Mansfield’s historical downtown got a little bit more historical last month – at least one building did.
For almost 50 years, the brick building at 126 N. Main St. has housed the office of optometrist Robert Smith, but the building has a much longer history, which was recently honored by the Texas Historical Commission and the Tarrant County Historical Commission.
The building underwent an extensive remodeling project this spring to restore the interior and exterior of the building.
The Texas Historical Commission honored the building with a subject marker, while the Tarrant County Historical Commission paid tribute to the restoration of the building’s façade.
The brick building was built by A.J. Hunt in 1895 and housed a saloon until a local prohibition ordinance forced it to close in 1898. 
A drug store owned by James H. Board and Ebenezer H. Chorn that was on the west side of North Main Street, then known as Water Street, had burned in 1898 so the two men relocated into the vacant saloon. Board was married to Chorn’s eldest daughter, Etna.
The building was sold to C.A. Smith & Sons in 1910 and continued to be a pharmacy and medical office for decades. Several pharmacists operated out of the front of the building, including Lee Roy Ray in 1961.
Dr. Harry Nifong and Dr. Raymond Thomas had medical offices in the back of the building for many years.
In 1977, Dr. Robert Smith rented the building for his optometry office before purchasing the site in 1981. Smith is the great-great-grandson of C.A. Smith, one of the building’s previous owners.
The building was honored for its long history as the Board and Chorn Drugstore.
