San Marcos Downtown Area Plan

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT HISTORY Downtown San Marcos is a unique and important geography in the San Marcos community. It is bounded by several of San Marcos’ key attributes including the San Marcos River and headwaters, Texas State University, historic and cultural neighborhoods, and IH-35. Downtown is the most dense and unique part of the community and is defined by short blocks, and pre-automobile compact development patterns that are conducive to walking or biking. Historic forces have shaped Downtown San Marcos. William W. Moon, reportedly the earliest Anglo settler to the area that would become San Marcos, arrived in 1845 and constructed a log cabin near today’s downtown. In 1851, Moon opened a hotel that developed into a stagecoach stop between San Antonio and Austin. The town of San Marcos was officially platted in 1851.

The largely agricultural community developed slowly during the mid nineteenth century. In 1880, an economic boom and growth in population was stimulated by the construction of a railway line for the International and Great Northern (I&GN) Railroad. In 1887, commercial and residential development flourished. Commercial buildings of limestone and brick masonry replaced earlier frame structures downtown. The existing (fifth) courthouse was constructed in 1908. By 1912, San Marcos Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps indicate further commercial and industrial development

Bird’s eye view of San Marcos, 1881 – Augustus Koch (Photo reproduced from the San Marcos-Hays County Collection at the San Marcos Library)

downtown and near the railroad lines, as well as significant residential development north and west of downtown primarily along San Antonio, Comal (Martin Luther King [MLK] Drive), Fredericksburg, Comanche, East Hutchison, and Colorado (University) streets. After more than a decade of very limited development throughout the Great Depression and WWII, much needed commercial and residential construction occurred during WWII and the post-war years in San Marcos. Returning military veterans purchased houses and new suburban neighborhoods developed to meet housing needs. San Marcos’s economy transitioned during this time from primarily agricultural to more diverse industries. The construction of IH-35 in the 1960s further contributed to the changing economy and location of businesses. The growth of Southwest Texas State College (Texas State University) further stimulated and guided development throughout the mid- to late twentieth century.

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SAN MARCOS DOWNTOWN AREA PLAN