German brothers Edward and Leopold Sarrazin, who opened a mercantile store in 1875, moved their business to this building in 1890. They sold groceries, dry goods, and hardware in the front part of the building and had an office in the back. Feed, farm equipment, buggies, and wagons were kept in the rear warehouse. Chickens, raised in coops in the yard, were shipped by rail to Houston. After Leopold died, Edward bought the store, which Edward, Jr. inherited upon his father's death in 1925. It continued as a thriving business, employing as many as 18 clerks, until 1967.