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What are the true costs of historical preservation in Kerr County?
Photos from the demolition of the Kellogg Building, back in 1987.Click on any image to enlarge.In the spring of 1987, Kerrville had an unpleasant surprise. At the corner of Sidney Baker and Main...
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Hidden Clues in the 1921 Kerrville Telephone Company Directory
The home of the Comparette family, on the corner ofTivy and Jefferson streets, Kerrville.Click on any image to enlarge.Recently, a neat Kerrville artifact was added to my collection: a 1921 Kerrville...
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The Railroad came to Kerrville in 1887
The Kerrville Depot of the San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railroad.Click on any image to enlarge.The coming of the railroad in 1887 changed everything for Kerrville -- because it allowed commerce with...
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A mystery photo of Kerrville's Water Street -- when was it taken?
Water Street, Kerrville Texas.When was this photo taken? Who took the photo?One of the challenges in identifying old photographs is determining when they were taken. There are old tricks I often use,...
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Wait. Is this story correct? Where exactly did the Kerrville City Council...
Is this the Newman Building?Click on any image to enlarge.In Kerrville, in 1909, a civic club was often in the news. It was called the “Kerrville Business Men’s Club,” and its mission was to promote...
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A century of learning at Kerrville's Schreiner University
Schreiner Institute, as it appeared in 1923, 100 years ago.Click on any image to enlarge.On December 31, 1917, our community received a remarkable gift.In the early days of Kerr County, just before the...
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The Kerr County Cabin of a Daughter of the Alamo
The Morriss cabin, between Ingram and Hunt,as shown on an old postcard.As I collect Kerr County photographs and historical items, I occasionally run across images which create more questions than...
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Kerrville and Kerr County in 1927 -- almost 100 years ago.
St. Charles Hotel, 1927, corner of Sidney Baker and Water streets.Click on any image to enlarge.Years ago, Sandy and Jon Wolfmueller gave me a small item which was originally sold to tourists visiting...
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A snippet about life in Kerrville in 1880
An illustration showing "Kerrville" from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1881.Click on any image to enlarge.The February 23, 1880 edition of the San Antonio Freie Presse für Texas, a...
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The War Hero from Kerrville, and the Missing Street Named in His Honor
Staff Sergeant Pedro Castillo, a Kerrville herowho gave his life for his country in World War II.Click on any image to enlarge.As most readers know, I’ve been writing this Kerr County history column...
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Whatever Happened to Pedro Castillo Street in Kerrville?
Staff Sergeant Pedro Castillo, from Kerrville,who died for his country in World War II.Click on any image to enlarge.Changing street names in Kerrville rarely happens.After World War I, three downtown...
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An adorable book of children's life stories: Kerrville's Room 13, in 1958
Some of the students of Room 13, and their teacher, Sybil Bennett Sutherland -- 1958-1959.Click on any image to enlarge.I receive a lot of historical items from our community’s past. Most are very...
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A Noble Company: Kerrville's Company D, in 1917
Company D, at Camp Bowie, 1917.Click on any image to enlarge.As we celebrate Veterans Day this weekend, I thought it might be interesting to tell the story of a company of infantry formed here in...
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Time travel to Kerrville in 1872
Two pages from the June - July 1872 'Day Book' of Faltin & Schreiner.Click on any image to enlarge.Would you care to time travel with me this week?Recently, I was given an historical item which...
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What could you buy at Charles Schreiner's store in downtown Kerrville in 1872?
A fanciful illustration by Harold Bugbee of the interior of Faltin & Schreiner,the store opened by Charles Schreiner in downtown Kerrville in 1869.Click on any image to enlarge.Recently I was given...
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The many changes of Kerrville's Louise Hays Park
Water skiers performing at Kerrville's Louise Hays Park.Click on any image to enlarge.When the Louise Hays Park was built in a day, back in April 1950, it had several features which no longer...
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A Kerrville Story: My brother, Sidney Baker, killed in [World] War One.
Walter Sidney Baker, around 1917.Click on any image to enlarge.A poignant photograph crossed my desk this week.It’s a photograph of a soldier, printed on a picture postcard, and mounted in a paper...
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The Top 10 Most Popular Kerrville and Kerr County History Stories from 2023
Charlotte, our new puppy, discussing column ideas with me.Click on any image to enlarge.At the end of each year, I review the stories I’ve written for the previous 12 months, looking to see what was...
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A handwritten account of trailing cattle in Texas -- in the 1870s.
A handwritten memior of a cowboy who drove cattle northto markets in the 1870s. Click on any image to enlarge.A kind reader brought by an incredible gift a few weeks ago.It’s a first-person account of...
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Manuel Reyes Denton: Kerrville sailor killed in Vietnam whose body was not...
Manuel Reyes Denton, Tivy Graduate,who was killed in Vietnam in October, 1963. Over the past several weeks, I have been working on a project separate from this column, where I’m trying to learn more...
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