Wyatt's Office City

Wyatt's Office City. . This building stands on the site of the original Nacogdoches County Courthouse, which was torn down in 1916. Mr. Frank S. Aikman and Mr. John Lewis Needham formed The Mahdeen Company on September 3, 1912, and built this present building in 1918 from brick made locally on the banks of Banita Creek. Mr. Needham, a local barber, had made a hair tonic several years earlier for use in his own shop and called the product "Mahdeen", his name spelled backward. Built to produce and market Mahdeen, the building was occupied by The Mahdeen Company on the third floor and the basement. The first and second floors were used by automobile dealership, Duke H. Herbert Ford Co. and Ben T. Wilson Chevrolet Co. Bought from Nacogdoches County by Eugene H. Blount and Thomas E. Baker, this property was known as the Bloun-Baker Building in the early 1900's. During the early 1960's the building was used by a branch of the Village Furniture Store of Lufkin. In 1971 John S. Wyatt Inc. bought the property from the Baker and Blount heirs. The building, now housing Wyatt's Office City, is owned by partners Mrs. Jessie Wyatt, R. Steve Crow, and Donald Alexander. Reminders of the original occupants are still visible in the building. Original woodwork, doors, and cabinets are installed in the offices. Large oak vats used to mix Mahdeen hair tonic are on the third floor, materials used for marketing Mahdeen remain in the basement, and the ramp which transported cars to the second floor for service can be seen on top of the print shop.