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In the 1870s, Stephenville’s population was around 300 people and contained a handful of businesses in wooden buildings along the town square. In 1870, James A. Shelton purchased lots on the southeast corner of the town square to open a new business. James A. Shelton was born in North Carolina in 1825 and served with the 21st Tennessee Infantry, C.S.A. After the Civil War, he and his wife, Alabama A. Shelton, and their children, moved to Erath County. For a time, Shelton served as an Erath County Sheriff’s Deputy. He was a prominent citizen who helped organize the first bank in Stephenville. In 1873, Shelton and his business partner, George W. Gentry, signed a contract for the construction of an imposing limestone structure, the first stone building erected on the square. George W. Gentry, also from North Carolina, lived in Virginia before moving with his wife, Caroline M. Gentry, daughter and servants Lucy Jenkins, Possum Jenkins and John Jenkins. upon his arrival in Stephenville, Gentry established himself as a merchant. He served as the District Clerk from 1872 to 1876 and was elected Commissioner of Erath County Precinct Two. As the oldest surviving historic structure situated on the courthouse square, the building is a two-part masonry commercial block with an unfinished basement. Transoms adorn the front façade. over the years, many businesses operated out of the building, including a mercantile store, county government offices, meeting site for social clubs, a tire shop, automotive parts store and saloon. local tradition states that before the courthouse was completed, the basement was used as the county jail. |
