On sloping terrain in the center of town, the Burton Commercial Historic District encompasses all or parts of seven city blocks originally platted as commercial lots. Within its cruciform boundaries are most of the commercial buildings erected in this small (population about 350) community of western Washington County since its founding. Simple vernacular resources for the most part, they include retail stores, industrial buildings, a railroad depot and a portion of the historic railroad right-of-way. Of the 47 buildings in the district, 28 are classified as Contributing.

Resources in the district are typically small-scale frame buildings that exhibit a variety of siding, although a few masonry and 2-story buildings are present. On small commercial lots or on slightly wider residential lots, most buildings in the district are commercial in function, with scattered residential properties. Some commercial sites have been adapted for residential use and a sizable percentage are vacant. A total of 28 contributing resources and 19 noncontributing resources are within the district boundaries, including a number of outbuildings.

Vernacular forms and plan types define the district's historic character. Vernacular types with limited stylistic allusions include late-19th century stores with false fronts, gable-end commercial buildings, early-20th century store fronts, a number of bungalow-era buildings, several early-20th century garage/service stations, and a large utilitarian lumberyard.

Paved streets form a grid pattern skewed roughly 45 degrees from the cardinal directions. Commercial lots, with improvements placed close to the street, usually exhibit little vegetation. Vegetation on residential lots and on those where both a residence and a commercial building occur typically exhibit more vegetation. While most lot sizes in the district are small, a scattering of residential and industrial properties disrupts the district's uniform appearance. The frequency and variety of wood frame outbuildings also contribute to the variable appearance of the district.

Intrusions to the historic character of the district either represent significant alterations to historic resources or are of modern construction. Common changes include the application of synthetic siding, changes to fenestration or porches, or insensitive replacement of character defining elements on storefronts. Additional descriptive information for individual buildings follows Section 8.

The Burton Historic Commercial District is eligible for nomination under Criterion C as a cohesive collection of buildings that housed commercial enterprise in Burton between the years 1870 and 1941. In addition the district is eligible under Criterion A for its association with Burton's founding and subsequent development as a center for trade, cotton processing, and transportation in agrarian western Washington County. The district is associated with the context "Burton: A Trade, Transportation, and Processing Focus of Western, Agrarian Washington County 1870-1941. "

Numerous intact examples of the range of commercial and domestic vernacular architecture that characterize Burton's history exist within the Burton Commercial Historic District. Significant primarily for their association with commerce, cotton processing and transportation activities that fueled Burton's economy between 1870 and 1941, the district's resources drew inhabitants from surrounding farms into the town to trade, process their agricultural goods, and take advantage of services offered by artisans and professionals. These resources embody the history of Burton's economy and development in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Although most nominated properties served commercial or service functions, functions often varied considerably over time. Rarely has a continuous, single purpose characterized a resource throughout its history. Commercial sites include the Knittel Store, the Schwartz & Schwartz Store, the Ed Schatz Store, and the Steiner-Dallmeyer general merchandise store and its annex. Goods and services were available from the Washington County Hatchery, Buck's Blacksmith Shop, the Tin Shop, the Burton Drug Store, the Homeyer Lumber Company, the Barber Shop, the Burton Auto Company, and the Zuelhke Garage. The weighing platform at the Burton Farmers Gin Association Feed Mill once served as a railroad loading platform for a cotton gin historically operated at the site. The railroad depot has recently been relocated to its historic place within the railroad right-of-way. A few sites in the district served as residences for businessmen whose stores were nearby. Additional information on the significance of individual buildings follows.

Listed by historic name and site number, the following individual properties are included in the district: HOMEYER LUMBER COMPANY (Site No. 1) Contributing Date: c. 1900.

1-story, rectangular, frame building with board-and batten siding and gabled roof covered in corrugated metal. The long front and back elevations feature open compartments for lumber storage.

The frame office building (Contributing), with a rectangular plan, hipped roof, and corrugated metal sheathing, was built about 1920. The construction date of the rectangular-plan, gable-roof carpenters' shop (Contributing) is unknown, although it probably pre-dates 1940.

