Meet Arthur Osborn Watson, Architect of The 1895

A.O. Watson circa 1913

“The 1895” in Rockdale has a significant architectural history which — much like its original Victorian design — had nearly been lost to time.  Its architectural roots are a testament to the importance Rockdale played in connecting the Texas Capital with Rockdale’s agricultural and industrial region which had seen great prosperity at the turn of the century — enough so to attract esteemed architect Arthur Osborn Watson to submit designs to construct Rockdale’s City Hall.

Arthur Osborn Watson (1864-1935) was born in Washington County, Texas.  He attended Texas Agricultural & Mechanical College (present day Texas A&M) in 1881, and moved to Austin after graduating around 1884.  He began practicing architecture in Austin soon thereafter with Jacob L. Larmour as his partner.  The two collaborated on many courthouse and civic buildings.  This partnership lasted from 1887 to 1892 with projects including the Val Verde (1887), Comanche (1890), Grimes (1891), Llano (1892), Haskell (1892), and Milam (1892) County Courthouses. 

In 1892, Watson began his own practice and continued designing courthouses, schools, and churches in Austin and around Texas. Richardsonian Romanesque was Watson’s dominant design style of commercial architecture; and he chose Gothic for churches designed; Italianate, Classic/Greek Revival and Queen Anne styles for houses; and Renaissance Revival for schools. 

His independent works include the Taylor National Bank (1894), DeWitt County Courthouse (1896), Southwestern Telegraph & Telephone Building (Austin, 1899), All Saints Episcopal Church (Austin, 1899), Austin High School (1900), Christ Episcopal Church (Temple, 1904), State Lunatic Asylum (Austin, 1904), Confederate Woman’s Home (Austin, 1908), Bartlett Grammar School (1909) and Alpine Grammar School (1910). 

Watson married Minnie Pope in 1893 and designed their family home near the Austin Capitol which still stands today. He also designed several other affluent homes such as Caswell House (Austin, 1895) and Gohmert-Summers House (DeWitt County, 1895).

On February 27, 1895, an agreement was signed by the Rockdale City Council with R. G. Scott of San Antonio, contractor, and A. O. Watson, Austin architect, to build the Rockdale City Hall.  The 1895 was designed in Romanesque Revival Style and is believed to be the only City Hall project designed by A.O. Watson.

Watson’s original rendering of The 1895 City Hall

It is Vision Historic Preservation Foundation’s mission to restore The 1895 to A.O. Watson’s original Victorian Romanesque Revival architectural design and transform it into an Arts & Entertainment Center to enrich the arts & cultivate economic development helping to revitalize downtown Rockdale. 

Thank you for supporting our efforts and vision for The 1895 with your generous tax deductible donation.

#visionrockdale #the1895 #historicpreservation #rockdaletx #downtownrevitalization #downtownrockdale

History of the Rockdale Jail at The 1895

“Sweeping Conflagration — Two Blocks Burned”

As reported in the Galveston Daily News on March 23, 1877, Rockdale’s original Jail, a calaboose, burned in an arson which started at the saddlery, damaging or destroying over 35 businesses and buildings, amounting to over $60,000 in losses.

Lost or damaged in the fire were Hubert’s Saddlery, Mr. Enoch Breeding’s Rockdale Messenger, warehouse of Max & Co Dry Goods, Bland’s Bookstore, and several others as the fire jumped across the road.

1885 Sanborn Map. The Calaboose in seen as being at the alley off Bell St.

Dating back to 1885, Rockdale’s Calaboose is seen annotated on the Sanborn maps on the alley off Bell street (The current location of Noack Hereford Beef). The Future site of the City Hall is still a lumberyard.

The term “calaboose” comes from the Spanish term calabozo which means “jail, dungeon, or cell” and was used to describe small structures used as jails throughout Texas.

The calaboose featured at Rockdale’s Bridge Park is of the same time period as Rockdale’s old jail off Bell street. Originally from Burlington, Texas, this calaboose is similar to the primitive “amenities” offered to prisoners who were awaiting transfer to the county jail in Cameron.

