Brenham’sgot more than Blue Bell
By Stacey Roberts
StaffWriter
Few realize Brenham was a
town long before Blue Bell stick
led the chin of a Texas child.
Founded in 1844, Brenham has a
history that stems back far past
the 79-year-old ice cream fac
tory. It is the self-proclaimed
birthplace of Texas and the
county seat of Washington
County.
Brenham’s boundaries span a
mere 6.1 square miles but six
blocks in the downtown are
dominate the town and are the
focus of Brenham’s past and fu
ture.
Brenham received its name
from Richard Fox Brenham who
was part of the founding Mier
Expedition that settled Washing
ton County. Although it probably
held no satisfaction for Brenham,
he became the town hero (and
subsequently the town name)
when he lost his life while help
ing other expedition members es
cape from a Mexican prison.
After the Civil War, Brenham
was occupied by Federal troops.
According to local folklore, Bren
ham was none-the-better for
having had the troops in the city.
The troops assigned were battal
ions of black soldiers who
clashed bitterly with the white
townspeople. Much of the city
was destroyed by fire during the
unrest.
Some of the buildings that
were not destroyed are still
standing and are being restored
as part of the city’s revitalization
program.
Revitalization in the town is
not synonymous with growth,
however. Brenham is a small
town determined to stay small,
or at least retain the small-town
look.
Doug Hutchinson, director of
economic development for the
revitalization, says the project is
not just to restore the downtown
buildings for their own sake but
also to recruit new businesses to
put in them.
“The look of a downtown re
flects how incoming businesses
see their potential income,” Hut
chinson says.
For a city to receive aid in the
restoration process, the buildings
must be registered with the De
partment of Interior, Hutchinson
says. In Brenham there has been
a slight controversy over the reg
istration process. Some down
town merchants fear registering
their property will prohibit
needed improvements, such as
air conditioning and remodeling
for growth, from being added.
Hutchinson says this fear is un
warranted since improvements
such as these aren’t prohibited by
registration.
So far, only a few buildings
have been completely restored.
The most significant is the Bas
sett Bassett Banking House
built in 1873. Bassett <&= Bassett is
a three-stoiy building with a
slightly Italian look. Originally
designed to house a bank, law of
fices and a cotton exchange, the
building has been modified once
before, in the early 1900’s, to add
the third floor and a beautiful
skylight.
The H.F. Hohlt Company De
partment Store, 1914, was built
with an open-air mall, which
was very contemporary at the
time. The Main Street Project
renovations retained most of the
orignal design, yet added a cov
ered atrium to light the'mall.
“Presently there are 11 other
buildings in the downtown area
which are under reconstruction,”
Hutchinson says. “We are very
excited about one area in partic
ular - the Ant Street complex.”
Two buildings of the six in the
Ant Street complex have been
completed - the Ant Street Saloon
and Restaurant and Unicorn
Books, Records and Nostalgia.
The exterior of the saloon and
restaurant are as authentic as
you might expect. The surface is
Walking into the saloon you
may think you’ve just walked into
a Clint Eastwood movie. The
only lighting is from a few an
tique Tiffany lamps -one with sil
houettes of pyramids and camels
- and from whatever light can
make it through the stained-glass
windows.
A huge bar lines one wall,
which Delbert Huntsman, owner
of the saloon and restaurant, says
was made in Pennsylvania and
dates back to 1886. The dark oak
bar encloses a beautiful antique
mirror which reflects the interior
of the saloon.
Bolted in front of the bar are
stools that once sat in a Chicago
court house, which if legends are
to be believed, seated the likes of
Al Capone in the 1920’s. Stuffed
animal heads stare out from the
walls, invisible behind the clutter
of oil paintings of saloon girls
and other antiques. /
The restaurant is one of the
few places in the complex where
modern conveniences can be
found (salad bar, hot plate,etc.),
yet Huntsman swears everything
is original except for the ceiling
fans.
Upstairs is a game room which
houses pool tables made in the
late 1800’s, dart boards and
more faded paintings of scantily-
clad girls. The only lighting for
the room is from windows and a
deep-set skylight, added so elec
tricity would not be needed.
The Unicorn bookstore is
much smaller and serves both as
an antique store and aused book
and record exchange. The only
part of the bookstore that is not
authentic is the purchase counter
which the owner points out “was
made by hand.”
The owner, John Haradon,
serves as part-time historian for
the complex as well as part-time
renovator. He is currently work
ing on one of the complex build
ings once thought to be just “an
ugly, pink stucco building.”
“I was looking at the thing one
day and saw an awning sticking
out that looked like limestone,”
Haradon says.
It turned out that Haradon
was right and the building is a
complete limestone structure
that Haradon has spent many
months on, chipping away at the
false store front.
While finding the buildings be
hind the facades can be hard
enough, Haradon says unearth
ing the history of the structures
can be even harder.
“I spent some time in the tax
records and found out the past
owners of buildings,” he says.
“They don’t tell you about who
actually used the buildings and
for what. The real history comes
from reading old newspaper
clippings of the Banner Press.”
Both Huntsman and Haradon
say the Ants Street area had a
bad reputation in the late 1880’s
when the street was lined with
saloons, casinos and houses of ill
repute. If the men have their
way, the area will regain some of
its former life, if not its racy rep
utation.
“Basically, we’re turning Ants
Street back into an entertain
ment area but in the vein of Aus
tin’s Sixth Street,” Huntsman
says. “I hope to bring in enter
tainment that will retain the old-
fashioned feeling such as
bluegrass bands and other folk
music.”
Haradon says he hopes the
new businesses in Ants Street
will also work toward a Sixth
Street appearance with antique
stores, boutiques and small
clubs.
While in Brenham, don’t forget
to tour the private homes that
have been in the city for years.
The Washington County/Bren-
ham Chamber of Commerce of
fers a brochure with a wonderful
walking map of many historic
homes.
And inevitalby, although Bren
ham does have a lot to offer on
the historic side, Blue Bell offers
a tour of their facilities and free
samples, too.