A look at what happened to the Klan bookstore in Vidor, Texas.

Many wonder what had happened to Klan bookstore in Vidor, Texas. Many people state Vidor had a Klan bookstore on their main street. This news article will explain in detail what happened to the Klan bookstore in Vidor, Texas.

Vidor, Texas was the national headquarters for the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) along with Dallas, Texas, Pulaski, Tennessee, and a handful of other American cities which were home to several other klaverns. A Klan bookstore welcomed shoppers on Main Street back when the Texas KKK (Texas Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and White Camellia Knights) was headquartered in Vidor. The Klan catered local functions at this bookstore for many years for the communities of Vidor and Beaumont.  

W.F. Woods was the first person to own the property the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore was located on. The white building of Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore was built in January 1926 by W.F. Woods. The walls were hollow tile walls although much of the interiors and exteriors were constructed out of wood. Many modifications and alterations were made overtime. (Ref: Orange County Official Public Records, Volume 905, Page 641)

Prior to the structure becoming the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore, it was a pharmacy. The building had been a pharmacy which had burned in a fire. The Vidor KKK and White Camellia Knights cleaned up the burned out pharmacy and converted it into a bookstore. (Ref: Patsy Sims, The Klan)

Tommy Read Rainbolt, Justine Rainbolt, and John Hardy were the owners of the property while Ray Booker was the owner and operator of Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore. He was one of the two Grand Titans of Texas for Texas Knights of the Ku Klux Klan with Louis Beamer. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore was an exclusive bookstore that only Ku Klux Klan members could browse or purchase from when it first opened. The general public was not permitted inside until 1976. Steve Gibbs was one of the operations managers. (Ref: Patsy Sims, The Klan)

Vidor’s Klan bookstore opened to the public on June 5, 1976. This Klan bookstore was called the “Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore” and was located right next to City Hall. Only white customers were allowed. Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore was located at the address of 146 Main Street, Vidor, Texas. Phone numbers for Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore were 409-749-7173, 409-769-7873, and 409-749-7873 (Ref: Port Arthur News, Page 18, June 10, 1976)

It was advertised in Port Arthur News under the caption of “KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN Bookstore now open to the public”. (Ref: Port Arthur News, Page 26, June 5, 1976)

5 different KKK groups in Vidor generated enough business to support a small Klan bookstore on Main Street with the mains once being White Camellia Knights (White Camelia Knights of the Ku Klux Klan), Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Texas Nights of the Ku Klux Klan, and INVISIBLE EMPIRE KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN OF TEXAS.

The bookstore was transferred to an Imperial Klaliff from the INVISIBLE EMPIRE KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN OF TEXAS named Dan Smithers. The INVISIBLE EMPIRE KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN OF TEXAS owned the bookstore. (Ref: https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_tx/0038396901)

The building itself was painted white all around. Steps to the storefront were painted patriotic colors of red, white and blue. Ironically the same colors you see on the American flag. The building had a sign on top saying, "Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore”. The front window had a sign saying, “146 Main Street, Warehouse of Godly good!” (Ref: http://www.michaelcorcoran.net/archives/1688)

Inside the store was a booth that sold “nigger hunting” licenses for 50¢ cents. “KKK Kountry” and “Klan Kountry” signs were sold here for purchase. Books containing racist memorabilia and propaganda were sold at this bookstore. T-shirts for the price of $8 dollars were sold at a booth inside. A sign that warned “Nigger, don’t let the sun set on you in Vidor.” was placed inside the store at the front window. The Klan bookstore often had marketed racism towards blacks.


Now the Klan bookstore wouldn’t operate in Vidor forever. Here is what happened to the Klan bookstore in Vidor.:

White Camellia Knights moved their Klan bookstore to Pasadena, Texas as a business move and after a series of legal maneuvers by the local District Attorney in 1978. There was more demand for Ku Klux Klan activity in Pasadena than there was in Vidor. However this proved to be a bad business decision as the Klan bookstore in Pasadena would close down in 1986.

The INVISIBLE EMPIRE KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN OF TEXAS had been shut down by the State of Texas due to tax forfeiture in 1979. Dan Smithers had not been paying taxes for the organization. So the bookstore owned by INVISIBLE EMPIRE KNIGHTS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN OF TEXAS shut down. (Ref: https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_tx/0038396901)

Its interior was stripped of everything and its belongings moved with the Klan down to Pasadena. The storefront had been sitting abandoned and vacant during that time. Texas Observer reported on Vidor having a Ku Klux Klan bookstore on their main street for many years. (Ref: https://www.texasobserver.org/2661-a-statewide-investigation/)


The storefront had been sitting abandoned and vacant by 1979. The building was torn down between 1981 and 1984. In 1984, Tommy Read Rainbolt conveyed the property and land to David Lee Jackson and his wife Darlene Ann Jackson. David Lee Jackson later transferred the property over to Darlene Ann Jackson. (Ref: Orange County Official Public Records, Volume 583, Page 1)

By 1987, the storefront was demolished and all that remained of the Klan bookstore structure were three red, white and blue steps that front the sidewalk. The concrete sidewalk and steps were the only indications of the structure that remained after demolition. (Ref: http://www.michaelcorcoran.net/archives/1688)

Today both David Lee Jackson and Darlene Ann Jackson own the property where the storefront of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore was once located. The only structure remaining of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore are the concrete steps and sidewalk. (Ref: https://esearch.orangecad.net/Property/View/R43282)

Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Bookstore was located at 146 North Main Street, Vidor, Texas, US 77662.