S.B. Watts constructed the first floor of the Tatum and Sons Building of native limestone between 1902 and 1907 to house a grocery store. In 1920, John Wesley Tatum purchased the building and, before 1921, he added a second floor of brick and masonry and opened Tatum and Sons Furniture Store, which remained in business for a few years. The added second story of brick and masonry visually separates the two parts of the Tatum and Sons building. Projecting limestone blocks surround two double shallow arched windows. A stair-stepped parapet tops the second floor and within the middle is the inscription “Tatum and Sons, 1920.” The lower floor features three bays with wood transom windows. At the floor of the center entry, black and white tiles spell out “J.W. Tatum.”

Located along East Washington St. or old Highway 10, the Tatum and Sons Building stood a half-block from the  courthouse square, facing a major road into Stephenville from the northeast and towns like Bluff Dale, Tolar, Granbury,  and Fort Worth. When Watts first constructed the building in 1907, it was one of two limestone stores standing side-byside.   By 1930, three additional adjoining buildings lined the sidewalk east to South Virginia Ave., creating a solid row  of commercial businesses.  By 1930, Tatum and his family had moved to Wichita Falls. His building remained in commercial use through at least  1949, and, in 1940, Moser Grocery and Market occupied the Tatum and Sons Building. Today, the building has been  adapted for use as apartments.