1902 - G.W. Eaton Building - Claremore, OK
Posted by: 
hamquilter
N 36° 18.728 W 095° 36.890
15S E 265238 N 4021743
This building was constructed by G. W. Eaton, a early pioneer and founder of the town of Claremore.
Waymark Code: WMNM89
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 04/02/2015
Views: 1
In 1993, the Claremore Progress newspaper ran a story about George Washington Eaton, and the influence he had on the town of Claremore. The following excerpt from that article and its reference to this building, adds to the appreciation of its historical value.
"The harsh brutality of the Civil War had given way to growth and rebuilding. George Washington Eaton, a young confederate soldier from Texas was standing in the threshold. Stuck in Arkansas after the war, he longed to return to his beloved home, but fate had something else in store. For if he had returned to his home state, Claremore, Oklahoma, would be a different place today. It was during that period that G. W. Eaton met Nancy Williams, the woman of Cherokee descent, who was to become his wife...In 1874, he loaded his wife, mother-in-law, and children in a wagon and headed for the open range of the Cooweescoowee District of Indian Territory, to homestead in the shadow of Claremore Mound. A few miles south there stood a trading post. It would soon become the town of Claremore...(Eaton owned a couple of general stores in town).
When it was decided that Claremore should be a county seat, G. W. built a two –story brick building on main street to house the court. The building still stands today as the former home of Wilson Hardware and Antique Peddlers Mall. Eaton is credited with helping create the present layout of the town. He also built several houses in Claremore."
The building constructed in 1902 housed Eaton Hardware which operated here until some time in the 1920's at which time it was owned by Wilson Hardware. Currently, it is the home of Sailor Antiques & Collectibles. A ghost sign on the west wall still shows the Wilson Hardware advertising.
This is a two-story painted brick building, with a canted entrance. The corner is concrete, with a recessed single aluminum and glass door, flanked by curved glass bricks. Four large display windows face Will Rogers Blvd. on the south with covered clerestory. The upper floor has five single windows on the south and six on the west, each with two fixed panes, and rough cut stone lintels. There is a continuous stone sill on the south. A flat canopy covers the south side and the canted corner. Just under the roof line on the south is a stone blocks which reads: "G.W. Eaton 1902".
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