
the station became the G. Lee Hunter Service
Station. He remained the owner and operator of
the service station until 1962 when Hunter died in
an automobile accident at age 73. The station
was purchased from Hunter's estate by Les Dobbins,
who had worked at the station for Hunter since 1947.
"Here's the picture taken in front of the gas station I was telling you about (Needham Street and Commercial Avenue). My dad (Wilburn Seal) is on the left, next to him brother Royce (Seal). Best guess dad was in high school (graduated 1942)." (Picture and information from Jeanette Seal, daughter of Wilburn Seal.) (This picture was taken with the camera facing east, from the southwest corner and just outside of the washing structure, shown below in 1948.) 
1935
2022
There was only one room, a restroom, on the back of the service station until after 1948. Later, rooms were added to each side of the original restroom. The area where this picture of the two men were working is now covered by a two bay service area, so a picture cannot be taken from the view of the original picture, but at the top right is a view of the original restroom shown behind and right of the two men above, with door and old outside window. Shown below is a view from the service bays area today with current owner, Mat Gaines, and a view of the rear of the building showing the three rooms from the outside, with the service bays area to the right. 
 
 
1930
Map
1948
Map
Aerial
view - 2019
The 1930 map shows the lot
occupied by a gasoline service station. There
were no outbuildings at this time. Two
underground gasoline tanks were on the northeast
corner of the lot. The 1948 map shows an open
(as indicated by the dotted lines) structure with a
roof had been added to the center of the lot,
northwest of the building. Two iron pipes, one
seen in the above picture and the second as a black
pole behind the pickup truck, are probably supports
of this structure, under which vehicles were
washed. 1918 South Commercial Avenue is shown
as an alternate address for 1820 South Commercial
Avenue on the 1948 map. In later references
both the 1820 South Commercial Avenue and the 1918 South
Commercial Avenue address are used at
different times. In 1962 Leslie Dobbins
bought the G. Lee Hunter Service Station at 1820
South Commercial Avenue. Hunter had owned the
station for many years. This location had also
been addressed as 1918 South Commercial Avenue, due
to an error in lining up the streets. Dobbins
had worked at this station since 1947. The
station had originally been opened as the Gantt
Service Station before 1930. The station
became the Dobbins Cosden Service Station after its
purchase. Ralph Terry took the picture shown
here for the Coleman High School Corral yearbook in
1964.  Dobbins Cosden Service Station - 1964 
Gaines
Land Sales office - December 2022 |
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