Vinton's Lost and Found Suit and the Lost and Found Store

 Kott & Sanders Building, La Vernia, Texas. c. 1900.  Donated by William Wiseman to the Archives of the La Vernia Historical Association; P-2025-73.

 

In his 1898-1900 journal, Jesse Lane Tiner makes many references to traveling to LaVernia from Sutherland Springs to make purchases. He buys food, clothing, agricultural supplies, hardware, and lots of other things. Sometime at the end of January, Mr. Tiner went to LaVernia to buy a suit of clothes for his son Vinton at the Sanders & Canfield Store. He purchased the suit for $6.50 and left it at the store. On February 3, he sent Vinton to the store in LaVernia to collect his suit clothes. When Vinton got there he found out that another man had taken the clothes by mistake. The man promised to return them that evening. On Tuesday, February 6, there was still no news about Vinton's suit. Finally, on Saturday, February 10, Vinton returned to Sanders & Canfield and found that the customer who had taken the suit by mistake had returned it. Mr. Tiner says: "I am glad of it they are nice clothes cost $6.50 on Cr."

The store was built by Andrew Newell Sanders in 1898. It is a brick building at the corner of Chihuahua Street and FM 775. The building is still there. It now houses the Johanson Office and Hardware Store. 

Yesterday I got the opportunity to visit the store. The outside of the store was quite different, although the windows are recognizable. A triangular section had been added to the end of the building along the way.

 

 But when I stepped into the building, I stepped into 1899.

The floors were the same floors that Mr. Tiner walked on.

 The ceilings were also original.

In places you could see the bricks the building was constructed with. The walls are three bricks wide.

The interior arched doors were probably original to the building. I think they are so lovely. They reflect the original exterior doors.

This accounting on the wall in the bathroom by the toilet was quite interesting. It resembles the accounting that Mr. Tiner did in his journal.

  

 

 I loved the sliding ladders attached to the shelves, original to the building. 

 This brick walkway behind the store is mentioned in one of the early deeds.

Thank you, Mr. Johanson, for letting me literally step back into time into Mr. Tiner's Sanders & Canfield Store.