Walking Tour

By Joe Comingore

Begin at Central Park, on East Nolte St. south of the Courthouse

The stone marker C.S.A., Confederate States of America marker, erected by the state, is a reminder that Guadalupe County joined the Confederate forces during the Civil War and had a staging (gathering and training) area located between Jefferson Avenue and Court St. west of Guadalupe St.

An iron fence with turnstiles circled the third courthouse. This prevented the roaming animals such as cattle and hogs from damaging the courthouse property. The fence was removed and used to fence the Zuehl cemetery. This part of the fence was returned in 1996.

Under the government stake at the tree is a well-mutilated survey marker stating the altitude at this location is exactly 528 feet above sea level.

Turn right and walk to the corner of South Austin St. and East Court St.
Guadalupe County's Bulletin Board is in a case at this corner. From this board a person will find the activities of the county, including properties for sale through default, such as non-payment of taxes.

Cross Austin St. and Court St. Proceed north, stopping at Gonzales St.
On the southwest corner of Gonzales St. and Austin St. was the Grande Central Hotel that boasted a dining room, a music room, and a barbershop. Seguin's Wonderland Theater was located on Austin St. just south of the barbershop. The Wonderland Theater began showing moving pictures in the Kempenstein Opera House located upstairs at the southwest corner of Gonzales St. and North River St.

The Tri-County Land Surveying, Inc business, 114 North Austin St. has old tools and instruments of surveying. Their Christmas display is one of Seguin's finest.

Walk west on Gonzales St.
At 111 West Gonzales St. is the Leon Studio. Leon and Nelda Kubala always had pictures of "Old Seguin" and/or it's people in their window. Their library of pictures will be preserved locally.

Turn right at the corner, cross West Gonzales St.
Look west at the (old) Post Office Seguin has had many Post Office locations. This building was built in 1934 while Franklin Roosevelt was President, J.W. Morganthau Secy. Treasurer, and James Farley was Postmaster General. The building qualifies for a historical marker. In the year 2000, the building became the law office of A. Rober Raetzsch and Wm. L. Knobles.

There are some rather large old oak trees west of the (old) post office. This is a part of a group of trees known as the Ranger Oaks. Under Rangers Jack Hays and James Callahan, a group of renegades and Indians were captured, brought to town, and forced to dig a trench in the area of the Ranger Oaks. The captives were then lined up and shot so their bodies fell into the trench, thus saving some trouble of the burial.

The I.S.D. Joe F. Saegert Middle School, named for an early school superintendent, is located at the west end of Gonzales St. The four acre block was the original site of the Guadalupe Female Academy built in 1851. The Jesuit Fathers bought the building and property and in 1884 sold the properties to the Guadalupe Baptist District Association. Their first session of school was in 1887. George W. Brackenridge of San Antonio was a large benefactor of Guadalupe College. He gained control of these properties which his heirs sold to the I.S.D. in 1927. The I.S.D. opened the Seguin High School in this building in 1929.

Proceed north on North Camp. Cross Mountain St. and look west.
The large oak in the back yard in the first block on the left is called the Charter Oak. Under its branches 33 shareholders met and agreed to form a town site, Walnut Springs, which later became Seguin.

Turn right.
As late as 1914, a blacksmith shop was located at the northeast corner of North Camp St. and West Mountain St.

The next bulding east housed the Fire Department on the ground floor. Walk down the alley at the side of the building to see the recently bricked doorways at the rear of the first floor. This was the stable area where the two horses for the fire departments combination wagon were kept at ready." The fire department also maintained a hand-drawn horse-and-ladder truck. In 1914, the fire department had one paid driver. The building was later used for youth services before the State Bank & Trust rebuilt it.

Proceed east to Austin and Mountain Streets.
The Aumont Hotel, named for its location at the corner of Austin and Moutain Streets was built in 1916 on the site of an old livery stable. The Chicago White Sox team stayed at the Aumont for spring training at Seguin in 1922 and 1923. This was the period of time the White Sox were often called the Black Sox because of their scandal. Just north of the livery stable was the town's undertaker.

Turn right and walk south.
On the east side of Austin St. was located a barber, a tailor, an agricultural implement store that also sold harnesses and buggies, a grocery store, a clothing store, and a dry goods store.

At Gonzales St. turn left.
One of Seguin's largest fires occured in the Blumburg store on the north side of the street.

The Oak has been in the same family since before the requirement for individual sales tax receipts. For this reason the Oak still uses a cash box for their sales.

Proceed to the corner of North River and East Gonzales Streets.
This has always been an interesting corner. The Dietz Opera House was located upstairs on the northwest corner. The Opera House was well known in 1883 for its plays and performances. There was a theatrical group in town as early as 1858, but there is no record of the location of their performances. Keller's bakery, a prominent gathering place, was on the corner of East Gonzales and North River Streets.