Historic Burlington Calaboose featured at Rockdale’s Bridge Park

Newspaper archives reveal commentary regarding the poor conditions of the jail dating back to 1907, including pressure on the county to fund a proper detention center in Rockdale since the town had provided jail space to the county for 30 years at no charge. By 1912, Commissioner Reese had been successful in getting the county to build a concrete calaboose on the bell street lot.

Yet again in 1915, due to sanitary concerns, a grand jury report issued a recommendation that the county health officer issue rules and regulations relating to the care of jails and prisoners.

Fast Forward to the early 1950s …

Rockdale was still using a concrete calaboose as their jail facilities in 1951. With the projected growth, due to the coming of Alcoa, civic groups such as the Lions Club led the discussion of the need for various improvements in town, including the deplorable conditions of the jail, which were described as a “disgrace” by local officer Ed Sexton. In 1952, plans to build a new jail onto the back of the old city hall were fulfilled. The new solid concrete jail included cells for men and women, each with toilet facilities.

An improvement to the pre-1952 calaboose, in 2019, the Rockdale Jail conditions were still rough.

The cost of construction was $3,000, primarily funded by the sale of the lot & calaboose off Bell street to Edward Noack.

Until 1986, access to the cells were via these exterior iron doors. When the Fire Department moved to their new facilities in 1986, the Rockdale Police Department began utilizing the former Fire Station area. These outer doors were sealed and an interior entrance into the Jail was created.

The Jail at the 1895 City Hall was used until 2019 when the City of Rockdale completed construction of a new Police Station and Jail conforming to modern state jail standards.

The City Hall Jail is a point of curiosity for visitors of The 1895. Eventually, Vision Historic Preservation Foundation will demolish the Jail from the back of the old City Hall. Our goal is to seek a Historic Designation and since the Jail is not original to the design it will need to be removed.

Don’t miss the chance to satisfy your curiosity when the Foundation offers Open House Tours in December 2021 and early 2022.

The Opera House at The 1895

Prior to the 1939 WPA renovation, when a bi-secting brick wall was built to provide structural support, the second story of The 1895 City Hall was one open expanse extending the length of the building.
The 1912 Sanborn map references an Opera House on the second floor with stage & scenery.

As early as the turn of the century, the M.I.P. Latin & Literary Achievement Club is noted to have met in the Opera House. In 1908, a play by Hans Hanson with “25 actors and musicians with fine scenery” was advertised in the Reporter.

In the early 1900s, a number of theatrical productions were held in the Opera House, including a 1914 productions of “The Price she Paid” and “Bought and Paid For”, as well as “Her Sacrifice”, “The Merry Cobbler”, and “Peg o’ My Heart” in 1915.

The Opera House also hosted high school plays, like this 1927 production starring a future famous Rockdalian, author, George Perry. This photo from the 1927 Rockdale High School Yearbook, The Lair, shows scenery on the stage of the production of “An Arizona Cowboy” at Opera House.

The Opera House auditorium also served as home to many school basketball tournaments for schools throughout the region. In 1931, a new basketball court on the 2nd floor Opera House — referred to as the “Tiger Cage” — was dedicated at a game between the Rockdale Tigresses and their ancient rivals the Yoemen of Cameron. The article boasted a “seating capacity of 400 .. the old building will be decked out in its best bib and tucker for the festivities — its floor freshly waxed, its walls a spotless white, its seats and back-boards alternately blue and gold, its new lighting system bathing the whole court as the Cats pit their ferocity against the traditional accuracy of the archers”. The Opera House served in this capacity until 1936 when a state of the art auditorium was built at the high school.

With our mission to enrich the arts, it is the goal of Vision Historic Preservation Foundation to return The 1895 to its roots as a center of culture and entertainment for our community and visitors by re-developing it into a thriving Arts & Entertainment District.