The lumber company was established on this site in 1881 by Charles W. Homeyer (1855-1932), a Burton area resident. The original building burned in an 1898 fire that consumed several commercial sites, including the original railroad depot and an early hotel. A.G. Homeyer Sr. rebuilt the lumber company building, presumably shortly after 1900. By 1917, Charles W. Homeyer Jr. and Will Weeren, a local builder and carpenter, had joined the business as co-owners. In 1962, the business was owned by the Farmers' Merchant Lumber Co. and managed by local resident Frankie Jaster. The latter purchased the business in 1969 and has run it continually to the present.

OLD BURTON STATE BANK (Site No. 2) Contributing Date: 1906/1945

1-story, plastered commercial store front with centered double doors, flanking casement windows, and a flat parapet. Black glass panels applied to the main facade in 1945 frame the front door in a banded, zigzagged silhouette.

This building served continuously as Burton's first and only state bank from 1906 until 1965. Built in 1906 as a 1story brick building with a 3-bay facade, it was remodeled about 1945 by local carpenter Bonham Blackburn to its current appearance. With construction of a new bank building on Main Street in 1965, this building ceased to function as the local bank. Purchased by R. Vern McGinty in 1969, the building was donated to the Burton Heritage Society in 1979 and subsequently restored. It currently houses municipal offices. H. KNITTEL STORE (Site No. 3) Contributing Date: c. 1900 1 story commercial store with flat roof, cast-stone veneer over rubble-stone walls on main elevation. The 3-bay facade exhibits a double paneled entrance and flanking openings, one filled with a pair of paneled doors, the other with a 4light window. Above a curved metal canopy is a Renaissance Revival-inspired cornice of pressed metal that incorporates a sign lettered "H. Knittel."

The building was erected in 1880 for H. Knittel, Sr. as one of two adjoining 2-story brick buildings. Knittel had the facade rebuilt in 1898 after a fire damaged the upper story. Between 1880 and 1926, the Knittel building functioned as a general merchandise store, first under the ownership of H. Knittel Sr. and after his death, that of H. Knittel Jr. Between 1926 and 1954 the Knittel building continued to serve the same function under the ownership of the Burton Farmers' Cooperative Store, a collective organized, owned and managed by local farmers. In 1957 the building was sold to the Burton Farmers Gin Association and used for storage and sale of insecticides. This function continued until 1974, when the Burton Farmers Gin closed. The building is now vacant. H. KNITTEL STORE ANNEX (Site No. 4) Contributing Date: 1940

A 1-story, frame building with stepped parapet, centered doors, and flanking 4/4 windows, it functioned as an annex of the adjacent H. Knittel Store. A contributing element of the district, the Annex was built in 1880 for H. Knittel Sr. as one of two adjoining 2-story brick buildings. Remodeled in 1940 to its existing form, the Annex has been vacant since 1974. MEAT MARKET(Site No. 5) Contributing Date: c. 1900 1-story

brick commercial building, painted white. Each half of the building is composed of a centered door with flanking, shuttered windows. A metal awning spans the facade.

Constructed about 1900 for F.W.E. Fischer, a prominent and early Burton merchant, this building should not be confused with Fischer's no longer extant General Merchandise Store. This building has been used for decades as the local meat market. One of several local individuals to operate a meat market out of this site, native son and area cattleman Albert Toppel also operated a nearby slaughter house to supply the market after 1910. Purchasing this building in 1921, Otto Kuehn continued to run both businesses. Kuehn slaughtered his own stock for the market, as well as providing custom slaughtering for area farmers. Kuehn sold the property in 1953 to Henry Hohlt, a butcher who continued to operate a meat market during the 1950s and 1960s. The building is currently vacant.

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (Site No. 6) Noncontributing Date: c. 1950

Modern miniature frame building with rectangular plan, gabled roof, weatherboard siding, and wood shingles on the roof.

This diminutive building was built by Will Weeren as a playhouse for his grandchildren. Given to the City of Burton for use as by the Chamber of Commerce building, it was moved to the present site in 1952. It is currently vacant.

