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Downtown
Central Park The town square next to the courthouse, between Austin & River, Donegan & Nolte Streets. This block was dedicated as a market square "to the people of Seguin forever." Today it holds a new statue of Juan N. Seguin (see that page in our History section). The park boasts several historical markers and a recently restored fountain with multi-colored lights. Vintage cast iron street lamps were reproduced to surround the park. The originals, put up in 1922 to honor the dead of World War I, proudly lighted "Seguin's White Way. " The famous Whipping Oak can be found on the north side of this square. Face the courthouse to find the iron hook in its trunk. After being sentenced, prisoners were tied here to receive their lashes. A Hanging Tree stood for decades at the corner in front of the Plaza Hotel. But after the streets were paved with asphalt, rainfall ran off in storm sewers and the tree's roots were starved for water. It eventually died. Its pathetic remains were removed to the Los Nogales museum complex.
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Notable Architecture
The surrounding district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural and historic merit.
Buildings of note include the 1896 bank at Nolte and Austin Streets by J. Riely Gordon, famous as the master designer of Texas courthouses. The former Plaza Hotel is by Leo M.J. Dielmann, who is also responsible for the charming St. James R.C. Church a few blocks to the south. A number of fine commercial buildings are by Atlee B. Ayers, San Antonio's most distinguished architect of the 20th century.
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The former Seguin High, today Joe F Saegert Junior High, is a handsome example of theMission Revival style. Its architect,Marvin Eickenroht, had local roots, but worked in San Antonio before moving to Houston. His Texas Theatre is an exhuberant, exotic exercise in Art Deco, much beloved and admired.
The streamlined 1936 Art Deco courthouse and the elegant municipal building, both by Lewis Milton Wirtz and Harold Calhoun, were built of limestone quarried in the Hill Country. The pale appearance of their stone gives homage to 19th-century predecessors, including a courthouse built of concrete when this town was called "The Mother of Concrete Cities."
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Current Events
Central Park remains the center of the town's civic life, and the site of numerous community events. These include the Lion's Club Carnival usually held on the first weekend in May, and the Fiesta Juan Seguin - Cinco de Mayo that takes place on the following weekend. On Sunday evenings in June, free musical programs are presented here. The Freedom Fiesta takes place here, part of the local celebration of Independence Day. The 4th of July Parade brings a colorful commotion of bands, floats, low riders, and groups of horseback riders.The Guadalupe County Fair Parade each year makes its way down Austin St. to the Fairgrounds.In holiday season, the evening Christmas Parade brings Santa Claus to Central Park. The trees and the rooflines of the surrounding buildings are covered with chains of lights, giving a festive appearance on the cool evenings.
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Trade Days
Seguin Main Street sponsors popular Trade Days on the last Satuday of March, April, September, and October, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. More than 100 vendors' booths surround Central Park. Items on sale include arts & crafts, antiques, food and beverages, clothing, and other merchandise.830-401-5000
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Heritage Museum
114 North River St. 830- 372-0965
No fee, contributions welcome
Permanent and rotating themed exhibits of our immigrant and ethnic heritages. Drawn from private collections of photographs and paintings, arts & crafts, artifacts and memorabilia.
A noteworthy exhibit recounts the history of the Wilson Potteries and the on-going archeological work at the site.
Open: Tuesday - Friday, 12:30 - 6 pm,
Saturday 10 am to 1 pm.
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Walnut Springs Memorial Garden
Corner of Donegan and Travis
Stagecoaches passed this way for some 30 years. Coming from Gonzales, the stagecoaches stopped at the Magnolia Hotel before taking this route to San Antonio and on to California.
An arbor entry, beautiful plantings of roses provided by the Seguin Garden Club, and fieldstone walls put up during the Depression mark the route leading down to where the stages crossed Walnut Branch, just below the Walnut Springs. A 1976 monument here recognizes the town's early history.
The Moonlight & Roses evening reception is held here on a moonlit night in late April or early May.
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Magnolia Hotel
Corner of East Donegan and Crockett
Not open to the public.
Since about 1843, the Magnolia Hotel has been standing a block east of the courthouse square.
Stagecoaches stopped here overnight before heading on to San Antonio, for almost 30 years, until the railroad came through in the 1870s.
One popular stage route ran from Indianola, Victoria, Cuero, Gonzales to Seguin, then to San Antonio and California.
A bell believed to have come from the Alamo once hung on the corner. A slave boy would climb on a stone (still in place) and ring the bell to announce the daily arrival of the stage -- with its load of important news, mail, express packages, and passengers.
The older, rear portion of the Magnolia Hotel was built of limecrete. Its fireproof quality must have given peace of mind to guests well aware that others nearby were drinking, smoking, and keeping themselves warm beside a roaring fireplace.
When Frederick Law Olmsted traveled through Texas in the 1850s writing for the New York Times, he called this "the prettiest town in Texas [because of] its shaggy live oaks, which have been left untouched..." and he observed that Seguin had a fine hotel.
The live oaks he admired are mostly gone, but the hotel remains.
See Joe Comingore's Walking Tour of Seguin for more about the colorful early owners of the Magnolia Hotel.
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The Concrete CitySome rare old concrete buildings can be found downtown. A former 1880s Baptist church stands on the southwest corner of Donegan and Camp Streets. It was later given a make-over in Mission Revival, or in this case, a version of the style called "Alamo Revival." The older limecrete portion is separating from the rest of the building with a long crack in the wall. Another smaller building of limecrete, or Park's concrete, stands beside the old Bartholomae house that has been restored as offices, on the corner of Mountain and River Streets. Part of the two-story St. James School, on Convent St. off South Austin, was built in 1853-54. With considerable additions, it claims to be the oldest building in the state in continuous use as a school. See the page on The Concrete City for more information.
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