Early Texas Wagon Yards - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This historic marker stands at the northwest corner of the intersection of the US 83 and the US 90, at the southeast corner of the plaza directly across the street from the Uvalde County courthouse.

Marker Number: 1358 Marker Text: Places of shelter for drivers, teams and wagons. Here travelers could cook bacon, eggs, beans, coffee; talk with friends and strangers. For people from the country, a wagon yard was both a hotel and a social center. Unusually it was an open area flanked by a shed, stalls and feed rooms. It might cover a city block, and charges were 25 (cents) to $1.00 a day. Drivers pulled into yards, cared for teams, found cooking and sleeping space. Men or families might stay for weeks, await kin or goods coming by train or stage. Amusements were practical jokes, gossip, games, music by fiddle, guitar, harmonica. Young boys overcame bashfulness, learned to dance, roller skate, whip bullies. The yard was center for trading goods and horses; obtaining advice on travel, work, weather. Some yards were stops for stages and freighters. A block west of this site was wagon yard of F. A. Piper Company (predecessor of Horner's Store). Like many Texas merchants, Piper built and ran the wagon yard to aid customers, who used it free of charge. Modern transportation has made the wagon yard a relic of the past, but it has a secure place in the history of pioneer days in Texas. [engraved on marker frame] Early Travel, Communication, and Transportation Erected by the Moody Foundation - 1966

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.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   09/17/2016 Raven visited it 12/18/2015 WalksfarTX visited it 07/21/2015 Benchmark Blasterz visited it

View all visits/logs