Across at the northeast corner is the Municipal Building. Read the Historical Marker for Juan N. Seguin and go inside for a look at the ship's bell from the W.W.II Liberty Ship, "S.S. JUAN SEGUIN."

On the southwest corner, in 1894, upstairs, was located Kempenstein's Opera House. Kempenstein's was used for elite parties, graduation exercises and as a movie house. The lower floor has housed two grocery stores, a meat market, a pool hall and a barbershop. Mr. Harold Baenzinger, a Seguin legend and past owner of the proerty, donated this building to the Seguin Heritage Society where a museum has been established.

Cross to the southwest corner of Gonzales and River Streets.
Go south to the iron rings on bars mounted in the concrete at the edge of the sidewalk, near the gutter. These rings were used to tie horses and mules back in the horse and buggy days.

At the corner of East Court and River Streets, look south.
"The Seguin Mercury," the town's first newspaper, was located in the first block on South River St.

Cross Court Street, walk west to Seguin's "White Way" lamp.
This is the only original memorial lamppost remaining of the 24 installed in 1922 around Courthouse square and Central Park square honoring the 24 Guadalupe County soldiers that made supreme sacrifice during World War I.

The next marker honors World War I and World War II dead from Guadalupe County. The marker was sponsored and dedicated by the American Legion.

The next marker is to honor the "Old Spanish Trail." The Old Spanish Trail was a 1915 Chamber of Commerce project of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana to bring Northern automobile traffic to the South. Seguin's Chamber of Commerce was started in 1915, but went broke a year later. It was restarted in 1920. The Chamber of Commerce aided in bringing the Old Spanish Trail through Seguin. The Old Spanish Trail markers were placed on what is now Court Street in 1921. The zero stone for San Diego was set in 1923. The third zero marker, for San Antonio, was set on Military Plaza, and dedicated in 1924. Seguin set the fourth marker on the groundsof the Guadalupe County Courthouse Square in 1946. Dedication was scheduled for August 7, but a four-inch rain postponed the dedication until September 5, 1946.

The flag poles are in remembrance of Oscar Henze, Seguin District One councilman for many years.

On the corner is the World's Largest Pecan dedicated to the pecan industry of Guadalupe County. The pecan was molded and built by Seguin's Monroe Engbrock. Guess it's weight? A written message is inside the concrete and plaster pecan. A lady at Starcke Furniture knows the contents of the message.

Walk west crossing Austin Street.
At the southwest corner of Austin and Court Streets is the Tips Building, built in 1890 by Ferdinand Klein with Sonka Brick, a locally made cast stone. The north end of the building housed the business of Tips and Caldwell, while the south end of the building housed the saloon of Ferdinand Klein. Located upstairs was one of the town's five opera houses. One article states the first movie in Seguin was shown in Klein's Opera House. Many area school graduation exercises have been held in Klein's. In 1914, a bowling alley operated on the second floor. The location has been home to a supper room, a clubroom, dance hall, Sons of Hermann meeting room, and the meeting place of the American Legion.

The Women's Temperance Union hall was once located on the north side of Court St. in the second building from Austin St.

Walk west to the corner of Camp and West Court streets.
At the northeast corner, above the Vogue Shoe Store, was Baker's Hall. This was the location of another one of Seguin's Opera Houses. Through the years, Baker's Hall was a meeting place for several organizations and lodges. The Hall was probably best known for its pool parlor.

Look to the southwest corner of Camp and Austin streets.
Guadalupe County was organized at this location in 1846 in the home of Paris Smith, one of Seguin's founders.

Walk to the iron rings at the sidewalk on the east side of the street. More rings from the horse and buggy days. Imagine the squabbles of the drivers to get a location in the shade of the large tree for their horses and mules. The tree near the curb behind Vivroux's strore is the Coffin Oak as a slab of wood in the shape of an old timewood coffin with six sides often hung from this tree advertising the availability of burial coffins at Vivroux's. Upstairs in the rear of the Vivroux Building, (at the northeast corner of Camp and West Donegan Streets) harnesses and buggies were sold. The large, for that time, hand-operated elevator is on West Donegan St.

Cross to the southwest corner of West Donegan and South Camp Streets.
The building was a Baptist Church at one time . The original portion of the building (on the corner) is made of Park's concrete.

Proceed south
Eduard Nolte, a merchant, lived in a house, now gone, located on the property where the white house is located 115 West Market (now West Nolte). Eduard married the widow Hipp and had three sons, Edgar, Eugene, and Walter. Eduard gave the three sons large, prominent houses; Edgar, the house at 115 West Nolte; Walter, the house, now remodeled, at 605 South Austin; and Eugene, at 102 East Live Oak. The house at 115 West Nolte is now the property of the Starcke Furniture Company. See Historic Homes - The Charm of Seguin.
  
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