In Waldron, development on Main Street began before the oldest remaining commercial buildings of the Commercial Historic District, which date from about 1876. In the late 1830s, resident William Featherston operated a tavern where the Ben Franklin Building now stands between Third and Danville Street. Between 1850 and 1859, Waldron contained three grocery stores, two hotels, a courthouse, a jail, a post office, and one blacksmith. The 1840s log courthouse was replaced in 1860 with a brick one that burned two years later during the Civil War. The Continental Hotel, also called the Malone Hotel, was erected in 1869 on the east side of South Main Street at the present location of Crutchfield's Café Building and the parking lot to the north. From 1870 to 1878, the town went through a period of violence between Confederate and Union supporters known as the Waldron War. More than thirty people were murdered during this period, causing the town to suffer economically until the late 1870s. By 1891, construction on Main Street had accelerated. Many new brick commercial buildings were constructed on Main Street during the 1880s and 1890s, including the Boston Cash Store Building in 1880 and the Dozier and Son building in 1890. The architectural style of the buildings during this period reflects traditional commercial construction, with some structures containing Italianate features.