Another popular event often held in the Opera House was professional wrestling matches. A 1916 article invites both ladies and gentlemen to attend a match, “as nothing will be said or done to offend anyone”. One wrestler of notoriety was the son of Rockdale townsman J.D. Fannin — Elbert “Pee Wee” Fannin — Rockdale’s ‘Classy’ Bantam Weight Wrestler who “became known for his prowess on the mat”. “Pee Wee” Fannin wrestled several times in The 1895 Opera House between 1914-1916 and around the country, “bringing fame to his home town as champion”. A 1919 article hails his return to “Regal Rockdale” after eleven months with the A.E.F. in France with the 132nd Field Artillery 36th Division (during WWI). The article states young Fannin “made quite a record over there in the wrestling game … which served to pass away the time most acceptably to the American soldiers”.

The 1895 Opera House was also the site of exciting new announcements and presentations. Articles discuss presentations at the Opera House by various statesmen and purveyors of new equipment and products to help advance agriculture and industry. A 1914 advertisement also promoted showings of new “talkie” motion pictures in the Opera House which was considered a marvel of the era.

As a center of the community, the Opera House at the 1895 City Hall was a multi-functional auditorium.
Within its walls many community dances and graduation ceremonies were celebrated. It was reported that the 1915 Commencement the Opera House was “crowded to its utmost capacity with friends and relatives”.

Thank you for supporting our efforts and vision for The 1895 with your generous tax deductible donation.

#visionrockdale #the1895 #historicpreservation #rockdaletx #downtownrevitalization #downtownrockdale

The Many Roles of The 1895

Over the past 125 years The 1895 City Hall has served as a center for the community in many capacities ...

In addition to city government and municipal functions, the building provided a place for many less obvious and unexpected services.

Circa 1954-1958, a Milam County Health Unit staffed a Public Health Nurse upstairs at the 1895 City Hall. During that time vaccination clinics were held to combat outbreaks of polio and tuberculosis. (Pictured here in April 1955 is Cheryl Hambrick receiving her polio vaccination from Nurse Brown.)

Also of note at that same time period, was a promotion by Police Chief Merryman for a mass inoculation of dogs against rabies by a visiting veterinarian Howard Sturhey of Hearne. Shots were given at the Fire Station downstairs. The fee, which included registration, was only $1.50 and made pet owners compliant with the city ordinance.

In October 1954, Rockdale’s first library began in one room on the 2nd story of the 1895 City Hall. At the time, Milam was one of the 53 of 254 counties in Texas with no public library. The community came together to make this valuable service a reality. The Rockdale Rotary Club collected 1,000 books and $550 to help launch the library. An Open House was held on October 17th with 150 people attending.

In May 1955, the library hired its first full-time librarian, Lee Ida Hairston, and expanded into a second room on the east side of the building. She continued as the librarian long after the new library was constructed in 1963.

In addition to serving as city management & staff offices, the City Hall was the meeting place for many public meetings. Political speeches as well as business & agricultural concerns and advancements were presented in city hall.

Several local groups also met at City Hall. The Lions Club formed in 1926 and met upstairs in the Opera House. As early as 1930, the American Legion Carlyle Post 358 is also noted to have held meetings at City Hall.

The Young Men’s Business League, which became the Chamber of Commerce, was housed in the city hall. Starting in 1919, the Chamber was located in the southwest downstairs office. In 1958, they formed a new charter & officed in the upstairs southeast office.

Pictured here in February 1940, an unknown woman is pictured seated in the upstairs southeast office after the WPA renovation which included plastering of interior walls and new hardwood floors. This antique desk still calls the 1895 home.

The History of The 1895

The 1895 City Hall in Feb 1940 after the WPA renovation.

The 1895 City Hall in Nov 2020 when it was purchased by Vision Rockdale.

In 1883, Rockdale began making plans for a City Hall with a bond election providing $10,000 for its construction.

