Magnolia residents Dave and Judy Sutherland not only collected antiques; they also collected buildings.
Located on 10th Street behind Walgreens in Magnolia sit about 5,000 square feet of buildings the Sutherlands relocated from all over the Greater Magnolia area.
The couple moved the buildings onto their property piece by piece throughout the 1990s and early 2000s after purchasing the property on 10th Street in 1992, Dave Sutherland said. One of the buildings is the former post office for Cut and Shoot, Texas, which Sutherland and his late wife relocated to Magnolia in 2003. The other buildings were moved in from the Magnolia area as roadways were expanded.
“Back then, nobody wanted [to develop] Magnolia, so as pieces of property became available, we’d buy and move buildings,” Sutherland said.
The Sutherlands operated an antiques and resale store at 110 10th Street called Dave and Judy’s House/Museum, he said. The business closed more than a year ago as Judy began to have health problems.
Now, Sutherland is selling the items inside the buildings, the buildings themselves and eventually the property, he said.
“[FM 1774] came through [on one side] and a developer has bought property on [the other side], so this property [will not be around] long before a developer is going to want it. I’m in the process of clearing it out, selling the buildings and having them moved,” he said.
When he moved the first building to the property, 10th Street did not exist, Sutherland said. He and Judy cleared a dirt road, which was later paved by the city.
“Before [the city] improved [FM] 1774, there were buildings all along the railroad tracks,” he said. “Then the state took that property, and we moved some of the buildings back here behind our shop.”
Sutherland said he and Judy took an early retirement in 1991 and dedicated their time to Magnolia. The couple also collected Western memorabilia among other old items, he said.
“You name it, [Judy] collected it,” he said. “ We’d hop in the truck and go away for the weekend and come back with a lot of new products.”
The buildings are still full with the couple’s treasures. Sutherland said the shop will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Sunday until the Texas Renaissance Festival begins in October, and it may reopen after the festival concludes.
“It was good for a lot of years,” he said.