Roanoke Route Walking Tour Stop 6: Eureka Hotel/Jenkins' Hardware

Eureka Hotel/Jenkins Hardware and Lumber, 1914

200 N. Oak St.

This building was constructed circa 1914 on the former site of the Eureka Hotel, which was built around 1893 and had been owned by the Brand family. Tragically, the hotel suffered a fire around 1914, right after Hugh W. Jenkins bought this site for his hardware store and lumber yard. 

Mr. Jenkins arrived in Roanoke in 1905 and married Una Brand, the daughter of the Eureka's owners, after his first wife Hattie Hood passed away in 1944. Mr. Jenkins quickly became a prominent figure in the community. He not only accumulated land and cattle but also served as an election judge, a shareholder in the creamery, a key negotiator in railroad matters, and Roanoke's first mayor. Among his notable achievements was the introduction of a modern water system to the city. Today, the building still stands and serves as the home of Bayou Jack's Cajun restaurant.

The Brand family opened the Eureka Hotel around 1893 and welcomed travelers and ‘drummers’ or salesmen into town. (It’s said that Una Brand is the child on the porch in the photo.) Mr. Jenkins bought the land and built his hardware store and lumber yard after the hotel burned down (exact date unknown).

Mr. Jenkins and Hardware Building and Jenkins Hardware 1963: Jenkins Hardware and Lumber was a mainstay in downtown Roanoke for many decades. Mr. Jenkins sold his business in 1964. 

Most fitting for the ‘Unique Dining Capital of Texas,’ several restaurants have served thousands of customers in the former hardware store, such as Mi Familia during the early 2000s.