Historians, county officials hope someone
can move Carter home, Stewart Law Office
by
By
Sondra Hernandez
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Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer
Montgomery County officials are hoping a community member will
relocate a historic house located at 402 West Phillips Street as
seen Feb. 7. The residential home was built in the 1920s and
purchased by Robin and Hattie Cater, who owned Carter Drug Store in
downtown Conroe. It was later the Stewart and Stewart Law Office
from 1976 to 2013 before being purchased by the county in June 2016.
County officials are planning to use the property to benefit the
Montgomery County Tax Office, but no formal action has taken place
to decide the property's future
For three generations of lawyers in the Stewart family, the two-story
white house at 402 West Phillips Street was the perfect place to set up
shop.
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From 1976 through 2013, A.K. Stewart, Al Stewart and Keith
Mills Stewart,
practiced law there, along with other law associates. It was also the
home of Cecil
Joiner and Jim
Pokorski's Insurance
Associates of Texas as
they took up residence upstairs.
Photo Courtesy of Al Stewart
A.K, Stewart was
born in 1904 on a farm near New Waverly He became involved in the
schools, eventually becoming Superintendent of County Schools He
left the school system to become a lawyer, getting his law degree in
1944. Stewart purchased the home to serve as an office for he and
son Al Stewart's law firm. Al Stewart owned the property until 2013.
In June 2016 it was purchased by the county,
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"It was close to the courthouse and you wanted to be close to the
courtroom," Al Stewart said. "It also had good exposure along Phillips
Street and was easy to get to."
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However, after the property was sold to the county in June 2016, the
fate of the old home now hangs in the balance.
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The county is considering ways to develop the property, and hoping
someone will come forward to move the house. If it is not moved, the old
home could eventually face its demise. |
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Early history of the home |
It's estimated the home was built in the 1920s, but no documentation
could be located as to the exact date it was built.
Photo Courtesy of Heritage Museum of Conroe
Pictured as Robin
C, Carter and Hattie Stinson Carter, owners of the Carter Drug Store
at Main and Davis streets in downtown Conroe, They purchased a hoe
nearby at 402 West Phillips to serve as their residence.
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It was purchased by Robin C. Carter and Hattie
Stinson Carter in
1928 for use as a residence near their Carter
Drug Store in
downtown Conroe. Carter Drug Store was located at Main and Davis Streets
in downtown Conroe.
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"He (Robin) was loved by everyone in town, as he dispensed not only
pharmaceuticals for his customers, also provided drugs for animals,"
according to Montgomery
County Historical Commission Chairman Larry
Foerster.
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Robin Carter served on the Conroe
Chamber of Commerce and
as a city councilman.
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When then-mayor Thomas
Earl Gentry went
off to war during World War II, Robin Carter served in the capacity of
mayor during Gentry's absence.
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A passage on the Carter family history in "Montgomery County History"
published by the Montgomery
County Genealogical Society in
1981 said "He was born a gentleman, lived a gentleman and died a
gentleman." Robin Carter died on Oct. 8, 1969.
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The same passage also listed Hattie Stinson Carter as a good wife,
mother and grandmother who "Was born a gentlewoman, lived a gentlewoman
and died a gentlewoman." She died Oct. 18, 1978.
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The Carters had two daughters, Mittie Sue Carter and Roberta
Courtenay Carter.
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The family home at 402 West Phillips stayed in the care of the daughters
until it was sold in 1976.
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According to Al Stewart, the home was residential property and had been
leased up until 1976. |
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A new owner |
The property was purchased by A.K. Stewart, Al's father, in the fall of
1976 to serve as their law office.
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For the elder Stewart, law was the second career of his lifetime.
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A.K. Stewart grew up on a farm in the New Waverly area.
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He became involved in local schools eventually working his way up to
Superintendent of County
Schools.
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But times were hard for teachers in the early 1900s.
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"He first got into schools deep in the Depression," Al Stewart said.
"Some of the school districts couldn't afford to pay their teachers so
they gave them scripts to exchange for goods and services in their
communities."
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Al Stewart said his father never told him why he changed careers, but he
figured his father thought he could earn a lot more money as a lawyer
than as a school man.
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When World War II broke out, A.K. Stewart, who was born in 1904, was too
old to go off to war, according to Al Stewart, so he went to Houston Law
School instead, passing the Bar Exam in 1944.
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Al Stewart followed his father's path, getting his law degree from
Baylor Law School in 1967.
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The practiced together in the First Federal Savings and Loan Building
(now Woodforest Bank in downtown Conroe) before purchasing the property
at 402 West Phillips.
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Al Stewart said a lot of work had to be done on the property to convert
it from residential to commercial property.
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After his father's death in 1987, Al Stewart bought out his sisters'
shares in the property and did more improvements.
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He removed the carpet and had the oak floors restored to their original
state. He also added a room over the sun porch where his office was
located to help with drainage from the roof, which was originally flat.
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Robert Bartlett and
other lawyers officed there throughout the years also.
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After his son, Keith Mills Stewart, graduated from law school in 2001,
he joined his father at the property. The younger Stewart went on to be
elected to County Court at Law No. 5.
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Stewart owned the property until 2013 when he sold the property to Alton
Hues. |
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What will happen to the house? |
On June 15, 2016 the property was purchased by Montgomery County.
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According to Assistant County Attorney B.D.
Griffin,
county representatives are looking at various options for the future use
of the property which could include a tax office and/or parking.
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At this time, there has been no formal action regarding plans for the
property, Griffin said.
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It is local historians' hope that the home can be moved and Al Stewart
shares that vision.
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"I'd like to see someone move it but I know it would be incredibly
expensive to do that," Stewart said. "The roof would have to be moved,
the second story and first story would have to be moved separately. It
would be incredibly expensive."
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One of the suggested new homes is the Heritage
Museum of
Montgomery County complex.
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Museum officials estimate the cost would be around $100,000 to move it
which would be too much for the nonprofit.
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"It would be good to put it at Heritage Park, but it is probably not
practical," Stewart said.
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According to Foerster, County Commissioner Jim
Clark and
County Judge Craig
Doyal are
supportive of the idea of finding someone to move the home.
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"I believe the county would like to see someone come forward with a
proposal to move the house structure," said Griffin in an email to The
Courier. "Absent a proposal, I expect that the structure will be
demolished."
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Contact Foerster at 936-756-3337 or foerster@dfcllp.com if
you are interested in offering a proposal to move the house.
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For more about the Montgomery County Historical Commission, visit www.montgomerycountyhistoricalcommission.com. |
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