In 1894, Rockdale began locating a site and commenced construction at the northeast corner of Burleson Street and Cameron Avenue in 1895. The two-story Romanesque Revival style structure designed by Austin architect Arthur O. Watson, and was constructed by R.G. Scott of San Antonio. Construction costs totaled $8,015 and the lot cost $1,850. The structure was built using bricks from the Rockdale Brick Works. In 1896, the Sanborn map shows city hall as being unfinished, but was completed on the 1901 survey.

In addition to serving as the center of city government & municipal water service, the City Hall also housed the fire department from 1896 - 1986. The 50 foot tower housed a bell which was rung to call the “fire boys” to action.

In 1906, R. W. H. Kennon merged the Rockdale Reporter & Rockdale Messenger newspapers and set up shop in the southeast office of City Hall.

In June 1911, John Esten Cooke purchased the paper & continued operations at the city hall for several decades. It is believed the Rockdale Reporter & Messenger operated at the City Hall until the 1939 renovation.

In October 1938, the City of Rockdale’s application for $20,000 in WPA funds for improvements to the City Hall received federal approval. Work began February 1939, and was completed November 1939. The project “modernized” the building, resulting the exterior brick being stuccoed, plastered interior walls, and provided new wood floors. This is also when the iconic bell tower was removed and it is unknown why the back half of the upstairs was removed.

In 1986, the police department & city offices utilized the entirety of the building, until the city offices relocated to a new City Hall at Cameron & Wilcox in 2002, and a new police station and jail were built in 2019.

In 2020, a new Vision for “The 1895” was born with a goal to restore the building to its original Victorian glory. Vision Historic Preservation Foundation purchased The 1895 from the City of Rockdale with the Mission to enrich the arts & cultivate economic development by restoring the historic 1895 City Hall for the citizens, businesses, and visitors of Rockdale.

Thank you for supporting our efforts and vision for the future of The 1895 with your generous tax deductible donation.

#visionrockdale #the1895 #historicpreservation #rockdaletx #downtownrevitalization #downtownrockdale

Celebrating Earth Day with Historic Preservation

HAPPY EARTH DAY! As our Foundation works to Preserve the Past, we also look to Building the Future -- and that includes taking measures to minimize our impact on the environment during the restoration of The 1895. While any restoration project involves disposing of demolition debris, we are being conscientious about what items can be diverted from the landfill and reused by the community.
To date, Vision Historic Preservation Foundation has diverted over 70 large items of office furniture & fixtures, recycled 350+ pounds of scrap metal, recycled 4 HVAC handlers & condensing units (including recovering the Freon), diverting at least 80 additional items including fluorescent light fixtures, sinktops, cabinet bases, window blinds, interior doors and more.
Once we begin our construction, Vision Historic Preservation Foundation plans to refinish the original hardwood floors upstairs and incorporate sustainable & energy-efficient aspects such as solar, energy & water conserving products, and rainwater collection systems for landscaping.
Thank you for following our story and supporting our efforts to bring new purpose to The 1895 -- helping to revitalize historic downtown Rockdale.

#visionrockdale #the1895 #historicpreservation #rockdaletx #downtownrevitalization #downtownrockdale #EarthDay2021

In Pursuit of Sustainability

Sustainability is often a consideration in Historic Preservation projects. In the big picture, preservation projects work to lessen the burden on the environment — limiting the amount of waste sent to the landfill — through restoration rather than demolition. With this in mind, as Vision Historic Preservation Foundation sought to clear the building of old furnishings, we found a way to divert over 70 items from the landfill by offering the community the opportunity to buy items via an Online Silent Auction and through Facebook Marketplace sales. This included over 20 desks and credenzas, 8 bookcases & shelving units, 2 sets of cabinet bases & upper cabinets, a refrigerator, 14 chairs, 23 bicycles, and a multitude of other items. Several filing cabinets are also metal-recycling bound.

Vision Historic Preservation Foundation is proud to have diverted these items from the landfill and put them back into service in the community. We are pleased the furnishings have found a new home and their buyers got a good deal on a still useful item. Some items were restoration projects in themselves — like historic desks that were of excellent quality, but could use some TLC — and others items came with a funny story — like the one I dubbed “the naughty stool”: a simple backless wooden stool located in the tiny room in which officers would bring detainees to “process” them.

