White Elephant Saloon

(Blach Building) The land on this site, Lot 9, Block 3 of the original town plat of Albany, was purchased in 1882 by noted local restauranteur Charles Hartfield. He planned to build a restaurant next door, and the pending establishment was much anticipated by local diners. Shortly before his death in 1884, Hartfield sold the lot to Alabama businessman Max Blach. Blach was vice president of the Albany Water Company. He and partner N. H. Burns brought a system of running water to the town in 1884. Blach began construction on this one-story native stone structure in March 1884. The building was completed in April and leased to J. R. Davis, who put it to its most infamous use. The White Elephant Saloon opened for business in May 1, 1884. Among its instantly popular features was a white elephant display which was removed from the rooftop early in the establishment's heyday. The perpetrators were believed to be citizens who disapproved of the saloon's raucous business. Despite its popularity, Davis announced his intent to close the saloon in February 1886. The Blach Building soon was leased to W. M. Wigley, who operated a dry goods and furniture store on this site. Succeeding furniture businesses occuped the building for many years. Blach's heirs sold the structure to S. C. Coffee in 1919. Coffee sold it in 1923 to T. J. Crow, who conveyed it to Albany businessman L. H. Hill (1859-1932) in 1925. The structure was used for various purposes over the years; it was the home of The Albany News in the 1940s and was the workshop and office of a pipe organ maker in the 1950s and 1960s. The Hill family maintained ownership of the edifice until 1977. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998

White Elephant Saloon is a historical marker in Albany, Shackelford County, dedicated in 1998. It is one of 36 historical markers documented in Shackelford County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 57 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.7227, -99.2975 near Albany. The nearest cataloged historic site is The Rev. John Brown, Clara Barton and the 1886-1887 Drought Relief (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Shackelford County Courthouse, Lt. Col. William E. Dyess, and Robert Edward Nail, Jr..

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507014887. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.