‘Time marches on’

ANAHUAC — We knew it was coming, and most feel it necessary, but the demolition of what was known for decades as downtown has still come as a shock.  

Anahuac was incorporated in 1948 and, for many years, prospered under Humble Oil Company's oil boom in nearby Monroe City, as well as through agriculture and other oil and gas operations.  

Businesses of all kinds lined Washington Avenue, including the Rig Theatre, Wilcox Drug Store founded by Curtis Cornell Wilcox, Adams Department Store and many others.  

During the 1950s, Hill's Grocery operated on Washington Avenue, as did more than one drugstore. Chambers County Library built its first facility on Cummings in the mid-1960s and was added onto in the early 1990s.  

"As school is starting it reminded me of the days when all of our school shopping was done within a couple of blocks," said community member and former mayor Guy Robert Jackson. "New school clothes and shoes - Adams Department Store, school supplies - Voygt's Variety, haircut - Mr. Gibson, then finish it off either at the drug store or Clore's Cafe for a root beer float."  

Jackson also remembers another aspect of Anahuac in the 1960s – segregation.  

"Something that I remember from the Rig Theater was the segregated entrances. The main doors opened into the lobby, but also on the outside was a single door that went up some stairs to the balcony. As a kid I wanted to see what was up those stairs but was told that I do not belong up there."  

"It was really neat growing up in Anahuac," said local businessman and community member Dave Wilcox.  

"I remember playing at my Granny Hilma Wilcox's house right behind the businesses on Washington Avenue. She had a huge pomegranate tree in her yard."  

"We kids would ride our bikes all over town and then go into the businesses, which were air-conditioned to cool off."  

He recalls popping in the domino hall and bar adjacent to Clore's café.  

"It was dark, it was smoky and it was cool," Dave said but would shortly be chased out of the establishment.  

"Everyone would come to Anahuac to shop and the street would be full of people," he added of those days' past.  

"Being born and raised in Anahuac, I have witnessed amazing changes," said community member Annette Abernathy.  

"A vibrant downtown with Voygt's Dry Goods, Adams Department Store, and, of course, Wilcox Drugstore and Hills Grocery. The memories will be forever embedded in my mind," Abernathy said. 

It was in the '70s that business began to migrate further east, with Wilcox Drug Store and Hill's Grocery opening up shop along Miller Street.  

The original downtown Anahuac was still operating well in the 1990s, with The Progress office and Heineken Lawn Mower Repair housed in the same part of the building on Washington Avenue. This reporter can remember typing articles on her computer while lawn mowers roared just outside the office door.  

Gulf States Utilities, now Entergy, operated an office in that same block with assorted other businesses.  

In the next block to the south were Voygt's variety store and the Style Shop, along with a variety of other little businesses that came and went.  

The old spaces began to decline after Hurricane Ike in 2008 and became vacant, one by one. Most of the southernmost block operated as New Gospel Tabernacle for several years until the building's owner sold the large space to the county.  

"Those places have become so unproductive for so many years," Wilcox said of the two-block area of Washington Avenue.  

The old structures were unsecured and some have been used for drug users.  

"This had to be done sooner or later," Wilcox continued, speaking of the dilapidated buildings and how much nicer that area will be with the new facilities. 

In all, the county purchased 16 parcels of land at a cost of $2,114,542.86, with other parcels donated for the Justice Center/Jail project.  

The 67,000-square-foot, three-story Justice Center will provide four new courtrooms. The 104,000-square-foot, one-story county jail has the capacity for 336 inmates, complete with modern kitchen and laundry facilities.  

A 30,000-square-foot, two-story Law Enforcement Center features a state-of-the-art crime lab and expanded evidence processing and storage facilities.  

The project also calls for the moving of the historic Thomas Jefferson Chambers Home about 100 feet and the repositioning of the communications tower.  

The Chambers County Library will have a new facility between Mikhael Ricks Drive and Willcox Street. It is in its temporary location at the Methodist Center on the corner of Washington Avenue and Beaumont Street.  

The Chambers County Courthouse, built in 1936, will house other county departments, many of which are currently located in portable buildings scattered around town as the business of the vastly growing county also expands.  

"There was a time when the economy of Anahuac depended on agriculture, maritime and oil as well as gas production, but each of these industries are a shadow of what they were," said Jackson.  

"Now we are the service providers to governmental bodies. We need to embrace the new economy of Anahuac, which is government – federal, state, county, school, special districts and the city. We are seeing new entrepreneurs opening up businesses in town to serve not only the citizens but also those who come into town to work or visit a governmental office." 

"The new judicial center can be a catalyst needed to grow additional entrepreneurs to support not just the needs of governmental workers but also to the citizens," Jackson said. 

"It is no secret that the Historical Commission is against the placement of this Justice Center across this beautiful piece of protected historic property, but such are the times in which we live," said Chambers County Historical Commission Chair Sheryl Shaw.  

"To honor our heritage, perhaps a law enforcement hall in the center can be dedicated to the memory of Sgt. Herman Rivers, the first black officer in our county, who retired with over 50 years of service, and a courtroom could be dedicated to Major General Thomas J Chambers," she said. 

"It was Chambers who devised the 12-man Jury Law for Texas and served for a short time as Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court," Shaw added.  

"Our history will always be with us – time marches on," Wilcox said.  

"And now we face a major change, but we have to realize this change will continue to feed life into our area," said Abernathy.  

"I am excited about seeing our little town flourish with the new Justice Center, which should bring about even more revitalization," she added. 

"No matter what the years bring, there is no better place to live and raise a family than our Anahuac. Everyone is your friend, and everyone cares about each other," Abernathy concluded, "What more could anyone ask for? We are so blessed""