The Mayer & Schmidt Building

The Mayer and Schmidt Building. . Originally owned as part of the Old Stone Fort property by the Y'Barbo and Roberts families, the northeast corner lot at Main and Fredonia had become important retail property as early as 1845. In the 1860s the owners added warehouses to the rear of the property (across Commerce Street) to service their thriving businesses. Deeds show that Robert Shindler operated a general mercantile business on the corner from 1873 to 1882. After a short time in the possession of a Galveston mercantile firm, the partnership of Abe Mayer and John Schmidt purchased the lot and storehouse in 1888 and made plans to move their thriving retail trade from the west side of the Public Square to this location. Schmidt commissioned his close friend and architect D. Rulfs to replace the wooden structure with new brick one. Although later destroyed by fire, Rulfs' buildings had elaborate brickwork, strong cornices, and decorations on the top as can be seen in early photographs of East Main Street., John Schmidt was born near Kreuznach, in the Rhineland of Germany in 1856. After working for several years in a mercantile business, he and his friend Abraham Mayer came to the United States, first to New York and then to Texas. In 1878 they embarked on a small grocery business in Nacogdoches on the west side of the square. John Schmidt became one of the most important businessmen in the State of Texas. At one time the Mayer and Schmidt Co. (M&S) had as many as five different stores in downtown Nacogdoches, a major store in Tyler, and major stock in the Titche-Goettinger Company in Dallas. To manage their lucrative cotton business, Abe Mayer moved to New York to broker orders between buyers and Nacogdoches farmers. M&S retail outlets in Texas had merchandise that reflected the direct input from buyers in New York. The company advertised very sophisticated merchandise - the latest from New York and Paris., On January 3, 1908 an arsonist set a fire that completely destroyed the M&S and adjacent buildings along East Main in Block 8. The first caused more that $190,000 damage. M&S reopened for business in the Davidson Building (now the City Offices) until they could rebuild. Architect D. Rulfs designed and built the present structure in eight months. At the completion of the structural work in August on the 13,520 square floor building, the principals held a typical German "pine top" celebration. On top of a 60 foot table, supported on saw horses and nail kegs of food, they set "a sumptuous spread" for local notables, according to the Daily Sentinel. The store opened in October to rave headlines as being "without a peer in the Big State". Features praised were the steam heat, the modern lighting, the private telephone system, the large elevator, and the fact that all of the store fixtures and furnishings were built in East Texas. After Mayer died in 1909, the now incorporated M&S firm sold their hardware business to Cason-Monk, and continued business in this location until the 1930s. Heavy investments in the cotton market and the depression had ruined Schmidt's fortune by the time he died in 1934. His son declared bankruptcy and sold his interest in this building to H.R. and A.T. Mast in 1938. The building, remolded several times since then, still belongs to the A.T. Mast family. Important later tenants have included Three Beall Brothers, the City Recreation Department and law offices.