Polster Dry Goods Store
Baxter Springs Historic Walking Tour
In May of 1893, the Polster Brothers, Charles, John and Ed, and their mother, Elizabeth Polster, had a grand opening for their new dry goods store. The public was entertained with music by an Italian harpist, and the building was lavishly decorated with plants and paintings. Their move to this location was prompted by a devastating fire that had destroyed the Polster Hotel, Dry Goods Store, and Drug Store one block north. All the businesses had been established by the father of the Polster Brothers, John Polster, who had come to Baxter Springs in 1867.
Several devastating fires promoted many business people to replace frame buildings with brick construction in the decades at the end of the century. For a period of about seven years, the Baxter Springs Post Office was located in the north part of the building. The Polsters closed the business in 1939.
Marker is on Military Avenue (U.S. 69) near 10th Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