FARMERS COTTON WAREHOUSE(Site No. 7) Noncontributing Date: c. 1942

1-story, frame warehouse sheathed and roofed in corrugated sheet metal. The building features a projecting gabled bay over concrete pad on north elevation and two enclosed additions on the south elevation. The additions are believed to date to about 1955 and 1979.

This site has been occupied by a cotton warehouse since the 1920s. According to local historian A.M. Avis, the northernmost section of the existing building was erected in the early 1940s by a local organization called the Farmers' Warehouse, Inc. It was used for warehousing, weighing and loading cotton for rail shipment. The building sold in 1956 to the Burton Farmers Gin Association and continued to serve the same purpose for some years, but is now vacant. THE BARBER SHOP (Site No. 8) Contributing Date: 1906 1-

story, frame vernacular commercial building with stepped false front and a 3-bay facade. A bank of small 4 light windows spans the facade above a shed-roof porch awning.

A good local example of early-20th century false- front commercial store, this vernacular structure was erected in 1906 for Fritz Buch as a grocery store. The Barber Shop provided barbering services to the community for seven decades, beginning with the ownership of local barber Buster Hewitt from about 1908 until 1926. Between 1926 and 1986, Fred Heiine operated The Barber Shop from this site. Between 1935 and 1950, beauty shop services complemented the barbering services. The building is now vacant. A.W. MUEHLBRAD HOUSE (Site No. 9) Noncontributing Date: 1951

1-story, brick-veneer residence with inset front porch. Visually, the residence reflects the Tudor Revival style of similar properties built in Burton during the 1930s. BURTON AUTO COMPANY (Site No. 10) Contributing Date: 1916/1928

1-story, L-plan vernacular commercial building with arched false front. A gabled drive-through supported by large, square masonry piers was added in 1928. Three Contributing outbuildings are included on the property. A frame gable-roofed outhouse with one hole and a small frame house with clapboard siding, 6/6 wood sash, and a gable roof clad in standing-seam metal are to the rear of the main building. Also included is a barn that features board andbatten siding and a metal clad roof. According to Mrs. A.W. Muehlbrad, the barn was built by her husband about 1945 from lumber salvaged from a pre-existing barn on the site. Two Noncontributing buildings, including a frame garage and a frame storage shed are of recent vintage.

The shop building was erected in 1916 for Branch Watson as the City Garage. In 1919, the business assumed its present name. In 1920, present owner A.W. Muehlbrad became a partner and two years later, the sole proprietor. The building functioned continuously as a garage between 1916 and 1942 and as a service station between 1926 and late 1980s. Cities Service, then Gulf, and then Texaco (1926) gasoline have been distributed here. SCHWARTZ & SCHWARTZ STORK (Site No. 11) Contributing Date: 1922

1-story false-front commercial building of frame construction. The southern-most section exhibits a stepped parapet while the northernmost section has a flat parapet. Walls are sheathed in weatherboard siding. Single 4-light windows flank the double-door entrance of the southernmost section. A small frame building (Noncontributing) of recent vintage exists to the rear of the property.

This building was built in 1922 for Selma Schwartz, founder of the Schwartz & Schwartz General Merchandise Store. "Grandma" Schwartz and sons Walter and Hugo operated the store until 1942 when it was sold. Although it has been used as a justice of the peace office since 1972, it is still referred to locally as "Schwartz Store" or the "White Horse Cafe," in reference to its service as a cafe between 1954 and 1972. CONTEL BUILDING A (Site No. 12) Noncontributing Date: unknown

Rectangular-plan metal building with gable roof, single door and no windows.

CONTEL BUILDING B (Site No. 13) Noncontributing Date: unknown

Rectangular-plan cinder-block building with flat roof, single door, and no windows.

COMMERCIAL BUILDING (Site No. 14) Noncontributing. Date: c. 1932

Small 1-story frame and plastered commercial building with hipped roof and L-plan. The roof is sheathed in composition shingles. Roof rafter tails exposed. The large plate-glass windows are of recent vintage, although 1/1 wood sash windows occur on the back section.

