HISTORY OF THE BRUNSON BUILDING

Charles Brunson, an 1845 German immigrant, was initially a stage coach driver in Columbus. In 1867 he established the Brunson Saloon on the Courthouse Square. In 1891 built the Brunson Building and Whiskey Warehouse a block north from its original location.

In those violent times, only law officers were allowed to carry guns. Locals often stashed their weapons at their favorite saloon to avoid having them confiscated while in town. Several shootings took place in and around the Brunson Saloon, including the deaths of Sam Reese and Larkin Hope, participants in the infamous Stafford-Townsend feud. The Brunson Saloon closed in 1919. After its closing, the Brunson Building was used for a number of different retail establishments until it became the Live Oak Art Center in 1986.

The front of the building is decorated in Victorian style with four decorated steel columns and wooden Victorian style windows. The upper windows sit on a steel ledger course, which sits on the top of the columns under the brick lintel. The windows are framed by decorative brick pilasters and are capped with decorative metal caps. The wood window frames are arched at the top and sitting on a brick string course and ledger course.