The following article was written by Dr. Lucile Estell, and was published in the May 23, 1996 issue of The Rockdale Reporter. Mr. Bland's model was the central focus of the Rockdale historical display which was set up at the Rockdale Homecoming on Sunday, June 13, 1999. At that time, it was intended that the model would find a permanent home in the restored I&GN Depot.
Nolan Bland's model
of downtown Rockdale . . .
a trip back in time
Backward, turn backward,
O time in your flight,
Make me a child again, just for tonight!
These words, penned in 1860 by Elizabeth Akers, describe in part the feeling which engulfed me as I crossed the threshold of Nolan J. Bland's workshop to view the model of Rockdale, circa 1928.
The model came to life as I examined sites which were among my first memories growing up in Rockdale in the early 1930's. The feelings were so real that for a fleeting moment I felt that I had been once more at Mr. C.W. Matson's Dixie Theater, followed by ice cream at Mrs. Hill's.
The model of Rockdale is the work of Nolan J. Bland. According to Bland, the idea for such a model had been in his mind for a number of years. After his retirement, he decided to make the model a reality. He began its actual construction more than a decade ago, using as a basis a 1928 map of Rockdale. He laid off the streets first, presenting them in the unpaved condition which existed in 1928.
Construction of buildings came next. Bland used old photographs as well as his own important mental images of Rockdale in this early period. "I remember all of this," he said. "I was born and raised right here," he added, pointing to a site southwest of town. In the beginning, his work was on a scale of one foot to sixteen inches. However, he altered this in some instances in order to make the buildings look more realistic.
As his dream took physical form, Bland enlisted help in identifying buildings and ensuring the accuracy of the model. Part of this assistance came from his wife, Leona Gest Bland. She is a native of the Gay Hill community and strong supporter of the project. A major role in this identification process was played by E.E. "Buck" Henry, who assisted Bland in this important phase.
The first area that Bland constructed was south of the railroad tracks in the booming industrial section of Rockdale. This is the area near the first city water tower, shown on the model.
Featured here are...
- the ice plant
- the cotton oil mill, including garage & scales
- the lumberyard
- Farmer's Union Store & Warehouse
- Blackburn's Electric Gin
- Sinclair Oil
- Gulf Oil
- the swimming pool
- railroad houses
- William Cameron Lumber Yard
Moving on toward "downtown" Rockdale, one sees both the passenger and freight depot of the IGN Railroad. The town was thriving. Persons looking for a residence, temporary or permanent, might select from...
- the Larue (formerly Wolf) Hotel
- Mrs. Queen's Room & Board
- Wilson's Boarding House
- or the Hale Hotel
- Scheihing's Restaurant
- Carrol Robison's Hamburgers
- Albrecht's Hamburger Shop
- Owl Cafe (Mr. Landis)
- Peveto's Restaurant
- Mrosko's Cafe
- Elite Cafe (Ryan & Vogel)
- Dad Griffith's Cafe
- Bob Reagan's Confectionery*
- Hill's Confectionery* & Book Store
- Stein's Bakery
- Henning Root Beer & Gas Station.
Those persons needing or wanting to purchase groceries could go to...
*A place where confections, ice cream and cakes are made or sold; a candy shop.
- Cannon's Grocery
- Ray Ead's Grocery
- Noack's Grocery
- Marshall's Meat Market
- Backhaus Brothers Grocery
- R.L. Orr's Meat Market
- H&L Hudson Grocery
- Jim Hamilton's Meat Market
There was...
*The business of making, trimming or selling women's hats.
- Ousley's Variety
- Cone's Dry Goods
- Perry & Quebe Drug Store
- Lowenstein's Merchandise
- Pruett's Feed Lot
- Coffield Hardware
- Henne & Meyer Hardware
- Baldridge Brothers Drug Store
- Stricker's
- T.B. Kemp Insurance
- City Panatorium*
- McCawley's Saloon
Rockdale was progressive, with...
*Have been unable to find a definition for "panatorium", but did find a description of another turn-of-the-century business which describes "The City Panatorium" as a " . . . cleaning and dying establishment. . . . where garments are cleaned, pressed, repaired, and dyed and a specialty is made of dry cleaning...."
- a newspaper, The Rockdale Reporter
- a Masonic Lodge
- Dr. I.P. Sessions
- Dr. T.S. Barkley
- at least one dentist and one lawyer
- B. Regenbrecht, Jeweler
- Moultrie's Blacksmith Shop
- Phillips & Luckey, undertakers
- Gaither Motor Company
- Texas Power & Light
- W.E. White Dry Goods
- Scarborough & Hicks
- Louie Gest Chevrolet
- B. Ashby Gas Station
- Schubert's Shop & Shoe Repair
- Franklin's Filling Station
- Strelsky's Gas Station
- W.P. Henry's Garage
Below is the list of buildings on Nolan Bland's model, as prepared by Peggy (Skinner) Wright. At one time, the buildings were numbered to correspond to this list.
