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Block 15 - 1888 map
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Block 15 -
1893 map |
Block 15 - 1898 map
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By
1888, the Leeper Bros and Co. had built a lumber yard on
Block 15 of the Phillips Addition No. 2. In 1893,
they were rebuilding and adding lumber sheds to their
yard. Between 1893 and 1898, a dwelling was built
on the west side of Block 15, north of the lumber yard,
which had become William Cameron and Company Lumber
Yard. Between 1898 and 1904, an alley had been
placed down the middle of the Block, running south to
north, and it had again become Leeper Lumber
Company. By 1904, the block had been divided into
Lots, number, 1, 2, 3, 4 ... the dwelling remained on
Lot 2 and Lot 3 was vacant. The address of 324
South Frio Street had been given, but the address system
was later changed. A small dwelling behind this
dwelling was addressed 324 1/2, which would have been a
servant's house. The lumber yard buildings were
labeled lumber sheds, office and warehouse and, on the
far north side, a building labeled carpenter shop.
By 1909, this business had become Leeper-Wyatt Lumber
Company, and before 1916, Leeper-Curd Lumber Company,
with some modifications on the lumber sheds.
Before the 1923 map was drawn, most these buildings had
been removed for the construction of the new Rockwell
Brothers buildings in 1924.
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Block 15
- 1904 map
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Block 15
- 1909 map
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Block 15
- 1916 map
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Block 15 -
1923 map |
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Rockwell Brothers
Established Firm Here Back in ‘24
The Rockwell Lumber company opened its doors
for business here in 1924. It was
operated by one of the partners and owners,
Henry Rockwell, from its beginning in 1924,
until the death of his father in 1931.
The death of Mr. Rockwell, Sr. made it
necessary for Henry Rockwell to devote his
time to the main office in Houston, whereby a
position was created for a new manager.
This occasion made way for the promotion of a
deserving and loyal employee in the person of
R. Floyd Price, who had been bookkeeper for
the company in Waxahachie for several years at
that time. Mr. Price has enjoyed his
association with the people of Coleman county
and surrounding territory and appreciates the
opportunity of being of assistance in any way
and especially in their building problems.
Coleman countians will find at the Rockwell
Lumber company everything that they may need
in building and construction work. They
carry lumber of all dimensions, paints, oils,
varnishes, lime, cement and anything in
hardware that is essential in the builders
trade. This company’s activities extends
over three states, Texas, Oklahoma and New
Mexico, playing an important part in the
building line in each of these states.
All the Rockwell Lumber company yards are
controlled by, and through, the main office at
Houston. Mr. Price invites you to bring
your building problems to him and assures you
of every aid that it is possible for him to
render.
From
the November 1936 Centennial Edition
Coleman Democrat-Voice Newspaper
(transcribed
by Pam Sanders, June 2006.)
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"In 1929, Rockwell Bros. and
Company was located at 300 West Live
Oak Street. Henry M. Rockwell was
the manager. They dealt in lumber,
building material, paints, rig
timbers. Their telephone number was
600. James A. Few, Robert Johnson,
William F. Leonard, Robert L. Lowry and
Thomas W. Rush, all building contractors;
and Sims and Hargett, owned by
John Sims and H. W. Hargett, painters; had
their offices located at this
address." (Coleman
City Directory, 1929 - Hudspeth.)
Block
15 - 1930 map |
Block
15 - 1948 map |
In 1924, Rockwell
Brothers and Company had built new buildings and
the east part of Lot 3, but no longer occupied
Lot 1 of Block 15. By this time the new
address numbers had come into being.
Rockwell Brothers was now addressed as 300 West
Live Oak Street. A new, small dwelling
being built in Lot 1, addressed as 113 South
Pecos Street. Near the previous location
of the carpenter's shop, a mattress factory had
been built. The house on South Frio Street
was now addressed as 112 South Frio
Street. A filling station had been
constructed on the southwest quarter of Lot 3,
addressed as 316 West Live Oak Street. An
address of 312 West Live Oak Street is shown on
this map, but appears to not be attached to any
building. By 1948, the dwelling at 113
South Pecos Street had been removed and the
mattress factory enlarged and was now addressed
as 307 Cottonwood Street.
