The Mahdeen-Wyatt Building at 204 East Pilar Street was designed by Dietrich Rulfs in 1918. Constructed of locally-made brick on the original site of the Nacogdoches County Courthouse (demolished 1916), this building not only represents an outstanding example of Rulfs' architectural skill but also the ambitions of local businessmen who operated the enormously successful Mahdeen Company. Mahdeen was recognized in 1945 as an "industry which has built the city of Nacogdoches and added to its financial wealth and prestige."
The Mahdeen Company, which operated from 1912 to 1985, originated from John Lewis Needham's bathtub. Needham, a local barber, had developed a hair tonic and dandruff remedy for use his shop at corner of Main and Pecan (the later home of Pool Pharmacy). Around 1907, he began to mix and bottle the liquid from his home, with the intention of selling the concoction throughout East Texas and Louisiana 250 Soon after, he met Frank Aikman, a traveling salesman out of New York who sold Dodson's Livertone. Aikman was often in Nacogdoches and the surrounding region (he stayed at the Redland Hotel) for sales calls, and upon learning of Needham's formula quickly recognized the potential for its sale. Aikman and Needham formed a partnership, and founded the Mahdeen Company (Needham spelled backwards) on 12 September 1912. By January 1913, with Aikman supplying funding for expansion, they were in business. When Needham died in 1918, Aiken acquired control of the company. Shortly thereafter, he took up residence in a new brick building designed by Rulfs on the south side of the square. The building had been commissioned by Eugene H. Blount and Thomas E. Baker, and though Mahdeen was the tenant for years, it was known as the Blount-Baker Building into early 1900s.
The Mahdeen Company occupied the basement and the third floor, which housed the vats for mixing and bottling the tonic. The first and second floor of this building were used by auto dealerships such as Duke H. Herbert Ford Co, and Ben T. Wilson Chevrolet. In its new facility, the company was quite successful, earning over a million dollars in this era Mahdeen's profits allowed Aikman to make various philanthropic gifts to city of Nacogdoches: he contributed a great deal of funding for the construction of the Westminster Presbyterian Church on North Street; and in 1924 donated $12,000 for the erection of the Aikman Gymnasium on the Stephen F. Austin College campus. Aikman died in 1939, and the Mize Brothers (with partners E.C. Best and R.G. Muckleroy. Sr.) acquired Mahdeen in late 1939 or early January 1940. Muckleroy was bought out in 1941, leaving Mahdeen in the hands of the Mize partnership. World War II threatened materials and supplies - Mahdeen's secret recipe included several ingredients imported from Europe - but the company continued to grow. Shortly after the acquisition, the Mize Brothers and Best introduced a new product, the Mahdeen Shampoo, which outsold the tonic. After 1940, Mahdeen products were distributed nationwide to wholesale establishments and to the armed forces overseas. It never had an extensive marketing campaign, but still sold rather well, particularly in California and to the United States Army and Navy. The packaging remained remarkable consistent over the long life of the tonic and shampoo; the bottle changed only once, and the label was slightly altered due to legal complications stemming from Aikman's use of an unauthorized photo of the daughter of an original employee. Because the images was used without a release, the label was modified to show a generic drawing of a woman). In October 1965, the Daily Sentinel announced that the "city's oldest industry" was sold to Owen Laboratories and would be moved to Dallas. EC Best, the partner in Mize Department store, remarked that he and Mize were "getting old," and received a lucrative offer from Owen. The building on Pilar Street was vacated, making way for the Village Furniture Store of Lufkin in the 1960s. In 1971, John S. Wyatt purchased the property from the Baker and Blount heirs to house Wyatt's Office City. The last occupant of the building was Story-Wright Office Supplies.