Everett Hardware building demolished
after city says it is unsafe
By Catherine Dominguez 

Jason Fochtman Photos / Staff Photographer

Despite an effort to save the old Everett Hardware Store building in downtown Conroe, the building was demolished over the weekend.

Located at 108 Simonton Street, the building was rebuilt in 1911 after the original wood structure was destroyed in the devastating fire in February of that same year. According to Director of Community Development for the city of Conroe Nancy Mikeska, two additional buildings were also torn down adding up to 18,700 square feet of demolition work.

“The owners originally tried to save portions of the buildings, even though the Texas Historical Society said the buildings did not have significant historical value,” Mikeska said. “However, as the process progressed, it became clear to the city that the structures, or what was left of them, was unsafe.

“The city recognizes it can be difficult to bring these really old buildings into today’s safety requirements and we appreciated the effort that was made to try and save the buildings.”

Mikeska added redevelopment of the site has not been finalized.

“The city is always excited to see great things happening with our downtown,” Mikeska said.

With an initial investment of $500, Henry Bascom Everett opened Everett Cash Grocery at 108 Simonton in Conroe in 1908, selling fresh food, dry goods, livestock feed, hardware and other necessities of the era. Following the 1911 fire, the building was rebuilt in brick and the Everetts purchased the building in 1915.

Though the name of the store and goods it sold changed as it was passed down to other family members, from 1908 through its closure in 1997, it was a staple of commerce in Conroe community.

Conroe Courier, May 29, 2019

Everett Hardware and First State Bank buildings
Larry Foerster , June 3, 2019

Sondra Hernandez, Courier Trends editor, wrote a follow-up to the historical Everett hardware store and the First State Bank buildings, constructed in 1911 and demolished last week.
 
She references the Liberty Theater as one of the buildings, but in fact the Liberty was originally across from the Crighton Theatre until the  Liberty Theatre was torn down about 13 years ago. The old silent theatre building between these two buildings was known by various names over the years: The Palace, The Star and The Gem.
 
I thank Mayor Pro Tem Duke Coon for advising me this week that the owner was notified that the buildings’ walls were dangerous with bricks falling down onto the pedestrian sidewalks below.  So something needed to be done to avoid serious injuries.  Demolition was the cheapest option. 
Sondra’s article with photos follows:
https://www.yourconroenews.com/125years/article/More-history-on-Everett-Sons-First-State-Bank-13917459.php#photo-17597316

Larry L. Foerster, Chairman
Montgomery County Historical Commission

More history on Everett & Sons,
First State Bank and the Liberty Theatre

The above page was published in The Courier in 1933 and offered a history of the then 25-year-old Everett and Sons store in downtown Conroe on Simonton Street. The store existed in that spot until the late 1990s and eventually became a hardware store. After being unable to save the structure and two others on the corner of Simonton and Pacific Streets because they were deemed unsafe, the buildings were demolished last weekend. The Courier offers a little more history on the businesses and the buildings here.

Photo: Photo Courtesy Larry Foerster / Montgomery County Historical Commission

The employees of Everett and Sons outside the store
on Simonton Street in downtown Conroe.

With an initial investment of $500, Henry Bascom Everett opened Everett Cash Grocery at 108 Simonton in Conroe in 1908, selling fresh food, dry goods, livestock feed, hardware and other necessities of the era.

Though the name of the store and goods it sold changed as it was passed down to other family members, from 1908 through its closure in 1997, it was a staple of commerce in Conroe community.

In a previous Courier article, Patti Everett, great granddaughter of H. B. Everett, said there was always a sense of pride and integrity at the store.

“I worked there at Christmas and during the summer months,” recalled Patti. “But dad was hard on me because I was clumsy and had a habit of breaking more than I sold.”

She remembers as youth that a large bell hung in the store and Mr. Mark would ring it at precisely at 6 p.m. to let people know the store was closing.

“It was a big honor to get to ring the bell,” she said. “All of us kids wanted to be the one to pull the cord and make the bell ring.”

The bell signaled the closing of the doors, but Patti said that the store remained open until the last customer had an opportunity to conclude their business.

“There was a lot of pride among the employees,” said Patti. “They were very loyal and respectful of the family.”

First State Bank and the Liberty Theatre

First State Bank and the Liberty Theatre were also on the same block as Everett Hardware store.

Banks Griffith established a bank at 102 Simonton Street along the railroad tracks.

The wooden structure burned in the Feb. 21, 1911 fire.

Photo: Photo Courtesy Larry Foerster / Montgomery County Historical Commission

The old First State Bank building and old Liberty Theatre in downtown Conroe at Pacific and Simonton Streets. These buildings were torn down over Memorial Day weekend when it was established the structures were a danger and could not be saved.

Griffith’s First State Bank at 102 Simonton Street had just received its state charter on Feb. 11, 1911.

On April 21, 1911 The Courier reported that the new two-story, brick First State Bank building was complete facing Simonton Street along Pacific Street.

It opened on May 15, 1911 as the first chartered bank in Conroe, according to a narrative by Montgomery County Historical Commission Chairman Larry Foerster..

On Aug. 25, 1911 The Courier reported that William Munger Conroe, son of Isaac Conroe, would be building a one-story brick building next to First State Bank. The building later served as a silent movie theater which opened around 1916.

In a May 20, 1912 advertisement in The Courier, Griffith advertised that women could be independent if they opened an account with his bank - a move that was no doubt controversial as women were not yet permitted to vote or serve on juries at the time.

Following the stock market crash in 1929, First State Bank of Conroe merged with Farmers & Merchants State bank which was located down the block in the Gentry Building, according to Foerster.

After Everett Hardware closed in 1997, the old bank, theater and store buildings were sold to Norman “Bo” Meyers who operated an antique store and auction operation in the building for several years.

The property was most recently owned by Larry Miller who operated the Lone Star Telephone Company and Credit Loans, Inc. in the old First State Bank building.

The buildings had recently been gutted with only the exterior walls remaining. The future development of the site had not been finalized as of this week.

Conroe Courier, June 13, 2019