Seguin, Texas, Guadalupe County seat. (original) (raw)
Seguin, Texas
Landmarks / Attractions
Seguin has an outstanding assortment of 19th century and early 20th century buildings. It also has a devoted group of preservationists, local historians, an active garden club and librarians who take care of business. It's also a Main Street City and is home to a couple of writers, one of whom happens to be a town barber.
We have to wonder if Janice Woods-Windle (author of True Women) co-authored a book with Charley Eckhardt (Tales of Badmen, Bad Women and Bad Places) that their book would be called Truly Bad Women.
November 2013 photo by Billy Hathorn, Wikimedia Commons
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The 1898 Nolte Bank Building designed by J. Riely Gordon TE Photo October 2000 |
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Plaza Hotel and the hanging tree c1935 Old postcard TE Archives |
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Riverside Cemetery
Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, October 2009
Tidbits from Seguin's Interesting History
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The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot Razed in 1987 TE Postcard archives More Texas Depots |
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- The Southern Pacific Railroad Depot c. 1910
Razed in 1987
The beautiful Seguin Railroad Station was demolished in the late 1980s when the railroad determined that vacant stations along their line were liabilities. No consideration was given to relocation, although the city would've gladly cooperated.
- Seguin's mule-driven line
When the railroad was the primary economic force in Seguin, a rail line one mile long was extended to downtown to convey people and parcels downtown. This mule-driven line was Seguin's only public transportation system. In addition, the hotels that were in operation at that time had their private hacks which were forerunners to our so-called "courtesy cars" of today.
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Photo courtesy TXDoT |
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- Texas Beef: It's what was for dinner in California
In 1854, a Seguinite named Michael Erskine made trail driving history when he drove 1000 head of cattle from Guadalupe County to California. That's right, California. No explanation was given for this destination, but we're sure the cattle were put to good use. A few years later, one Andrew Erskine was killed at Antietam, but we don't know if it was a son or brother of Michael. - Death in the Garden - Manhunt to the Red River
The Seguin Garden Club is one of the few in the State of Texas to have a Texas Brands Inspector buried on their grounds. By brands, of course we mean cattle brands. There was a bit of brand changing going on in the area in 1877. The Inspector - a man named Henry Holmes Batey made a request to inspect a rancher's cattle as they were about to be driven across the Guadalupe River. The man refused and while Henry later napped with his eyes shaded by his hat, he was shot in the head.
His brother trailed the cowardly assassin all the way to the Red River. After he returned he would only say that he saw the man ride into the river heading toward Indian Territory. He was silent when asked if the man made it to the other side.
Book Hotels › Seguin Hotels
Seguin Chronicles
Seguin Stories
- Two Pilots, Three Air Forces, One Hometown
Lt. Col. Alvin Mueller & Lieutenant Dick Campbell - "Sam Houston slept here" by Mike Cox
- The Aumont Hotel
- The Plaza Hotel
- Hotel Wars in Seguin
Two hotels in one town, the rivalry of building them and the little girl who loved them both. No, it's not a Shirley Temple movie script. - "Eloise" in Texas
When you outgrow one lobby, move to another hotel - Little Mysteries by Mike Cox
Guadalupe County farmer Bernard Pankau found a small mystery on his farm near Seguin in 1938. - Charley Eckhardt's Badmen, Bad Women and Bad Places - A book review
- Guadalupe City
- Skat by Michael Barr
Skat was once a popular card game in the German Hill Country, but good luck if you are looking for someone who knows how to play it...
The game of skat (pronounced 'scot') originated in Altenberg, Germany in the early 19th century when members of the local card players' club combined elements of a popular Italian game called Tarock with another game called Schafkopf (sheep's head)... There are still skat tournaments in Seguin and New Braunfels, but not so much in Fredericksburg anymore.... more
Seguin Tours
- Historic sites and homes - The Seguin Chamber of Commerce has a map of historic sites and homes and another on sites featured in the book True Women. Contact the chamber (1-830-379-6382) for a complete list of the nearby attractions to Seguin.
- The Seguin Driving Tour as well as the
- True Women Tour were put together by Wilton Woods, brother of the author of True Women. Mr. Woods has done extensive research on Seguin's architecture and visits his hometown several times a year from his home in New York.
Seguin Tourist and Local Information
Seguin Chamber of Commerce: 427 N. Austin Street
1-830-379-6382 Website: http://seguintx.org.
Book Hotel Here › Seguin Hotels
Seguin, Texas Forum
- Subject: Woman Hollering Creek
At one time, back in the early '80s, the Highway Department sign at Woman Hollering Creek actually did read Woman Hollow Creek. It stayed that for about a year until somebody got through to the folks who put up the signs & told them what the name of the creek actually was. This was when there was an effort to identify the names of all the rivers, creeks, & draws in the state & put road signs with the names on them. There are a lot of 'Five Mile Creek,' 'Fifteen Mile Creek,' & similar signs, because some of the creeks didn't have actual names. They were called "that creek you cross five miles out of town on the County Seat road."
Along State 16 below San Antonio there's Macho Creek. This has nothing to do with the modern usage of the word 'macho.' 'Macho' is the Spanish word for a gelded mule.
There's a creek in Seguin, tributary to the Guadalupe, that apparently has never had a name. At any rate, when the state tried to find out the name of the creek so a sign could be put up, no one--not even the oldest folks in town--could remember the creek ever having a name. - C. F. Eckhardt, September 06, 2006
Texas Escapes November 2000 Feature Town
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