112 South Johnson Street - Mineola Downtown Historic District - Mineola, TX
N 32° 39.790 W 095° 29.370
15S E 266530 N 3616685
Dating to around 1925, the building at 112 S Johnson St, Mineola, TX, is a contributing structure in the Mineola Downtown Historic District. Today, it is home to Mineola's auction house.
Waymark Code: WMXCGB
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 12/26/2017
Views: 0
The district's Registration Form has an excellent overview of this building:
This one-part brick commercial block features replacement aluminum frame storefront windows and a replacement aluminum frame door within the one storefront bay. The entry is located off-center to the left within the storefront bay. The entry is shaded by a full width, non-historic-age awning. The cornice is separated from the awning by a belt course of brick. The cornice features a recessed panel in the brick, and a raised panel in the brick before being topped by three rows of darker painted brick. The south elevation has portions of the brick covered in stucco and features a painted mural on the stucco. First illustrated on the 1928 Sanborn map of Mineola, this building was used as a drug store and then retail space. It is still utilized as retail space.
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A 2005 Texas Historical Marker provides some history of when this building was home to the Coleman Family Drug Store and Clinic:
Dr. Walter Jackson Coleman and his wife, Mary Eugenia (DuBose), moved to Texas with their family from Isney, Alabama in 1897. After settling in the railroad town of Mineola, a traveling salesman persuaded Dr. Coleman to invest in the pharmacy business, resulting in establishment of the Coleman Family Drug Store in 1902. Early on, Dr. Coleman developed trust with his patients by making house calls and opening his home to those in need. He often accepted food as payment for his medical treatments in the general custom of the time. His store was well stocked with medicines, some developed by Dr. Coleman and his son, Charlie.
Charlie Coleman, familiar with patent formulas before he graduated from high school, received a pharmacist license in 1912 and helped run the business. In 1933, two of his brothers, Robert and John, both doctors, set up a clinic adjacent to the store, which Charlie took over after their father died in 1937. The clinic closed at the start of World War II when John and Robert joined the armed forces.
After the war, Robert and John practiced medicine in other state, but Charlie continued to manage the Mineola store. His civic contributions included four terms as city commissioner and service as mayor pro tem in 1926. He also served on the Mineola school board, the draft board and the equalization board.
The Coleman Family Drug Store continued to thrive with several family members working here before later pursuing careers in the medical field. It closed in 1964 because of Charlie’s declining health. He passed away on December 9, 1968 and was buried in the Mineola City Cemetery.
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As of this posting (1/2018), the link to the Registration Form is broken, but this has been reported to the Texas Historical Commission. A copy may be obtained here.