COMMERCIAL BUILDING (Site No. 15) Noncontributing Date: 1925

2-story, frame building of generally rectangular plan features service station drive-through below and residence above. A hipped roof with enclosed eaves caps the building. Two service station bays are supported by massive square piers set on concrete pads. An inset, open porch once existed on the second floor where the bank of nine 4/4 wood sash windows now occurs. Synthetic siding added in 1983.

MY WAY GROCERY(Site No. 16) Contributing Date: 1928

1-story vernacular wood frame, false-front building with gabled roof behind a stepped parapet. A shed roof canopy shelters the front entrance. A transom of nine small 4-light windows occurs above the canopy.

Erected about 1928 by local carpenter Ernest Bayer and others, the building was built as a grocery store for Mr. and Mrs. George Foehner. It was operated first by Mr. Foehner and later by Mrs. Foehner, her daughter and son-in law as the My Way Grocery until its sale in 1963. The building still functions as a grocery but under a new name and ownership. GEORGE FOEHNER HOUSE (Site No. 17) Noncontributing Date: 1933

1-story, frame bungalow with intersecting, nested gable roof. Front door offset within the lower "nested" gable. Paired 1/1 wood-sash windows are covered with new metal screens of diamond pattern. A braced shed roof shelters the single front door. Composition shingles cover the roof. Walls were sheathed in synthetic siding in the early 1970s. BUCK'S BLACKSMITH SHOP (Site No. 18) Contributing Date: 1937

1-story, frame vernacular building with rectangular plan, a gabled roof, and stepped false-front facade sheathed in pressed metal. Double sliding doors centered on the main elevation are flanked by 6/6 wood sash.

Built by local carpenter Rudy Rosenbaum, this building was erected in 1937 for blacksmith Christian Buck, who continued its operation into the mid 1970s. Buck's Handmade tools of the blacksmith trade were still in the building in the spring of 1989. The building is currently vacant. TIN SHOP (Site No. 19) Contributing Date: c. 1930

1-story frame, vernacular false-front building with gabled roof, a flat parapet, and shed roof porch awning. Centered double doors are flanked by 2/2 single windows. A shed-roof metal addition occurs on the west elevation. The property contains a 1-hole outhouse with shed roof and boardand-batten siding. Although this building probably pre dates 1940, it is designated Noncontributing because of its deteriorated condition.

The Tin Shop was constructed about 1930 for August Stelter, a tinsmith who operated out of the building during the 1930s. The building is currently vacant.

AMERICAN LEGION HALL (Site No. 20) Noncontributing Date: 1932

Large frame building with rectangular footprint and steeply pitched gable roof. The north facade has a centered pair of wood doors and pair of shuttered windows on either side. A central louvered vent occurs high on the main elevation beneath the gable. At the location of an earlier, projecting porch is an ornamental gable silhouette. It is clad with weatherboard siding.

Moved from the edge of Burton on West Washington Street to it current location about 1985, the building originally served as a social center for the town. Athletic events, dances and other social. activities were held at the facility. Although it retains its integrity of materials and workmanship, it is designated Noncontributing because of its loss of integrity of location and setting. It currently serves as the Knittel Homestead Inn's Craft Center. KNITTEL HOUSE (Site No. 21) Contributing Date: 1880/1902

A late Victorian house of frame construction, the 1and 2- story L-plan residence features asymmetrical massing and detailing drawn from the Queen Anne style. The 1story, gabled section of the house (early 1870s) forms the back of the L-plan and was originally a vernacular 1- or 2room store. The 2-story (1902) section provides the Main Street facade with upper and lower wraparound galleries with chamfered posts, turned balusters and jigsawn brackets. A 2story round turret sheathed with imbricated shingles enlivens the composition. Gables and the turret are clad in ornamented shingles laid in various patterns.

