Checkers at Jefferson General Store

by Kathy White

Title

Checkers at Jefferson General Store

Artist

Kathy White

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Jefferson, Texas is a historic, beautiful town filled with lots to do and see. It is home to more state registered historic structures than anywhere else in Texas, many of which are also listed on The National Registry of Historic Places.
We visited at Christmas time and fell in love with the general store there. David shot this view in the store, showing the hometown atmosphere that it exudes. A checkerboard is set up for customers to play a lively game and there is lots of browsing to be done!
The Jefferson General Store is housed in an original building built in the 1860's. It was built by Rudolph Ballauf and sons to be the first hardware store in the burgeoning riverport town. In fact, Mr. Ballauf owned three riverboats himself, including one called "The Friendly." The location of the building was ideal because it was near a "turning basin" for the riverboats. There is still a large cast iron safe in the store today that was owned by the original family. Then Mr. Ballauf's daughter, Emma and her husband, Eugene Meyer, Sr. took over the store. They ran the store until 1977, changing the name to "Eugene Meyer & Son Hardware."
In 1979, Cliff Bode bought the store and all of its contents. He operated "Steamboat Warehouse", using the artifacts from the original store, such as plow points and wagon wheels and other antiques. He and his wife, Anna, officially changed the store's name to "Jefferson General Store" in 1991.
This store is reminiscent of an old five and dime because of the huge variety of things for sale in it. They have an old-fashioned soda fountain. They make fresh homemade pecan pralines and have an unheard of five cent cup of coffee all day, everyday. They house a huge selection of candy, novelties, jams, jellies, spreads, and as they say, pickled everything! Enjoy some Texas Blue Bell ice cream, some music from Texas musicians, Texas t-shirts, caps, boots, and souvenirs. There's old memorabilia hanging on the wall and then a huge selection of funny and vintage signs and cards for sale. There are cookbooks, books, clothing, vintage and collectible toys, and just about anything you can think of to please someone you know. It is an experience to shop around the Jefferson General Store...so make sure you allow plenty of time to see everything. They have a website with an online store. The actual general store is open Sun.-Thurs. 9am-6pm, Fri.-Sat. 9am-10pm and located at 113 East Austin Street in Jefferson, Texas. Make sure you look for the sharp-looking turquoise 1951 1/2 ton Chevy parked out front and you won't miss the store!! According to Mr. Bode, that Chevy truck still runs and was once used for deliveries, but today, it is more of an icon for the store. He commented that people get upset if it's not there!

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January 5th, 2013

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