EARLY YEARS OF SANGER BUSINESSES

By Sanger Area Historical Society and Museum

An old and faded document in the Sanger Area Historical Society Museum written by an unknown person is rich in the history of the very early years of Sanger. The year of 1886, Sanger was officially founded, and in the 137 years since that time, the community has grown and is beginning to show an explosion of growth with the widening of the roads from west to east and the widening of Interstate 35E

Several businesses were founded in those early years, although many lasted only a short time. Young doctors were prevalent in town, meeting the citizens’ medical needs. Several banks operated to protect the funds of many farmers and families The culture was important to the small community as an opera house opened in the W O W The building still stands in its glory today.

First inhabitants with the arrival of Santa Fe Railroad

First family F.M. Ready and J.W. Peter, Dr. Howard, Wheelers and families

First grocery store 1887 Shults and Johns and J W Peter and later succeeded by Wilson Brothers and Partlow

First mayor of Sanger William E. Partlow.

First Drygoods 1887 W.D. Brockman, Will Wheeler, Partlow, and Wilson

First Lumber Yards Metz and Wilson Brothers 1887

First Millinery and Racket Goods 1887-88 Mrs. M.C. Goff

First school 1887-1888 and independent district 1898

First Newspaper, “The Sanger Sentinel” 1894 by Professor Tummins

First Brick and Stone Building – Stone Building and Bourn Brick

First Drugstore 1898 Brockman and Knox

First Doctor – Dr. E. Howard, Dr. Shelburne, Dr. Rice, later Dr. Lain

First Furniture and Undertaker – George Sullivan about 1892-4

Water – Creek and Artesian Well 1891-4, Waterworks about 1899-01

First Hardware – J.A. Johnson in the early 1890s

Sanger Mill & Elevator, J.W. Koons and H. Davidson

First Bank – 1899 or 1900, Mr. Davis, Farmers, and Merchants

First Picture Show – Henry & White 1911

Electric Lights – C F Dodson

First Church built, Methodist, later Baptist, Presbyterian, Christian, Catholic, Second Baptist

Ice Plant – S.G. Kimbrough 1916-17

First Bakery about 1903-6

Natural Gas – 1922

Highway and Park 1922 Ladies Improvement Club

Chairwarmers Club – succeeded by a more progressive association

Chamber of Commerce or Commercial Club – their efforts brought gas, and Saturday Free Cash Distribution

Sanger’s Splendid businesses and splendid businessmen

Growth from bare prairie to the fine little town of perhaps 1500 people with Ladies’ clubs and style shows Telephone 1903

1898 “Legal Tender” newspaper located across from Santa Fe Depot and next to Hotel.

First Methodist Church was Sanger’s first church, constructed in early 1896 on land donated by Elizabeth Huling. Huling sold land to the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad and then donated the land for this church and the public park at Fifth and Bolivar Streets.

Burchard Hotel operated in the home of Dora Lee (Rogers) Burchard in 1900 when the local hotel located next to the old depot site had no vacancies. Burchard later opened the Highway Café, where the current library is on Fifth Street

Frank Thatcher and Charlie Henderson built Sanger’s first public water works Henderson and Dan Davis owned the first public water tower, built in 1906. The wooden tower fell in 1910 and was replaced by a 900-gallon wooden and steel tank on Fourth Street.

The Rock Building was the first permanent structure in Sanger and was built in 1890 This building still sits on the southwest corner of Bolivar and Second Streets and is used for the Sanger Senior Center.

Three students of the second graduating class at Sanger High School 1906-07, Ella King, Frankie Lain, and John M. Sullivan, with teachers J.W. Parker, Superintendent Walter Trickey, and W.B. Chambers. Barney Isbell was also a member of this class

The first graduating class of 1906-1907 were Jennie Bowers, Alma Lain, and Fay Parker.