There is one building in downtown Dallas that has remained owned by the same family for almost its entire existence.

Bullock’s, located on the square across from the historic Paulding County Courthouse, was built in 1907 by the Dallas Mercantile Company, which was a chartered corporation of eight men. The general store was run by Henry Bullock and sold various items, such as clothes, housewares, furniture and shoes. Although Bullock lived in town, he had farms in unincorporated Paulding County.

“His primary occupation was being a farmer,” said Jason Edwards, Paulding County’s historian. “But, he was involved in different businesses in town, too.”

Four years later, Bullock purchased the store from the mercantile company. Shortly after, he son, Eugene Bullock, Sr., ran the general store until he died in 1960. However, the store remained in Henry Bullock’s name until he died in 1946.

When Eugene Bullock, Sr., died, his son, Eugene Bullock, Jr., bought the store from his father’s estate. Bullock had a store on Main Street in Dallas, but when his father died, he wanted to move into the larger building.

He turned the former general store into Bullock’s Economy Auto. But, he didn’t sell car parts – the business was an appliance store the sold refrigerators and stoves, among other items.

Bullock ran the store until he died in 1983, and the building is still owned by his widow, Zuma Holland Bullock, the daughter of Henry Holland who once was Dallas’ longest serving mayor. After his death, Bullock’s son, Bob, took over the business. After running the store for a few years, he then used the building as the location of his insurance agency. Since then, the building was used for various offices, the last tenant being Ryan Hale, an Edward Jones investment agent.

The building has been vacant for about eight years. The building had to be gutted at that time because it wasn’t in good shape, and Edwards said it was restored to how it looked as it did in the early 1900s. For example, the house-style windows that had been installed were replaced with plate glass windows similar to those that were originally on the building. It was also eight years ago that the stone sign with the name “Bullocks” was attached to the structure.

“They fixed it,” Edwards said. “It’s very nice now.”