Rumfield brothers
revitalizing downtown
J
oshua residents driving down Main Street may have noticed
more buildings popping up by city hall and the police de-
partment.
Robbie, 45, and Dusty Rumfield, 43, of Rumfield Properties
Inc. have spent the last couple of years revitalizing downtown
Joshua.
What use to be a general store and a bank at one time, the
building at 101 N. Main St. is over 130 years old, Robbie Rum-
field said, and sat vacant for many years before they purchased
it and began renovating two years ago.
Keeping the integrity and history of the building was the
priority, he said.
“You’re trying to not mess with the integrity too much, so
there’s a longer process simply because you’re trying to save
the brick and roof, things to that nature on it,” he said. “People
ask us all the time, ‘How do you plan on profiting off of this as
much as you put into it?’ This was not an act of profit. It was
more a labor of love.”
Joshua City Manager Josh Jones said the Joshua Historical
Committee put together a book in 1977 that lists numerous
businesses that have been in downtown at one point or another,
including auto repair shops, lumber yards, grocery stores, tele-
vision repair shops, diners and more. It was vacate for about 20
years before the Rumfield brother came along, he said.
“As a resident, I personally think it’s great,” Jones said.
“Anytime you can have local choices, it enhances your quality
of life, and for those that have been here awhile, I’d think it’s
exciting to see the area being rejuvenated.
“As city manager, almost any action someone may take to
invest in our community is beneficial and a positive for us.
‘Buying local’ is not just a slogan. Doing so provides the city
with budgetary flexibility, which can have a positive impact on
everything from property tax rates to street maintenance.”
20 Joshua Community Guide