Built in three phases, the residence housed two generations of the Knittel family. The oldest section of the existing house is the 1-story gabled portion projecting from the north elevation. Believed to have been built in the 1870s, it originally functioned as the first store of H. Knittel Sr. In 1880, Knittel had a residence built on the lot near the store that resulted in the 2story portion with wraparound galleries facing Main Street. After Knittel Sr. traded his property to his son in 1902, H. Knittel Jr. added a 2-story section to the rear of the house. The turret was part of this enlargement, connecting the original store with the residence. The dwelling served as the home of H. Knittel Sr. between 1880 and about 1895, when he moved to Brenham. In addition to serving as a state legislator in the 1880s, he was one of Burton's earliest gin owners, a prominent merchant, and a farmer. Upon moving to Brenham, he deeded the property to his son, H. Knittel Jr. A prominent merchant in his own right, the son lived in the house until his death in 1926. STEINER & DALLMEYER'S STORE (Site No. 22) Contributing Date: c. 1871

1-story, frame, vernacular building with two side-by side gables. Walls exhibit board-and batten siding. Each gabled section is marked by a pair of centered paneled doors with flanking single 6/6 wood sash windows. A raised, shedroof porch spans the facade and is supported by plain posts. Access to the porch is via 10 concrete and wood steps.

The twin-gabled building is one of Burton's oldest. While the earliest history of this building remains obscure, what is known of its use during the 1880s appears to support a prevailing pattern of the town's history-that is, the town and the surrounding farming community were inseparably linked economically and socially throughout Burton's history. In the early 1880s, this building was owned by several local organizations including the Burton Joint Stock Association and the Burton Cooperative Association. The Burton Grange Association owned the building later in the decade. This agrarian order first appeared in Texas in Salado in 1873 and reached Brenham by the middle of the decade.

With the aim of fostering cooperative effort among farming families in business, homes, education, and social contacts, the movement may have spread to the Burton farmers from Brenham. Typically organized by prominent farmers who frequently served as directors for all three organizations, these Burton cooperatives and organizations were an active part of the town's agrarian society in the late 19th century. How they used the building, however, is uncertain.

Existence in the 20th century of associations and cooperatives (the Burton Farmers' Cooperative, the Burton Farmers Gin Association, the Farmers' Warehouse Association), suggests that attempts by Burton area farmers to collectively manage economic and social aspects of their community continued locally as an important factor of agrarian life. Their use of specific buildings in Burton between 1880 and 1941 illustrates the interdependence of town and surrounding farms (see context statement for more information).

The building's history in subsequent decades is well documented. In 1896 a portion of it was being used as the medical office of Dr. Charles A. Laas. A general merchandise store occupied the building from about 1903 until 1968. Proprietors Jo Steiner and William Dallmeyer achieved local recognition in the early 20th century via this enterprise. Their business was one of a handful of stable mercantile establishments that significantly augmented Burton's status as a trade center by attracting area farmers to town. Still known locally as the Steiner & Dallmeyer Stare, the store also briefly housed the post office in 1911. The building is currently vacant. STEINER AND DALLMEYER'S ANNEX (Site No. 23) Contributing Date: 1913

Vernacular false-front 1-story commercial building with 3bay facade and gabled roof behind a flat parapet. Two 6/6 wood sash windows in the parapet create the illusion of a 2 story building, while a bank of small fourlight windows above the canopy serves as a transom. A similar treatment was employed at the My Way Grocery (District Site No. 17) and the Barber Shop (District Site No. 8). The shed roof porch is raised above street level with access via several steps.

Built in 1913 by local carpenter/builder Will Weeren, the false front Annex functioned as an extension of the older, double-gable general merchandise store. Although internally accessible to the main store, the annex is visually and stylistically a separate, Contributing element of the district. A millinery department established in the Annex upon its opening was managed until the late 1920s by Celeste Moeller Fincher, who later resided at the Joanna Knittel House (Individual Site No. 10) with her husband. An intact example of Burton's early20th century vernacular commercial tradition, the building is currently vacant. HUMPTY DUMPTY GROCERY STORE (Site No. 24) Contributing Date: 1930

1-story brick vernacular store front with flat parapet now painted. The transoms are now covered with wood lattice above the canopy. Four posts supporting the canopy are also screened by wood lattice that obscures the ground floor of the 3-bay facade. BURTON FARMERS GIN ASSOCIATION FEED MILL (Site No. 25) Noncontributing Date: c. 1948

Utilitarian 1-story frame building with long rectangular plan and a gabled roof. Exterior sheathing is corrugated metal. An occasional 4/4 wood sash window pierces the northern and eastern elevations.

