November 23, 2005

I ran across an old photo of the east side of Main Street. The only building that still stands is the one on the extreme left in the picture. Notice the tallest brick building which is directly behind the man sitting on top of a wagon load of field dried corn. This building was the first brick building that was built on what is now Main Street. The building was built by J. G. Powledge and served as a grocery, hardware and farm implements from the J. I Case company. This Powledge business was in existence until the early 1930s. It was partially destroyed by the storm of April 1918.

Also notice the first wooden structure; it is made up of a siding that became popular in the l890s. There are many of the Victorian homes including mine and others in my neighborhood that were built during the 1890s period.

The building by the wagon with the unknown man in the window was a public weighing station where the cotton, corn, peanuts and cattle were weighed and readied for shipment on the local railroad that came through the community ten years before this photographer caught this downtown scene.

This downtown scene was included in one of the books of Denton County photos that was published by Hollis Hervey. She erroneously stated the picture was from another section of town. I wish to make this correction on the error because it needs to be brought to your attention just incase you run across this in that publication then you will be able to analyze and go into the details as I am attempting in this photo.

The photo was made after the new name of Aubrey replaced the Indian name of Onega only eight to ten years earlier.

The bricks in the pow ledge building were constructed out of the soil just a couple of blocks south and just south of Bud and Letha Mae Looper’s current home. The hole remained in the soil for many years and was later used for the basement of the Aubrey Flour Milling Company.

Wire Service is also obvious in the picture; the poles and insulators look new.

I would like to determine the identity of the three men closest to the photographer. I am asking for your help.

There is a small vacant lot before the barber shop pole where barbed wire and other farm products were stocked for the Powledge store. The building next to the barber pole going to the North is the Aubrey Meat Market. The Meat market was in operation long before my time and Wesley (Peg) Housden was the butcher. Fresh home baked bread was sold in the business where delivery was made daily. My grandfather was also a butcher and helped the Housdens. Ice had to be hauled in by wagon and kept in a large vault that kept the meat fresh and ready for public sale.

I remember stories about how my Uncle Joe would slip in when no one was watching and would steal fresh rolls and donuts. He would then run outside and away from the meat market and enjoy his feast without his Dad, Wood Goin knowing about the crime. We call that shop lifting today.

Just north of the meat market was the same street that is just south of the present day library. In that section was the saloon and next to the saloon was the Yarborough and Plummer Blacksmith and Livery stables.

There were five blacksmith shops at one time in the community and almost every blacksmith had a livery station.

Most of the businesses had been located on Magnolia Street where the peanut dryer is now located. That row of businesses was the principal area for shopping just before the Civil War, when the railroad began surveying and staking the route for this area.

The row of buildings on what we know as Magnolia street today was all wiped out with a huge fire that could not be brought under control. One old newspaper stated that a person couldn’t buy a cigar the next day . That year was in the 1870s just before the railroad finished surveying for that right of way.

Just to the north of the Yarborough and Plummer Blacksmith is the street and building in the far left in the photo. This building was built with a better grade of bricks that were not produced in Aubrey and therefore that building is still standing today.

Wilson Brown was the last to remodel that well built structure. It was used for the Aubrey Argus and earlier the Banner. Many of the old Aubrey papers that I have in my collection were printed in that building.

On another note the Onega Cherokees will hold their Christmas dinner on the second Saturday of December. The local group of Cherokee historians meet in the annex of the Methodist church monthly. I am looking forward to the new library which is under construction to add historical artifacts of our local heritage.

Many of the storm pictures mentioned above are available to view on a web site under www.bouncergoin.com. I invite you to go to this site and look at these photos, you can also print the photos for your own collection. Many other pictures from my historical collection will be added in the future. There are also many family records, photos and old Onega photos available on this site.