- IGN Railroad Depot (R) Passengers (B) Freight
- Cannon's Grocery ~ Peveto's Restaurant
- Mrs. Queen's Room & Board
- Ousley's Variety Store
- Cone's Dry Goods
- Scheihing's Restaurant
- City Pantatorium (Dry Cleaners)
- Dad Griffith's Cafe
- Ray Eads' Grocery
- Carroll Robison's Hamburger Shop
- Rockdale State Bank (doctor, dentist, lawyer upstairs)
- Coffield Hardware
- Border State Grocery
- Larue Hotel (Formerly Wolf Hotel)
- Rockdale Furniture
- Albrecht's Hamburger Shop
- Owl Cafe (Mr. Landis)
- McCawley's Saloon
- Perry & Quebe Drug Store
- Loewenstein's Merchandise
- T.B. Ryan's Shoes
- Jack Pamplin's Confectionery
- Mrosko's Cafe
- Noack's Grocery
- Marshall's Meat Market
- Stein's Bakery
- Backhaus' Brothers Grocery
- H & L Hudson's Grocery
- W.P. Henry's Garage
- Henry Barnhouse Home
- Colored Barber Shop
- Moultrie Blacksmith
- Pruett's Feed Lot & Livery
- Menn's Monument Works
- Estelle's Tin Shop ~ Woodmen's Lodge ~ JP Hillyer
- Preston Perry (vacant lot)
- Harness Shop
- Billy Richard's Garage
- Moses' Livery Stable (rear)
- T.B. Kemp Insurance
- Henne & Meyer Hardware
- Phillips & Luckey Undertakers (upstairs)
- Furniture Store
- Dixie Theater (C.W.Matson)
- Citizen's State Bank ~ Southwestern Bell (upstairs)
- Elite Cafe (Ryan & Vogel)
- Strelsky's Gas Station
- Gaither Motor Co.
- Texas Power & Light
- Wilson's Boarding House
- R.L. Orr's Meat Market
- W.E. White Dry Goods
- Baldridge Bros. Drug Store ~ B. Regenbrecht, Jewelers ~ (doctor & dentist offices upstairs)
- Arch Holley Barber Shop
- Hill's Confectionery & Books
- Scarbrough & Hicks Co.
- First National Bank
- Horton's Barber Shop
- Bob Reagan's Confectionery
- Dora Poole's Hat & Dress Shop
- Schubert's Shop & Shoe Repair
- Jim Hamilton's Meat Market
- Stricker's Variety Store
- Rockdale Reporter (downstairs) ~ Masonic Lodge (upstairs)
- Rockdale Post Office
- Franklin's Filling Station
- Louis Gest Chevrolet
- B. Ashby Gas Station
- Claude Ashby Pool Hall
- Moultrie Blacksmith
- Hale Hotel
- Rockdale City Jail ~ Backhaus Bros. chicken pens
- Clyde Rhodes & Tony Allen Machine Shop
- Will Scheihing Home
- Sour Lake Machine Shop
- Grocery Warehouse
- Wm. Cameron Lumber Yard & Cabinet Shop
- Farmer's Union Gin
- Blackburn's Electric Gin
- Blacksmith Shop
- Texaco/Gaither Whse.
- Machine Shop
- Railroad section houses
- Henning Root Beer
- Vinton Cotton Buyer
- Seed House
- Stockyards (for shipping cattle)
- Lumber Yard
- Warehouse
- Mine Payroll Office
- Williams' Grocery
- Farmer's Union Store & Warehouse
- Cotton Platform
- Cotton Sample Room
- Cotton Bagging and Tie
- Gulf Oil
- Cotton Oil Mill Garage
- Cotton Oil Mill Scales
- Cotton Oil Mill
- Ice House
- Swimming Pool
- Railroad Houses
- Railroad Well
- Railroad Motor Car House
- Railroad Water Tower
- Sinclair Oil (Palmer's)
- City Water Tower (first)
- SA&AP Railroad
- Water Fountain ~ middle of street
- Turner Lumber Yard
- Crittenden Home
- Fred Palmer Home
- Rockdale Bottling Works
- Leo Harris Store ~ Catchings Barber Shop ~ Henke Dry Goods ~ E.A. Camp Office (upstairs)
- T. Raymond Dry Goods
- Perry Building
- Kestenbaum Garage
- Maxie's Sweet Shop & Theater