A small, rectangular plan, gable-roofed building with corrugated metal roof and weatherboard siding stands on the property. Windows are 4/4 double-hung wood sash. The building stands adjacent to an old wood platform, both of which are considered Contributing elements of the site. The small gable-roofed shed and the adjacent loading platform presumably date to the era (1913-1948) of the Charles Knipstein Gin, although the platform may even date to Bauer's ownership prior to 1913. A modern plywood building on the property is considered Noncontributing.

Upon purchasing the Charles Knipstein Gin (formerly Bauer Gin), the Burton Farmers Gin Association remodeled this building in 1948. Their feed and grist mill operations were removed to this site, leaving only cotton ginning functions at the Farmers Gin (Individual Site No. 3). The mill was operated for the Association by Will Knipstein. The Knipstein Feed Mill, as it is locally known, continues to provide custom and commercial grist milling services to the community.

RESIDENCE (Site No. 26) Noncontributing Date: 1988

Rectangular-plan, gable-roofed house with walls sheathed in drop siding, wood front porch with turned columns, and composition shingles on roof. A Noncontributing shed exists to the rear of the property. RESIDENCE (Site No. 27) Noncontributing Date: unknown

Rectangular-plan, frame house on cinder block piers, with laminate siding, a gable roof with composition shingles, and a concrete porch. ED SCHATZ STORK (Site No. 28) Contributing Date: 1906/1933

The Schatz Store is a 1-story, rectangular-plan vernacular commercial building with an unornamented painted brick facade with flat parapet. Each side of the building has centered double doors with flanking windows. Transoms occur above the shed-roof awning.

Replacing the earlier Schatz frame double-gable building on this site, the existing building was erected in 1906 for Ed Schatz and served as a grocery and clothing store until he died in 1936. Its original windows were replaced in 1933 by local carpenter Bonham Blackburn. The Schatz Store was one of a handful of durable mercantile establishments in Burton. during the early 20th century that was particularly effective in attracting area residents to trade in town. WASHINGTON COUNTY HATCHERY(Site No. 29) Date: c. 1934 Small

1-story commercial building with flat parapet completely sheathed in metal pressed with a brick pattern. Single panel front door with single light. One window pierces the front facade with a 4-part divided screen. A frame awning clad in corrugated metal is supported by a metal post at each end.

Erected in 1934, this building served as a poultry hatchery from 1930s until the 1950s and was operated by Ira and Charlie Schatz. The building is currently vacant. JACOB/ZUEHLKE BUILDING (Site No. 30) Contributing Date: 1913/c. 1925

A 1-story, wood frame vernacular building with false front sheathed in pressed metal, this building features a gabled service drive canopy projecting toward the street. Two brick piers support the canopy. A shed roof enclosure occurs on the west elevation. The building has a centered, 15-light single door with flanking, 4-light windows.

Erected about 1913 by Charles L. Knipstein, this building functioned as an automotive garage business operated by Willie Jacob until 1924. Max A. Zuehlke, one of Jacob's mechanics, purchased the business in 1924. During the second quarter of the 20th century, the building served as a feed store and a Humble service station. It is currently vacant. ZUEHLKE CHEVROLET DEALERSHIP (Site No. 31) Contributing Date: 1926

1-story, frame vernacular commercial building with rectangular footprint and walls sheathed in pressed metal. The roof is clad in corrugated metal. The diagonal service drive canopy is supported by two brick piers on a concrete pad. Three single doors give access to the interior.

Built in 1928 by Herbert Nienstedt, this site was leased to Max A. Zuehlke, who operated a Chevrolet dealership here between 1928 and 1939. Thereafter the Nienstedt family leased the building to other local residents who operated an automotive service garage from the site. The building is known locally as Schulz' Corner for Edmund Schulz, who owned it in the 1970s.

