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SAN MARCOS, Texas

Pronounced: "san mar cose"

"Jewel of the Corridor"

REFERENCES

CITY:

CITY OF SAN MARCOS: 512-393-8000
630 E. Hopkins, San Marcos, TX 78666
Web: www.ci.san-marcos.tx.us

CHAMBER and TOURISM:

SAN MARCOS AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
512-393-5900, 888-200-5620
202 North C.M. Allen Parkway, P.O. Box 2310, San Marcos, TX 78667
Web: www.sanmarcostexas.com, Email: main@sanmarcostexas.com

SAN MARCOS CONVENTION AND VISITOR BUREAU
1-888-200-5620, 512-393-5930; Fax: 512-393-5912
617 IH 35 North, San Marcos, TX 78667
Web: www.toursanmarcos.com; Email: smcvb@sanmarcostexas.com

VISITOR'S GUIDES: www.san-marcos-texas.net

SAN MARCOS 78666: www.78666.com

www.toursanmarcos.com/visitors

SAN MARCOS HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION: www.visitsanmarcos.com

ABOUT.com, Summer in San Marcos: http://gotexas.about.com/od/hillcountry/a/SanMarcos.htm

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES:

SAN MARCOS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL: www.ecodevsanmarcos.org

SMALLER NEIGHBORING TOWNS:

PRINCIPAL BUSINESS: Tourism, farming, ranching, manufacturing, quaint shopping, and outlet shopping malls

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS:

AQUARENA CENTER: Exhibits explain the springs, and their flora and fauna. Glass bottom boat ride. Bird watching on the "Wetlands Boardwalk" along San Marcos River. Operated by Texas State University. 512-245-7570. www.aquarena.txstate.edu

BELVIN STREET DISTRICT: A few blocks W of the square. A collection of 19th century houses. Not normally open to the public - drive-by viewing only. Tour of Homes first weekend in May.

(THE FORMER, HISTORIC) CITY HALL AND FIRE STATION: (c. 1915). Half block N of the square. Spanish Revival building typical of the period when fire stations shared space with other community services.

COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE CENTRAL TEXAS WING: At the San Marcos Municipal Airport. Vintage military aircraft in the 1943 vintage wooden hangar, and museum. 512-396-1943.

MAJOR RETAIL SHOPPING MALL OUTLETS: Bargain hunting at its best! On SE side of IH-35 at exit 200 between New Braunfels and San Marcos:

PRIME SHOPPING OUTLETS: 3939 IH-35 South #900; San Marcos, TX 78666; 512-396-2200; 800-628-9465; San Marcos is the largest outlet shopping destination in Texas! Additionally, the center is the 3rd most visited tourist attraction in Texas and was ranked the 3rd Best Place to Shop in the world as seen on ABC's "The View". With more than 10 million visitors a year from all over the world; it is a true shoppers haven with over 130 luxury and popular American brand names.www.primeoutlets.com/locations/san-marcos.aspx

TANGER SHOPPING OUTLETS: 4015 I-35 South, San Marcos, TX 78666; Phone: 512-396-7446; www.tangeroutlet.com/sanmarcos

QUAIL CREEK GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB: 512-353-1665; 2701 Airport Hwy 21, San Marcos, TX 78666. Semi-Private, 18 holes, 6424 yds, par 72. www.quailcreekgcc.com

(A.E. WOOD) SAN MARCOS NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY: See Parks

SAN MARCOS RIVER RECREATION: San Marcos Parks & Recreation Dept: 512-393-8400

SAN MARCOS RIVER TUBING: Lions Club tube rentals; The San Marcos River is one of the most loved family recreation areas; www.tubesanmarcos.com

SAN MARCOS RIVER WALKWAY:

SCENIC DRIVE: RR 32, "Devil's Backbone"

TEXAS STATE GOLF COURSE: 512-245-7593; 1351 Post Rd, San Marcos, TX 78666; 512-245-7593. Public, 9 holes, 2850 yds, par 34. www.campusrecreation.txstate.edu/programs/golf.html

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY: 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666; 512-245-2111; (18,822); Founded in 1899, opened in 1903 as Southwest Texas Normal School. On the hill North and East of the square on the 11 acres. www.txstate.edu

WITTLIFF GALLERY OF SOUTHWESTERN & MEXICAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND SOUTHWESTERN WRITERS COLLECTION: Alkek Library, Texas State University, 512-245-2313.

