Following a devastating fire that destroyed most of the downtown area in February 1911, Conroe became a whirlwind of activity as brick masons and construction crews worked to rebuild the city and its economy.

A Center of Commerce

The wooden Corner Drug Store was consumed by the large fire that destroyed downtown Conroe in February 1911. The new Collier & Harris Building was constructed on the site in brick in 1911 to comply with the new city downtown construction ordinance.

Among the first to erect a brick structure, the newly mandated construction standard, was Dr. J. F. Collier and his partner Dr. Harris – the men behind the original Collier & Harris Building at the corner of Pacific and Simonton Streets.

“The Corner Drug Store, a wooden structure destroyed in the fire, reopened in July of 1911,” said Conroe historian Larry Foerster. “The drug store featured ‘the prettiest soda fountain in East Texas’.”

Little is known about Harris, but Collier was a civic leader in the community, serving as Conroe’s first mayor in 1905, president of the Conroe Independent School District and chairman of the Good Roads Committee that focused attention on converting roadways and thoroughfares for use by the new “horseless carriages.”

The old Corner Drug Store (Collier Building) is found in the background as a white corner building with a second-floor balcony. Old Conroe on the east side of the tracks can be seen in the top of this photo taken from the top of the old Courthouse. This photo was taken prior to the big fire that destroyed much of downtown in February 1911

The first floor of the building served as a drugstore with retail sales while the second floor housed offices for the doctors, attorney Winston McMahan and the Montgomery Land Abstract Company.

In the late 20s, the building saw new life as the White Kitchen Café, serving up down-home cooking like fried chicken, pork chops and beef steaks, according to longtime Conroe resident and civic leader Whitson Etheridge, 95.

“Most people ate their meals at home back then; there weren’t a whole lot of restaurants back in the early days,” he said. “Going out to eat was a special treat, so I remember it well.”

Etheridge was just a boy, but he remembers visiting the White Kitchen Café on a number of occasions during its existence. He said the menu was plain by modern standards, but the food was very good.

Following an incarnation as the Union Café, the Collier & Harris building evolved into an appliance store called Miracle Sales, operated by J. M. Weisinger and his wife Modena. The couple sold Maytag and Bendix appliances.

The first level also featured Ruby’s Beauty Shope and Buckshot Smith’s Barbershop in the 1950s. Bob Shepard, owner of Shepard’s Barbershop in Conroe recalled the Collier & Harris Building being one in a series of retail businesses on Pacific Street facing the railroad tracks.

“At the time, that was a busy area of commerce in downtown,” said Shepard. “It’s pretty much all gone now.”

While the first floor of the building served as retail, restaurant and service space, the upstairs has mostly been office space for doctors and lawyers – except for a brief stint as a rooming house. Records are a vague, according to Foerster.

Before Restoration in the 1960's

The Collier & Harris Building was given a facelift to match more modern building designs. It was used for law offices for building owners Mathis McKinney and R. A. “Mickey” Deison, and their Universal Land Title Company

In the 60s a more modern façade was constructed over the original brick building and the structure became the offices for Mathis McKinney and R. A. “Mickey” Deison and their Universal Land Title Company and law offices.

The law firm of Price & Price acquired the building and restored the structure around 2008 to its original brick exterior. The restoration, along with other downtown revitalization programs, is returning the historic look and feel of downtown Conroe, said Foerster.

While the Collins & Harris Building is not architecturally significant, it is a historic part of Conroe’s past – serving as host facility for a wide range of commercial businesses and professional services.

Collins & Harris Building at Pacific & Simonton streets in 2012. It houses the law firm of Price and Price.

“It’s part of our history and heritage,” said Foester. “It’s important to preserve the past for future generations.”