The known
history of the building which became 217 - 219 South
Commercial Avenue began in 1888 when two wooden frame
buildings, which occupied only about two-thirds of the
lots, were at this location. At this time
an agricultural equipment business was located at 219
South Commercial Avenue.
By 1904 a sample room for traveling salesmen
was located at 217 and a second hand bicycle shop was
at 219.
 Wylie Hotel in 1907 (Note there is no outside stairs at this time. Early maps show these stairs were added between 1916 and 1923. When built, there must have been a stairs inside one of the first story buildings to the second floor.)
There were many
businesses located on the first floor over the
years, but the second story was always a hotel. In 1929,
the Modern Hotel was located on the second floor of
the both buildings.
Entrance to the hotel was gained by climbing
the stairs on the south side of the building facing
East College Avenue, which had been built between
1916 and 1923.
The lobby was located inside the door at the
top of the stairs.
At this time, it was owned by Mrs. Mae
Hambright, who also lived there. The name
of the hotel was changed to the Commercial Hotel
after 1929. It was operated from about 1955
until 1973 by N. B. “Boots” and Ruth Ewing, who also
lived there. As
far as is known, the second story has not been used
for a business purpose since that time. In the
early days, the address of the second story was
known as 219 ˝ South Commercial Avenue.
"In 1929, Home Bakery was
located at 217 South Commercial Avenue. W.
J. Strickland was the proprietor." (Coleman City Directory, 1929 -
Hudspeth.)
In 1929, Home Bakery was located at 217 South Commercial Avenue, and Help U Self Market and Grocery was at 219 South Commercial Avenue. The Commercial Hotel was located on the second story of this building. Goodyear Service Store had been at this location since 1935, moving to 121 West Pecan Street in 1943. Following the move by Goodyear, the B&B Tire Company opened at this location in October 1945, with Leroy Bouldin as the manager. In May 1946, Gwynn Elliott opened Elliott’s Bakery at 217 South Commercial Avenue, located next door to Henning’s Jewelry. Elliott was a B-25 Army Air Force pilot in World War II. He was from Brownwood. His father, C. C. Elliott operated Elliott Bakery there. J. L. Moore was employed as a baker.
Edwin H. Henning, Sr.
and his wife, Carrie, were moved to Coleman in 1927.
Carrie E. (Thames) Henning was the sister of Vernon
“Fatty” Thames, a well-known figured in the cafe and
automobile business in Coleman. Henning was in the
real estate business in 1929. In November 1943, he and
his son, E. H. Henning, Jr., opened “Henning’s Busy
Jewelers.” The jewelry store was located at 219 South
Commercial Avenue, a location from which the Goodyear
Service Store had moved earlier in the year. Henning’s
carried a complete stock of diamonds, watches, clocks,
jewelry, silverware, cut glass and many other items.
They also did watch, clock and jewelry repair. In
January 1950 Henning moved to their new home in the
Harbour Building at 117 South Commercial Avenue.
Henning bought the building in January 1948 from Dr.
Jerry Harbour. Harbour was a long time optometrist in
Coleman. The building had been occupied by Earle
Smith, Jeweler, until he moved his jewelry store
across the street in 1949. Clovis Tyson had been
working with Smith and continued running the jewelry
store until 1948 when he moved Tyson’s Jewelers into
the lobby of the Coleman County State Bank building.
After Tyson moved, Jerry Harbour continued to operate
a jewelry store in conjunction with his optometry
business. After the sale of the building to Henning,
the building was redecorated and renovated. Dr.
Harbour continued to occupy his quarters in the
building. The Henning’s son, who became Dr. Edwin H.
Henning, O. D. (below left, Capps) was born in
Freeport in 1918. He graduated from Coleman High
School in 1936. After working with his father a few
years, he attended and graduated from Stephen F.
Austin College and the Northern Illinois College of
Optometry in Chicago. He returned to Coleman in 1951
after completing his education, to work with Dr.
Harbour. For a number of years, the business continued
as Harbour and Henning, Optometrists, until the death
of Dr. Harbour in 1956. Henning also continued to help
with his mother and father, Carrie and Edwin Henning,
in the jewelry business, which continued at the same
location. Carrie Henning continued to operate the
jewelry store after her husband’s death in 1960,
closing the store about 1965. Dr. E. H. Henning
continued with his optometry practice until his death
in 1986.
In October 1948, The Book Store,
owned and operated by Howard N. Burpo opened at 217
South Commercial Avenue. The store carried a
full line of books, cards, stationery, etc., with book
rental library. Before coming to Coleman to
establish the store, Burpo was in Abilene with the
city library. Helen and Ed Burnam, along with
their sons, Joe Ed and Kenneth, moved to Coleman on
December 15, 1948, and purchased The Book Store.
The Burnams liked to read and loved books and
children. Many children’s books, all kinds of
models and other types of handicraft were added to The
Book Store inventory. In 1951, The Book Store
had been enlarged to twice the size as it was when
purchased, carrying a complete coverage of all
magazines with over 500 titles from which to select.
Their selection of pocketbooks was the largest in West
Texas, with over 600 titles on hand with new
selections arriving each week. With two boys,
the Burnams knew that all children enjoyed reading
comic books, so The Book Store Comic Club was started.
A card was made out in the name of the child
buying comic books and a record kept of each child’s
purchase. As soon as the required number of
comics have been purchased a gift box of pencils with
the child’s name printed in 22 karat gold on them was
presented to the child. A complete up-to-date
lending library department was used many times each
day by Coleman housewives who only wanted to rent a
book for a few days. The Bible and dictionary
section carried a range of inexpensive volumes to the
very best. A wide choice was available if one
was looking for games, puzzles, mechanical toys, guns
and pull toys, as well as a selection of model
airplanes, Indian bead sets, leather work kits, copper
disk tooling sets, kites to fly, and model cars to
build. There was a large selection of Gibson
greeting cards, boxes of Wyckoff stationery,
personalized or plain. The Book Store became the
headquarters for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts as the boys
were active in these groups and Ed became both Cub
master and Scoutmaster. Ed was camp director at
Camp Tonkawa Boy Scout Camp near Buffalo Gap for
twenty-one years, between 1950 and 1972. Both
boys became high ranking boy scouts. The Burnams
lived in the rear of The Book Store for their first
five years in Coleman. The Book Store was listed
in the Coleman city directory, with no telephone in
1962. The Western Union office was also located
there in 1962, with Helen Burnam as the operator.
Ed and Helen divorced in 1968. Ed returned
to teaching math at Mozelle, then at Novice, retiring
in 1976. Helen remarried Jack Rambo. For
me, in my junior high and even high school years, The
Book Store was the most wonderful place to visit in
Coleman! And if you needed to read a book fast,
they had Classics Illustrated!
By 2003, the Coleman County Medical
Center Wellness Center was located at 217-219 South
Commercial Avenue
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