WONDER WORLD PARK: 512-392-3760; 1000 Prospect Street; San Marcos, TX 78666; www.wonderworldpark.com; A one-of-a-kind Theme Park. Visitors have enjoyed touring the Balcones Fault Line Cave for 105+ years, and now, the park has many other attractions for family fun and entertainment. Enjoy a guided tour and discover the nation's only true example of an earthquake-formed cave deep underground and see up close the devastation of a major quake. Exit by the "Stratavator" and ride high into the sky to the Tejas Observation Tower. Be amazed by the Topsy-Turvy World of the Anti-gravity House where everything is backwards, even water flows up hill! Board the train and splash through the waterfalls of Mystery Mountain on your way to the Texas' largest Wildlife Petting Park (zoo). Educational and fun for ALL ages. Open daily, all weather. Free picnic grounds, shops, restaurant. Located just off IH-35 (Exit 202 Wonder World Dr.)

NEARBY & HILL COUNTRY-WIDE ATTRACTIONS: See Attractions.

Some of the very nearby attractions include:

KYLE: HISTORIC DOWNTOWN DISTRICT; HISTORIC TRAIN DEPOT; KYLE AUCTION OAK; KYLE HANGING TREE; KATHERINE ANNE PORTER MUSEUM; CLAIBORNE KYLE LOG HOUSE; GOLF

NEW BRAUNFELS: ALAMO CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM; BARBERSHOP MUSEUM; CLEAR SPRINGS AVIARIES & ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS; DRY COMAL CREEK VINEYARDS; FIRE MUSEUM; GOLF; HERITAGE VILLAGE; HISTORIC GRUENE; LINDHEIMER HOUSE; McKENNA CHILDREN'S MUSEUM; MUSEUM OF ART AND MUSIC; NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS; NATURAL BRIDGE WILDLIFE RANCH; NEW BRAUNFELS CONSERVATION SOCIETY; PARKS; RAILROAD MUSEUM; RIVER TUBING; SCHLITTERBAHN WATERPARK; SHOPPING OUTLET MALLS; SNAKE FARM; SOPHIENBURG MUSEUM

PARKS: There are state and county parks in the greater area as profiled on the Parks page. These nearby parks include:

CANYON LAKE AREA: CANYON PARK; CANYON BEACH PARK; COMAL PARK; CRANES MILL PARK; GUADALUPE PARK; NORTH PARK; OVERLOOK PARK; POTTERS CREEK PARK; JACOB'S PARK

SPRING BRANCH: HILL COUNTRY STATE NATURAL AREA; HONEY CREEK STATE NATURAL AREA

Local city parks include:

21 parks, including the Children's Park, along the river.

EVENT CALENDAR: For full details on each event see Chamber web site and
Festivals & Events

January:

February:

March:

April:

May: Natural and Western Swing Festival

June:

July: Summerfest

August:

September:

October: Farmer Fred's Fall Carnival

November:

December:

On-Going Events: For full details on each event see Hill Country Market Days, Trade Days, Farmers Markets:

WEATHER: Weather Underground

MEDIA COVERAGE:

On-Line Latest News: Topix;

SAN MARCOS MERCURY: www.sanmarcosmercury.com

Newspaper: SAN MARCOS DAILY RECORD: 512-392-2458; 1910 IH 35 S, San Marcos, TX 78666. (www.sanmarcosrecord.com

