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The first post office was established in Beeville in 1859, the year after the town's founding. The 1918 building was the first Beeville post office constructed on Federal property - previous locations were county- or privately-owned. The building is a significant example of small town post office designs produced by the U.S. Treasury Department in the early twentieth century. Soon after construction began, a tragic incident occurred with great legal implications. J.P. Hermes and Robert B. Brown, both contracted to remove excavated dirt from the foundation, were hostile towards each other, and Brown began carrying a gun to the worksite for protection. On May 7, 1917, before a crowd of witnesses, Hermes threatened Brown with a knife, and Brown pulled out his pistol and shot and killed Hermes then walked to the courthouse and turned himself in. Brown was found guilty of homicide, but the case was later appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In an opinion delivered by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, the court ruled that Brown had acted in self defense, thus establishing the right to use lethal force when facing a lethal attack. The 1918 post office is a one-story brick and limestone building with a raised basement. The design features Classical Revival style architecture and symmetrical facades. The primary entrance includes a pedimented portico on four Doric columns and a recessed doorway topped by a semicircular fanlight. The flat roof includes a cast stone stringcourse and brick parapet with regularly-spaced wooden balustrades. In 1961 a compatible wing was added to the north and west sides of the original floor plan. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2009 |
