It is said that, after purchasing the building that sits at 1012 N. Main St., the then-owners took down the metal sign that reads “Ellis Pecan Co.” only to quickly put it back up. What they revealed were the words “Ku Klux Klan” embossed in the building’s bricks. The building, the third largest in the city when built, is thought to be the only building remaining in the world that was erected for the sole purpose of housing the white supremacist hate group.
Built in 1921 — and rebuilt in 1924 after a fire — the large bricked structure sits halfway between downtown and the Stockyards, easily within view of the Tarrant County Courthouse. Stand on your toes, and you can get a glimpse of its façade from the famed Joe T. Garcia’s. In other words, this building that once housed hate wasn’t tucked away on the fringes of the city — it was constructed in the middle…
