The foundry burned in 1890 and the same year the McDonald Shop started its career. G. B. McDonald, father of E. B., John and George started the business with the help of his three sons, all of whom became noted machinists in East Texas.
Mr. McDonald came to Jefferson, Texas, in 1886 and operated a flour mill and later had charge of the City gas system.
When the boys were old enough and trained as machinists, Mr. McDonald went into the machine shop and foundry and together they built a business which is considered one of the most complete machine shops in East Texas.
The present owner, E. B. McDonald is considered an authority on much of Jefferson and Marion County history. He is a hobbyist of note and collects authentic markers of the country’s history.
His ability is accepted with a note of finality on any mechanical questions.
Sedberry’s Drug Store
One of the leading drug stores of Jefferson is Sedberry’s. It has been in business in Jefferson since 1865, and is said to be the oldest drug store in Texas, or even in the United States, continuing under the same name. For more than 75 years this store has been serving the people of this and surrounding territory carefully and efficiently.
THE KELLY PLOW WORKS
The name Kelly has been identified with East Texas iron ore development since the Civil War and Reconstruction days. But in order to have a better appreciation of the Kelly family we copy from a paper that was prepared by Hubert M. Harrison, vice president and general manager of East Texas Chamber of Commerce, and a copy was sent to Mrs. McKay, a relative, by Mr. R. M. Kelly. It follows:
“About seven years after the historic Battle of San Jacinto, while Texas was a republic, John A. Stewart, later a brother-in-law of G. A. Kelly, came to Texas from Tennessee and began making small crude plows in a little shop operated by a man named Saunders, near Marshall, Harrison County, Texas.