Port Lavaca Businesses 1905 Annual Report of the War Dept Vol 5 Part 2
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Rahtgens & Smith Lumber Company
Rahtgens & Smith Lumber was founded by brothers-in-law Harry Rahtgens and W.H. Smith Sr. The company was open before 1891
as evidenced by the following humorous news article
from The Sunday Gazetteer, Denison, Tex.,
November 15, 1891.
In early 1902, Rahtgens & Smith got the contract to
supply the lumber for the construction of the new Port
Lavaca Pavilion, where the Bayfront Peninsula Park
is currently located. Below is an article from the
Victoria Adovcate from February 26, 1902. The Pavilion
was conveniently located near Smith Harbor.
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The company was listed in various federal reports from 1904 – 1908.
Smith later bought Rahtgens’ interest and continued operating the business until 1912 when it was sold. A photo of Will (WH Smith Jr.) and others advertising a paint sold by Rahtgens and Smith provides a view of the Port Lavaca shoreline before the construction of the seawall.
The same Heath and Milligan Sign appears in the following two photos of the store. Will Smith is identified as standing on the left. It appears that Harry Rahtgens is standing on the right.
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Directory of American Cement Industries January 1, 1906, Municipal Engineering Company
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Can anyone identify people in this photo other than Will Smith Jr.?
Is that Harry Rahtgens on the right with his chin in his hand?
Port Lavaca Businesses 1908-09, Congressional Edition Vol 5436
Connections
John McCoppin, youngest son of James McCoppin, first county judge of Calhoun county and father of Alice Helen (McCoppin) Reed, served in the Coastal Survey as a seaman in Indianola. In 1904 his family moved to Port Lavaca where he was employed as a bookkeeper at the Rahtgens and Smith Lumber Yard, continuing when it became Hillyer-Deutch Lumber Company. Mary Belle Melcher Meitzen, http://www.indianolatx.com/McCoppin_Bio.html
Henry Smith sailed the schooner Alice Helen. Is it possible that James, or his other son Alex, both shipbuilders, built the schooner?