BURTON CAFE (Site No. 32) Contributing Date: 1937

1-story vernacular frame commercial building with stepped parapet and shed roof porch spanning the facade. Double doors and flanking 4/4 wood sash windows mark the main facade. Exposed rafter tails. The false front parapet is sheathed in metal stamped in a brick pattern.

The-building was built as a cafe and liquor store in 1937 by Quintus Zwernemann for Aaron S. Whitener, Jr. Although the historic name is unknown, a cafe has operated from this building almost continuously.

BURTON STATE BANK (Site No. 33) Noncontributing Date: 1965

Modern 1-story masonry building with second story rising from the southwest rear corner.

BURTON DRUGSTORE (Site No. 34) Contributing Date: c.1873

1-story frame vernacular commercial building with flat, false-front parapet covered in sheet metal. 3-bay facade with centered double doors flanked by 4-light windows.

This is one of Burton's oldest buildings, although a modern (1986) 2-story addition occurs at the rear. It is believed to have served as the site of a soda fountain and the Burton post office in the early 1870s. Between 1890 and 1947 it functioned as a drugstore, at first owned by Dr. Charles A. Laas between 1890 and 1914 and thereafter by his descendants.

This property is a good example of the late century vernacular false front commercial building in Burton. It is the only l9th-century example of its type surviving in town. It currently houses Dorothy's Arts and Crafts.

HOUSTON AND TEXAS CENTRAL RAILROAD DEPOT (Site No. 35) Contributing Date: c. 1898

A 1-story frame building influenced by the Stick style, the depot features a rectangular plan. The straightforward lines of the composition are enlivened by a complex roofscape comprised of hipped and gabled forms. The west (trackside) elevation displays a square bay window featuring structurally expressive detailing, simple brackets, and a gabled dormer supported by shingled pylons. The gable end features imbricated fishscale shingles and a lunette window, a standard motif on buildings erected for the Southern Pacific system. Doors on either side of the bay window provide access to waiting rooms that historically were racially segregated. Windows with 6/6 sash flank these doors. At the opposite end, an opening for the track door gives access to the baggage room. Transoms above each door feature variations of Queen Anne sash. The east (townside) elevation features three doors with transoms, one to each waiting room and one to the agent's office, and a track door to the baggage room. On the north elevation two 6/6 windows are surmounted by a gable end treated similarly to that on the west elevation. The south elevation features two fixed windows of five panes high up under the eaves and a gable end with detailing similar to the others. Broad overhanging eaves are supported by sculpted stick brackets. While the depot once again is within the historic railroad rightofway, loss of the railroad tracks has affected the historic setting.

In building a 93.69 mile line between Brenham and Austin from 1869 to 1871, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad established temporary terminals at the end of each section. Burton served in this capacity for several months in 1870, functioning as a transfer point with stages to Bastrop, Austin and San Antonio. Finished by June of 1870, Burton's first permanent depot served the community throughout the latter part of the 19th century. During this period, the Southern Pacific system gained control of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad. When the original depot was destroyed in an 1898 fire that spread from the nearby Knittel store, the present depot was rebuilt in a standard Southern Pacific design.

The depot's facilities for shipping cotton, cattle and farm produce included side tracks for loading freight. Freight cars for cotton were loaded from a nearby warehouse platform. Cattle were loaded from special holding pens through chutes south of the depot. The lumber yard to the northwest received shipments of lumber coal, gravel, and sacks of cement via the side tracks. Merchants also shipped and received goods through the depot, which was a crucial element in the establishment of Burton's role as entrepot for rural Washington County.

Passenger service was discontinued in the 1950s and the Burton depot was closed. Sold in 1961 to the Zuehlke auto dealership, the depot was moved to the junction of FM 390 and Highway 290. It went through a series of interior modifications during this period. The tracks were removed from the right-of-way following Southern Pacific's abandonment of the line in 1980. The City of Burton purchased part of the right-of-way in 1988, deeding it to the Burton Heritage Society. They returned the depot to its former location within the right-of-way in 1990 and are currently restoring the building. The building participates in the historic setting and feeling of the district and is therefore classified as a Contributing element.