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Author photo taken January 2022.
This building at the northeast corner of E. Main and Texas Street (seen above and below from two different perspectives) is presently occupied by an auto repair business. Alhough the date of construction is not known with any certainty, it could be as early as 1886 when James N. Thompson. together with P. W. Huffhines and J. C. Heffington, purchased the site (lots 1 & 2, Block 5) from the Richardson Association of Patrons of Husbandry, which had acquired it from the Houston & Texas Central Railroad in 1882. However, one early-day resident, T. N. Harris, later recalled that when he first arrived in Richardson in 1898, the building was just then under construction. What's certain is that Thompson operated a grain and/or dry goods business on the site until his death in 1918, at which time his son, Robert E. "Bob" Thompson took over and ran the store until he sold out to newspaper editor Sam Harben in 1923. Afterward, Harben leased the property to Milton Ingram, who turned it into an automobile repair garage. In 1946, Harben sold the property to Ingram, who remained in business there until his death in 1969. Since then, several other auto repair businesses have owned or leased the premises, including E.& M. Automotive (1974), Roadrunner Paint & Body (1975), Pro's Auto Body Center (1977), Rolls Royce Upholstery Shop (1983), and Ellis Auto Sales (1983). No. 103, which is no longer a separate address, having been incorporated into the present business, was formerly a hardware store.
Author photo taken January 2022.
This vintage view of 101-103 E. Main provides proof that the building is very old, dating back, perhaps, to 1886. Courtesy Richardson Public Library.
Below: The historic heart of Richardson, from an 1878 map.
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