A small dwelling to the west of it had been
added and addressed as 309 Cottonwood Street.
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Looking
Backwards, 1940-1980
by Ralph Terry
Rockwell
Brothers and Company Lumbermen (below, 1947,
Winstead, and 1963, Capps) opened for
business in 1924 in Coleman, and was
operated by one of the partners and owners,
Henry Rockwell, Jr. The site of the
lumber yard was formerly occupied by Leeper
Brothers and Company, an earlier lumber
yard, from before 1888 until after
1920. For a few years in the late
1890s, the lumber yard became the William
Cameron and Company Lumber Yard, but had
gone back to being the Leeper Lumber Yard by
1904. About this time, it was also
called the Leeper-Wyatt Lumber Company.
R. Floyd
Price, who had been bookkeeper for the
company in Waxahachie, came to Coleman as
bookkeeper in October 1926, with his wife
and two sons. His daughter, Helen (now
Helen Stafford) was born in Coleman. Henry
Rockwell, Jr. loved Coleman and considered
the Coleman yard his very own.
However, the death of Henry Rockwell, Sr.,
made it necessary for Henry Rockwell, Jr. to
devote his time to the main office in
Houston, where by a position was created for
a new manager in Coleman. This
occasion made way for the promotion of a
deserving and loyal employee in the person
R. Floyd Price, who was elevated to manager
in 1931. Coleman County customers
found everything that they need in building
and construction work, from lumber to paint
to hardware, at Rockwell Brothers.
Pictured in December 1947 (below left,
Dunlap), Floyd Price, manager of Rockwell
Bros. and Company, Lumbermen, is shown at
the left, waiting on Mrs. Mike Malouf and
daughter. Behind her, from left to
right are Howard Seay, Leonard Cope
(plumbing and lumber department), Donald
Hurst (yard foreman), Lloyd Hurst (paint,
wall paper and hardware department), J. H.
Cope, T. E. Brice and N. J. Buttrey, all
customers or employees. At this time,
Glenn Foreman was the assistant manager and
Sara Woodward was the bookkeeper.
Kenneth
Newman was employed by Rockwell Brothers as
a bookkeeper in 1949 to relieve the load on
Lloyd Hurst, assistant manager. Late
in the 1950s, Hurst was elevated to manager
of the lumber yard in Rotan and Kenneth was
made assistant manager at Coleman.
Newman married Coleman County Assistant Home
Demonstration Agent Dora Jones in
1960. Shown above are Dora and Kenneth
Newman with Floyd Price at Rockwell Brothers
Lumber Company in 1974 (above right,
Newman). Price retired from Rockwell
Brothers in 1968 as district manager,
overseeing a number of Rockwell Brothers
location in central Texas, but he continued
to go to the office each day until his death
in 1978. On the retirement of Price,
Kenneth Newman was made the manager of
Rockwell Brothers. In July 1979,
Kenneth and Dora Newman bought the Coleman
lumber yard and operated it as Rockwell
Brothers and Company of Coleman. All
13 Rockwell Lumber Company yards were being
sold at this time. Kenneth continued
to operate Rockwell Brothers until a few
years ago.
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south
side of west part - January 2003
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south
side of east part - January 2003
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Block 15
- 2011 aerial photograph
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Block 15 -
2019 aerial photograph |
Block 15 -
2023 aerial photograph |
The
north half of Block 15 was used for many years as a
wrecked automobile yard by Taylor Motor Company and and
other body repair shops. The old Rockwell Brothers
buildings was purchased by Kenneth and Dora Newman but
continued to be operated as Rockwell Brothers and
Company. In 2015 the property was sold to Dohn L.
White of Austin, who began to tear down the old
buildings, as seen above in 2019. In 2022, Dohn
White sold the property to the Warren Charitable
Foundation, who transferred the property to the Memas
Foundation later in 2022.
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