1893 J.J. McAlester Mercantile

1893 J.J. McAlester Mercantile. . Of all the buildings J.J. McAlester built to support his trading company, the 1893 is the oldest surviving example. Built at the crossroads of the Old Texas Trail and what was known as The California Trail, McAlester placed the building on this site for its high amount of traffic., His trading company, J.J. McAlester Mercantile Company and the company store for his coal miners, sold a limited range of food, clothing and daily necessities. Col. McAlester had his own currency printed to give to his miners on payday. What is called "scrip" money today, McAlester's currency provided the worker with credit when their wages had been depleted. Due to the remote location of McAlester, workers had very little choice but to purchase meals and goods at a J.J. McAlester company store. The company could place enormous markups on goods, making workers completely dependent, thus enforcing their "loyalty" to the company., In the back of the store, in both corners, are built-in vaults where McAlester kept his cash and stocks of valuable items. The thick walls of stone made them fire proof and the heavy steel doors could defeat any attempt to open them., The 1893 building is one of the last remaining Prairie commercial buildings. The stone construction was expensive when the building was constructed, but McAlester built this building in a grand style for 1893 since it represented his vision for the area. The building proved its worth during the Great Fire of 1906; it survived while much of the town was destroyed., J.J. McAlester's store served as the basis for the store visited by U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn in the 1968 novel True Grit by Charles Portis and the subsequent 1969 feature film version starring the actor John Wayne.