Henry Gruene established the Gruene General Store to serve the needs of the sharecroppers who lived on his land and raised cotton.
The “company town” also had a recreation center in the
form of a dance hall and saloon, which was the only business that
continued to operate after the boll weevil destroyed the cotton
industry, and thus the town, in 1925. With the exception of the dance
hall, the town lay dormant until 1974, when it was restored and
established by the State Historical Commission as a Historical District.
The Gruene General Store
was re-opened in 1989 and features an extensive collection of
Texas-made products, souvenirs, gifts, gourmet coffees, antique
advertising signs, memorabilia, Texas music, and a soda fountain with
homemade fudge, candies, sodas, ice cream and our famous 5 cent coffee.
The antique fixtures and wall hangings together with the wooden floor
patched with license plates add to the experience.
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