MAPS: Google, more maps

HISTORY: Handbook of Texas Online: "It was the site of several Spanish attempts at colonization before it became the center of Anglo-American settlement in the area. The first such attempt, in 1755, saw the short-lived establishment of the San Xavier missions and the presidio of San Francisco Xavier. These were relocated less than a year later, and the headwaters of the San Marcos River remained unsettled for another half century. In 1808 the Spanish governor of Texas, Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, sponsored the civil settlement of San Marcos de Neve near the same site, but floods and Indian raids prompted its abandonment in 1812. In November 1846 Thomas G. McGehee became the first Anglo-American to settle in the vicinity of the San Marcos Springs, but William W. Moon has been identified as the original resident of the site that became San Marcos proper. Moon was soon joined by other former members of John C. Hays's company of Texas Rangers and by Gen. Edward Burleson. Caton Erhard opened the first store and post office by 1847, and the First Methodist Church began soon after. The Texas Legislature organized Hays County on March 1, 1848, and designated the young community as the county seat. San Marcos already had 387 residents. In 1851 General Burleson, William Lindsey, and Dr. Eli T. Merriman took possession of a 640-acre section of the Juan Veramendi grant and laid out the town center. Tarbox and Brown stagecoaches linked San Marcos with Austin and San Antonio in 1848, and the town began its development as the commercial center for the cart trade between area farmers and ranchers and coastal commission merchants. It also became a center for ginning and milling local agricultural products. Slowed for a while by the Civil War, the population in 1870 had grown only to 742, but in the decade following the arrival of the International-Great Northern Railroad in 1881 it reached 2,335. In that decade the town supported two banks, an opera house, and a variety of stores, saloons, and other businesses.

Cattle and cotton production in the area provided the basis for the gradual but steady growth of San Marcos as a center for commerce and transportation. The chartering in 1899 and subsequent opening in 1903 of Southwest Texas State Normal School and of the San Marcos Baptist Academy in 1907 established education as an important local industry. By the second decade of the twentieth century San Marcos counted more than 4,000 residents. On the eve of World War II the population was estimated to be 5,500, and the town had 200 businesses. During and after World War II the city's economy began to diversify, and growth accelerated. Wartime demand provided the initial stimulus for development of a light industrial and manufacturing sector; it was reported after the war that the financial resources of the city had increased 500 percent from prewar levels. In the 1960s, with the emergence of Aquarena Springs and Wonder Cave as important attractions, the tourist industry became a reliable and growing source of income. The expansion of Southwest Texas State University into an important regional institution, as well as the establishment in 1965 of the Gary Job Corps Training Center, not only made education the single largest employer in the city but also helped to account for a 48 percent increase in population, from 12,713 in 1962 to 18,860 in 1972. Growth continued through the 1970s. Industrial development continued apace; among the 400 businesses recorded by 1980 were manufacturers of furniture, sheet metal products, plastics, woolens, lighting fixtures, telecommunication devices, baked goods, construction materials, and tortillas. Austin's emergence as a regional metropolitan center is another cause of the remarkable growth of San Marcos since the 1950s; in 1973 Hays County and San Marcos became part of the Austin Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area. By the mid-1980s at least 20 percent of Hays County's labor force worked in Travis County. San Marcos itself was estimated to have a population of 25,000 and an additional 20,000 students, for a total of 45,000. In 1990 the population was 28,743. The population reached 34,733 in 2000."

San Marcos is considered by many to be among the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the Northern Hemisphere.

PRIOR NAMES:

NATIONAL REGISTRY SITES:

CEMETERIES: Yes

AVAILABLE SERVICES: Gas: yes; Convenience Stores: yes; Restaurants: yes; Lodging: yes; Grocery Stores: yes; Banks: yes; Vehicle Repair: yes; Hospital: no; Med Clinic: yes; Post Office: yes; Public Schools: yes; Cemetery: yes

OTHER PROFILES: Wikipedia; ePodunk; City Data; Texas Escapes; Travel Texas

NOTES:

(We welcome submission of updates, additions, corrections & digital photos, without compensation.)

SANDY ROAD GUEST HAUS:

An Upscale Western-style Guest House Bed & Breakfast in a Beautiful Ranch Setting in the Gorgeous Texas Hill Country

B&B Reservations & Information: 281-300-7177
9242 RR 1320 (Sandy Road), Johnson City, TX 78636

Web: www.SandyRoadGuestHaus.com
Email: info@SandyRoadGuestHaus.com
Come Relax & Enjoy!

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