Dutcher Building / Gray’s Store

Location: Center Street, Douglas
Date: 1866

This three-story structure built by Thomas B. Dutcher in 1866 was the largest commercial building of its day in Douglas, and suggested at the time that Douglas was destined to become a large town. The top floor was the home of the Douglas Masonic Lodge. By 1871 the lower floor was Thomas Gray’s general store—the largest business in Douglas. The building was later destroyed by fire. With the eventual reduction in harbor and dock traffic, Douglas’s early growth proved to be only temporary.