Thank you to the community for helping us in our sustainability efforts.

Doing Good with Lost Bikes

What to do when the building you purchased comes cluttered with bicycles that are “unclaimed evidence” left behind from when the Police Department vacated the building? You find a way to get those bikes back into the community and make lots of kids happy!

Vision Historic Preservation Foundation reached out to another organization in our local community, Zelma’s Farms, headed up by Mark Benford and Florida Williams, as they have a process of refurbishing & distributing bikes to kids in the community. The crew from Zelma’s Farms came to the Historic 1895 City Hall and picked up 20 bikes (which meant 20 trips up & down a long flight of stairs!) on Thursday, December 17th. They said they hope to get the bikes ready to distribute the week of Christmas at Wolf Park in front of the giant Christmas Tree in Downtown Rockdale. Since they always have more people needing a bike than there are available, their distribution process is “lottery style”. Those needing a bike will be given a number — and then as numbers are selected the lucky winners get to pick a bike.

Watch our Facebook page for updates, and Thank you Zelma’s Farms for helping us do good in the Rockdale community and get these bikes back into use. (Merry Christmas kiddos!)

(PS: For clarity, all of the bikes were tagged by Rockdale Police Department indicating they were abandoned and were of unknown ownership.)

Foundation Receives Keys to 1895 City Hall

Mayor King passes the ceremonial key to Foundation Chair Collier Perry.

Perry unveils the architectural model revealing the building’s original design.

Architect Stan Graves and Perry don top hats in celebration of The 1895 restoration project.

A banner shares the Foundation’s vision for The 1895 building.

Plans include re-building the bell tower for the original bell to call home.

ROCKDALE, TX, December 3, 2020 – Vision Historic Preservation Foundation closed on the 1895 City Hall property at 140 W Cameron Ave in Rockdale on Friday, November 20th.  Plans are to restore the historic City Hall to its original grandeur and bring new purpose to the building.  The vacant 1895 City Hall is located on Cameron Avenue (Highway 79) in the heart of downtown.  While the building has served many functions over the past 125 years, it was most recently used as the police station and city jail by the City of Rockdale until they relocated to the newly built station in March 2019.

City leadership joined members of the Vision Historic Preservation Foundation to officially hand over the keys to the 1895 City Hall.  The ceremony included a short keynote address by Milam County Historic Commission Chairman Lynn Young, and an unveiling of a 3-Dimensional 3/16th scale model of the project.  The goal is to restore the building to architect Arthur O. Watson’s original design, including the bell tower.

“We are so excited about being involved with making this restoration project come to life,” said Collier Perry, Foundation Chair & Managing Director.  “Having grown up in Rockdale and raised my family here, I have always looked at the pictures of this grand old building and longed to see it come to life as the downtown center for culture and business it was conceived to be.”

VISION TO HAVE POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY – The venture is not just an effort to preserve an important piece of Rockdale’s history, but also an economic development project toward building on the future of Rockdale.  “Can you picture the vision the 1895 City Council must have had in initiating the construction of this City Hall,” Perry expressed with pride.  “It takes my breath away to think about that – and we want this beautiful building to have that effect on others once again.”

The vision to restore the 1895 City Hall is timely, as TXDOT is set to break ground after Thanksgiving on a revitalization project in historic downtown which will result in road improvements, new sidewalks & lighting, and improved parking.  “Once completed, the restored 1895 City Hall, along with the TXDOT project, will have a huge impact on enhancing Rockdale’s Downtown area,” stated Rockdale Mayor John King.  “The restoration of the old building is something that the City just could not undertake because of funding.”

“Listening to Mr. Perry’s plans for this building, the project will be a much-needed injection to Rockdale’s economic revitalization,” stated Michelle Larkin, Rockdale Municipal Development District Chair. “The sale of the vacant building to the Vision Historic Preservation Foundation was a win-win for all parties concerned and I am excited to see this project come to fruition.”

