Built to house the telephone exchange, this one-story structure exhibits fine limestone masonry. Close inspection reveals hand-tooled marks beneath the paint and handsome segmental arches above the windows. Note the decorative iron ventilation grates at street level and the simple metal cornice.
Additional Information:
The original 2-story wood-frame building on the site was the Georgetown Opera House – the company owned it until 1909 when it was sold to Daniel Ames. He owned 50% interest in the new telephone company and developed the site for its operation.
Fun Facts:
1. Construction of the building began in 1910 but the building owner died the next year. His wife, Laura, and daughter, Jessie Daniel Ames, moved forward becoming the manager and bookkeeper.
2. Jessie, who was widowed in 1914, became a leader in the suffragette movement – leading more than 4,000 women to the Williamson County Courthouse to register to vote in 1918. After the telephone company was purchased by Southwest Telephone in 1927, she moved to Georgia to work in the anti-lynching movement and died there in 1972.
3. The employees were sometimes treated to the sight of cattle (up to 1000) headed north up the Chisholm Trail because they were being moved north on Brushy St (now called Austin Ave).
4. In the 1980s, the building was occupied by Dr. Gamble, a long-time dentist in Georgetown.
Date: 2023
Image Credit: David Valdez, 2023
Date: 1984