Herb's Hat Shop

This little building was constructed for May Morgan in 1920 on the corner of 4th and Pecan streets where [[article:37]] is now. It is a narrow, wood frame commercial building with large display windows and an upper facade covered in pressed sheet metal.

Miss Morgan’s shop, C.S. & C.N., sold hats, dresses, and ready-to-wear clothing until the 1950s. When the Mobil station was built in 1930, the shop was moved to its present location. The owner once held a contest for people to guess the meaning of “C.S. & C.N.”—common sense and common necessities.

This space was at one time used as a domino hall, Collector’s Hideaway, and Trash and Treasure.

Miss Mae Morgan first constructed this building sometime between 1920 and 1930 just west of the present location, on the southeast corner of Pecan and 4th streets (facing Pecan). Before opening her ready-to-wear and hat shop Mae held a contest for a name. The winner was “C. S. & C. N.” (Common Sense and Common Necessity). The building can just be seen at extreme left in the 1936 photo on page 23.

In 1938 or 1939 the building was moved to its present location on 4th Street to make room for a Magnolia service station on the old site. The Morgan Building subsequently had several owners and many tenants, including a church, real estate office, and warehouse. In 1968 the Read family purchased it and opened Blanco Trash & Treasure, still there under the ownership of Mrs. Pearl Read.

The structure is an example of a largely intact vernacular commercial building from the early 20th century. It is a one-story wood-frame building with a pressed sheet metal false front on the upper facade.