Collier & Peggy Perry and Dell Perry Giles are serving as the initial officers of the Foundation.  Mr. Perry has been assembling an enthusiastic team to consult and fundraise to make this project a success, and will be looking to recruit passionate, dedicated stakeholders from the community to serve as Foundation Board Members.

The fundraising for this project will begin in early 2021.  “I am confident that over the next few years we can achieve the goal of raising the $4 million needed for this project,” states the Foundation’s Campaign Manager, Curah Beard. “It is a challenge, but we will be pursuing a variety of funding options on the local, state and national level, including grants, capital campaigns, fundraising programs, and special events.” 

###

Vision Historic Preservation Foundation, a newly formed Texas Non-Profit 501.c.3 Corporation, is dedicated to the restoration & revitalization of Rockdale’s 1895 City Hall with the goal of preserving the past and building the future through economic development ventures which will culturally and economically benefit the community. 

### 

For more information about Vision Historic Preservation Foundation’s 1895 City Hall project, please call Curah Beard at 512-496-3962, or email cbeard@visionhistoricpreservationfoundation.org

Chronology of Significant Historic Events

• 1835 Milam County is named after Benjamin Rush Milam

• 1873 Settlers in the area sell 400 acres to the railroad for a townsite

• 1874 The International & Great Northern railroad company begins operation and helps spur growth around Rockdale

• February 4, 1874 Mrs. B.F. Ackerman gives the town of Rockdale its name after seeing a large rock on a sandy prairie north of the town

• 1878 City of Rockdale is incorporated

• 1883 City bond election provided $10,000 for construction of a city hall and school building. A design by Architect F.E. Ruffini was not built and the project was put on hold.

• 1884 Rockdale’s population reaches 1,700 residents boasting five churches, two schools, two cotton gins, a 250-seat opera house, a private bank, and a weekly newspaper

• 1890 Texas’ first coal mine, Black Diamond Coal Company, is opened in Rockdale by Hermann F. Vogel and Gus Lorenz

• 1891 The San Antonio and Aransas Pass railroad begins operation in Rockdale

• 1894 The city acquired land for a city hall

• 1895 In February, work begins on Rockdale City Hall from architect A. O. Watson’s plans. By August, work came to a halt as the contractor had trouble acquiring materials. It is not clear when the building was finished.

• 1897 A boiler exploded at the water and electric light plant. The town was left without water or light for approximately 30 days. The damage to the power plant was $8,000.

• 1901 Sanborn maps show City Hall completed, newspaper articles note that city council erected a stage in the city hall

• 1920 Oil is discovered near Rockdale

• 1923 An Austin Newspaper described planned improvements to the building including a bisecting wall on the first floor and a rebuilt facade.

• 1939 City Hall is remodeled extensively with the bell tower and auditorium being removed. The bisceting wall on the first floor may have been installed at this time. A remodeled fire station is housed in the rear of the building during this alteration.

• 1951 Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) held a groundbreaking ceremony in Milam County, 6 miles away from Rockdale including plans for a coal power plant (Sandow Power Plant)

• 1953 Population reached 2,311

• 1954 A total of 19,471 people toured the Alcoa facilities as part of the grand opening celebrations

• 1950s Fire station within the building was remodeled and enlarged

• 1955 Population reached 6,027

• 1959 The San Antonio and Aransas Pass railroad closed

• 1986 The fire department was relocated and the former spaces inside the city hall were remodeled for police function

• 2002 City Hall functions moved to a new building, the police department moved in

• 2004 El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail includes multiple sites in Milam County

• 2008 Alcoa plant closed

• 2018 Sandow Power Plant shut down due to clean energy growth

• 2019 The Rockdale Police Department is scheduled to move to a new $4 million dollar building, vacating the old city hall

• 2020 The City of Rockdale sells the 1895 City Hall to Vision Historic Preservation Foundation to be restored and developed.