West Milam Street Mercantile Historic District

Along the 600 block of West Milam Street in Wharton, Texas, a small cluster of commercial buildings and one house records the growth of a rail-oriented business area in the early 1900s. Five buildings contribute to the district, dating from 1901 to about 1930, while four later buildings from about 1960 do not. The two-story brick Old Deaton Grocery Company building, built in 1901 and first home to a feed store, dominates the group with its corbeled parapet and unusual molded brick string courses. The Gifford Mercantile Company Building, later a motor company, reflects early automobile dealerships. A long wood-frame commercial row and a stuccoed storefront building show typical false-front parapets and sidewalk awnings. The Peine-Leeds House, an L-plan dwelling with jigsawn trim, completes the group. The district was listed for architecture because it keeps a high degree of integrity in a town where many early commercial buildings have been altered since the 1950s.