Heritage, Volume 9, Number 3, Summer 1991 Page: 20
30 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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gatherings because of the Inn's reputation
for gourmet food and genial hospitality.
A house that has undergone extensive
rehabilitation in another old section of
town at 542 Burleson was developed into a
charmer by its present owner, Johanna
Kohllepppel Hansen. It is located just
above a wagon trail that was once one of
the routes of the many Camino Reals
traced from Mexico across Texas to the
border of Louisiana. The house once sheltered
a a pioneer circuit-riding Methodist
minister. At a later time the house was
home to Lyndon Baines Johnson's colorful
mother while she stayed in San Marcos to
attend the Teacher's College. When new it
was located across the street from an
outstanding private boarding school which
thrived under the Methodists before Texas
had free education. San Marcos' Middle
School is located today where Coronal
Institute once crowned the hill.
The Hansen/Kohlleppel house fronts
on the street named for Major Edward
Burleson, Jr. who acquired property all
over town to augment that inherited from
his father, General (Senator) Burleson.
General Burleson along with two other
owners, Eli T. Merriman, the town's first
doctor, and William Lindsey, surveyor for
the Republic of Texas, laid out their town
in 1851. The deck at Johanna Hansen's
overlooks a picturesque back yard and was
the setting for the lemonade respite, a
refreshing stop for those who took the tour
The Calaboose built in 1873 as Hays
County's first jailhouse was rediscovered,restored, and quickly dedicated a recorded
Texas Historic Landmark this past December.
It afforded a contrasting view into
early San Marcos history. It had served as
the jail just for Black prisoners after a new
jail was built next door in 1883. The
original three jail cells were discovered
when a concrete floor was dug up in the
small building during its restoraton. In its
varied history it has served many functions.
During World War II it became the
USO for Black servicemen assigned to the
Air Corps Navigation School located out
on the old Camino Real, today's Highway
21 to Bastrop. It was leased for a time to a
Black fraternal organization and later
utilized for city council meetings while a
new city hall was underway. Tour visitors
paid rapt attention to the Black history
exhibit which concentrated on the role of
black servicemen in World War II as well
as the Buffalo Soldiers in the forts of Texas
after the Civil War.
The May tour opened with a visit to the
only stone building of the Greek Revival
style remaining in San Marcos, the Charles
S. Cock House. It was the first building in
San Marcos to be placed on the National
Register of Historic Places and is also a
registered Texas Archaeological Landmark..
It stands on a historic spot, the location
of Captain Henry McCullough's camp
when he recruited at San Marcos for the
United States War with Mexico in 1846.
Since its restoration in 1976 this HouseMuseum
has been the focus for historic
tours of San Marcos. It is renowned as theCottage Kitchen where luncheons are
served each Friday to visitors from near
and far by the Heritage Association's
Guild.
The Heritage Association of San
Marcos is a member of the National Trust,
the Texas State Historical Association,
the Texas Historical Foundation, and
Preservation Texas Alliance. Proceeds
from Tours of Distinction have benefited
beautification along the San Marcos river
and architectural preservation in San
Marcos. Additionally, upkeep on the
Gazebo and the parkland around the
historic little house, the restoration of the
courthouse annex and most recently, the
Calaboose have received grants from the
Heritage Association. It provides the
Charleston Battery benches for the little
historical park, put in the sprinkler system,
added shrubbery and a brick walkway as
well as planting the trees in the Memorial
Grove year after year on Arbor Day.
Ecology is funded, too, with funds
realized by the tours. A notable contribution
the Heritage Association has made
to the quality of life in San Marcos was the
$25,000 presented to the San Marcos River
Foundation for preservation of the flow of
the San Marcos River. The Heritage Association
sponsored and funded expenses for
the National Register application for San
Marcos in 1981 and led the way to
participation in the Texas Main Street
project. The luncheons held each Friday
for the past seventeen years are open to all
and reservations are not necessary.The Lloyd qideon Yohnson Hbouse.
A magnificent
preservation
effort
in 1990 brought
this San SMarcos showpiece
back to fife.
Photograph by
George Berry.
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Texas Historical Foundation. Heritage, Volume 9, Number 3, Summer 1991, periodical, Summer 1991; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45423/m1/20/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.