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 Harrison and McCulloch Stage Stop
N 29° 34.948 W 098° 18.338
14R E 567249 N 3272721
One of the few remaining stage stops that connected the coastal cities with a path to San Antonio and Austin.
Waymark Code: WM102K9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/12/2019
Views: 7
It is not often you see a marker discussing some old historic iconic symbol of "the old West" as a stagecoach stop. Any Western movie worth its salt will have some scene in it with a stagecoach racing across the prairie or pulling into the stage stop to let off passengers. Here is a real stage stop location with a surviving original building (restored). This location has a small history display and some artifacts to see, but the gem to this place is the building of the stage stop itself is still here! There are other amenities to attract visitors too. A nice pavilion, a walking path beside shade trees growing next to Cibolo Creek, and a children's playground, a basketball court and a small soccer field are part of the adjacent Stage Stop Park. The stage stop is along the Interstate 35 Frontage Road where it crosses Cibolo Creek. The address for the Selma Stage Stop Visitor Center is 934 N. Evans Rd, Selma, TX. Background of the Harrison and McCulloch Stage Stop: ( visit link)
Marker Number: 17273
Marker Text:
The Harrison and McCulloch Stage Line began running stagecoaches from the Texas coast to central Texas as early as 1848. The line was a partnership between brothers-in-law, John S. Harrison (1818-1864) and William McCulloch (1819-c. 1854), after dissolving their partnership with Dr. Caleb S. Brown of Gonzales (Harrison & Brown Stage Line) in 1850. Their stage line was part of a network of competing stage lines and "star routes" that contracted with the United States Post Office delivering travelers and mail throughout central Texas. Star routes 6285, 6154 and 6155 ran from Indianola, Port Lavaca and Galveston to New Braunfels and Austin and back. John S. Harrison also owned the Victoria Hotel in Victoria where he housed his stage passengers overnight on their way inland. In 1852, Harrison moved to Selma, making it his home. His houses listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006 and declared a State Archeological Landmark in 2009. Harrison was the first postmaster of Selma and held that position for two years.
The Selma Stage Stop, as it is known today, was one of the stops on Harrison & McCulloch's star route 6285 that ran from Austin to San Antonio. In 1852, the route took 18 hours to complete, leaving Austin at 3 AM traveling the Old Post Road and sections of El Camino real de los Tejas through the open retiree to Manchac Spring, San Marcos, Bonito, New Braunfels and Selma, arriving in San Antonio at 9 PM that night. The Selma, Stage Stop is a prime example of "limecrete construction," a process using wooden forms and "slip," a mixture made from sand and pebbles found in the nearby Rio Cibolo. Shards of wood and corncobs were forced into the drying slip for added strength. (2012)
Marker is property of the State of Texas
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
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