Erected in 1876, this building had iron shutters, an elevator, and walls 25 inches thick. It housed a general mercantile store begun by the pioneer Caesar Eckhardt family in 1848, soon after the founding of Yorktown. Wagons brought in goods from the seaport of Indianola. Gold and silver hidden under potatoes were sent to San Antonio to purchase other supplies. During the Civil War, the wife ran the business while the husband and two sons served the South.