Historical Archives

Headed by Montgomery County Republican Women member Alice Melancon, a trained librarian, the onerous task was undertaken. Today, hundreds of items are available for inspection. Historians and history buffs have utilized the archives for their research.

Republican Party Headquarters

In any political campaign, a headquarters site can be a big asset. It signifies political party visibility and credibility while serving as a center for volunteer activity. For the fledging Republican Party in Montgomery County during the 1960s, that had to operate much like a secret society, a large volunteer staff and a full time headquarters was no more than a pipe dream. Besides, there was always the question about the availability of adequate funds just to maintain a temporary site during election years.

Montgomery County Conservatives Headquarters

In the 1962 campaign for Governor, the first temporary headquarters was located in Conroe on N. Main Street across from the Crighton Theater. It was called the Montgomery County Conservatives Headquarters because “Republican” was believed to be a disadvantage. During the 1964 presidential campaign, a Goldwater for President Headquarters occupied a second floor office in a building on the north side of the courthouse square overlooking W. Davis Street. Today the Courthouse Annex is located next to this site. A large Goldwater banner, extending the width of the building, was hung from the rooftop making it highly visible from any where on the square. No longer would Republicans act as a secret society.

Full Time Republican Headquarters Established

Following the 1964 election, the County Executive Committee concluded a full time headquarters was needed to establish the Party’s visibility and credibility and to compete with the Democrat Headquarters known as the “County Courthouse”. It was not at all unusual to see Democrat candidate signs posted in Courthouse offices during an election campaign.

Norman Imler, Precinct #10 Chairman and owner of the State Hotel (circa 1931) on Collins Street in Conroe, offered to let the Party use a room adjacent to the lobby as the Party Headquarters. In 1965 the Headquarters was officially opened. A sign was hung from the awning over the door after much delay because a painter could not be found who would paint such a “Republican” sign. Today, that sign hangs from the wall above the entrance to the Headquarters at 310 Collins Street as a reminder of the tenacity and dedication of those brave enough to call themselves Republicans during the 1960s.

New, Larger Facility

Due to the size of the Headquarters, phone bank operations and meetings could not be held there. It was necessary to obtain larger facilities for this purpose until 1994. Following the creation of the Republican ROUNDTABLE (1984) and the Sustaining Member Program (1986) and the successful campaigns of 1988, 1990 and 1992, adequate funds were made available to permit the Party to occupy the former lobby of the Hotel and retain the old site for computer activities and record storage. With this move, the Headquarters could be utilized for phone bank operations and meetings. The official move was made in August 1994. Unfortunately, with the death of Mr. Imler and the sale of the building, it became necessary to incur rental expense.