Classroom

The Newton Boys gang consisted of four brothers from Ulvade, Texas who robbed six trains and an estimated six-dozen banks between 1919 and 1924-resulting in an estimated total of stolen goods that exceeded the Dalton Gang and many others.&nbsp; In 1946, San Marcos was the subject of a federally-funded film called "Our Home Town." The Old State Bank is featured in the film, embedded below, around two-minute mark. The film shows lots of historic photos and video footage of the downtown area as it stood in 1946.

While some speculate that Bonnie and Clyde robbed the Old State Bank, it is known that once criminal gang, the Newton Boys, successfully robbed this bank in 1923. 

1946 video introduction to San Marcos, from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Video

More Information about Newton's Gang and the 1924 robbery

More Info

One of the most iconic and historic buildings in San Marcos, the "Old State Bank" building was constructed in 1891. The Newton Gang robbed the bank in 1924, a heist that included setting dynamite charges around the vault. The bank was also used for the 1970 Hollywood movie "The Getaway," starring Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw. The building now holds a themed restaurant on the first floor that incorporates the old vault and teller cages. The second story is home to loft apartments. 

Old State Bank

Contributor

This walking tour starts near the historic Hays County Courthouse and moves south along Guadalupe Street. Highlights of the tour include the former city hall, Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum, the Old State Bank Building, and several sites, cultural centers, and museums that share the history of San Marcos and its diverse peoples. The tour only includes stops near Guadalupe Street but visitors to the city should also check out the nearby Charles S. Cock House and Dick's Classic Car Museum. 

This was the city's second fire station, completed when the majority of the city's fire protections was provided by volunteers. Reflecting one of the potential dangers of having a non-staffed fire station, this building replaced a previous structure that had been destroyed by fire in 1914. Despite this tragedy, city leaders continued to operate their fire department on a volunteer basis until the 1950s. While some hoped to continue this practice, citing the pride of the volunteers who had created the largest all-volunteer department in the state, the city moved to a paid professional department. By the late 1960s, this building no longer served as a fire station. For a short period, it operated as a museum. During the 1980s, the structure was saved from possible demolition and renovated.&nbsp;Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) acquired the building&nbsp;in 1991 and converted it into studio space.

Constructed in 1915, this historic building was home to both the city government and the fire department. The city still operated a volunteer department at the time, and continued to do so until the 1950s. The building is now owned by Texas State University.

Former Fire Station and City Hall

The museum traces its origins to local discussions during the mayor of San Marcos' special committee that began in 1996 and was tasked to find ways to promote heritage tourism in the city. The idea for a museum dedicated to LBJ gained support in the following years, especially after the city a physical location for the museum- a former&nbsp;movie theater near the city's&nbsp;courthouse square. Much of the work renovating the former theater was done by craftsmen and trainees&nbsp;who were part of the federal Jobs Corps program that Johnson created as President. The effort&nbsp;received&nbsp;support from a number of local agencies and the university. With broad-based community support, funds were raised to complete the&nbsp;renovations and the museum opened in&nbsp;2006. LBJ announced the creation of Job Corps near the present museum that was made possible by this program. Click the video below to watch President Johnson's announcement of the program during his visit to San Marcos.&nbsp;

This museum preserves and interprets the formative years of Lyndon Johnson, a student in San Marcos and teacher in southern Texas who became the 36th President of the United States. Johnson was a student at Southwest Texas State Teachers College between 1927 and 1930 and it was here that he returned in 1964 as President to announce the creation of the Job Corps program. Like many teachers colleges, the institution has developed into a comprehensive regional university and is now known as Texas State University. The museum opened in 2006 and expanded in 2010 to include two floors of exhibits. In addition to exhibits about Johnson's years in San Marcos, there are exhibits dedicated to his efforts to promote civil rights and education in the Senate and as President. 

Lyndon Baines Johnson Museum of San Marcos 

<div>From the historic marker: "When Hays County originated in 1848, its one public building was a log church-schoolhouse that had to serve as the courthouse, along with its other uses. Although the San Marcos townsite, platted in 1851, contained a court square donated to the county, the forfeiture of a $2,000.00 criminal bond later gave the county funds for building, and in 1861 officials employed contractor C. F. Millett to erect on the Square a 36 x 40-foot, 2-story frame courthouse with a hearing room, jury rooms, and 4 offices. That pine building burned in 1868, and county officials operated from rented quarters until a courthouse of soft, locally quarried limestone was completed in 1871. Damaged by earth shiftings, that 2-story, 45 x 53-foot building was razed (1881) and replaced by a 50 x 60-foot, 2-story building of harder limestone designed by F. E. Ruffini, architect for University of Texas buildings and for courthouses in several other counties. After that 1882-83 structure lost its top story in a fire on Feb. 28, 1908, it also was razed. The fourth and present courthouse, in eclectic style, was designed by C. H. Page &amp; Brother, of Austin. Completed and accepted by the county court on Dec. 13, 1909, it has had interior alterations; it was restored in 1972."&nbsp;</div><div> </div>

This historic courthouse located in San Marcos was built in the Classical Revival style and completed in 1908. The building is recognized by both the National Register of Historic Places and Texas Historical Commission. 


Hays County Courthouse 

The Calaboose African American Museum received its name from the common word for jail during it's construction in 1873. In 1885, the building was then re-purposed to be a community recreation center. In the 1940s, the building was expanded and used as a WWII United Service Organization center for African American servicemen, since segregation kept them from the other soldiers. In 1954, the building re-established its role as a community center. Finally, in 1990, the building became the Calaboose African American Museum.The Calaboose African American Museum has been home to many different exhibits. Some of these exhibits include Buffalo Soldiers artifacts, Tuskegee Airmen, WWII Military, and Ku Klux Klan information. Another exhibit was on the pitcher Dave Brown, one of the most well-respected pitchers for the Negro National Leagues. Along with Dave Brown's exhibit was Lucious Jackson, a former Olympic gold medalist.The museum is also home to exhibits on more common occupations, such as law, medicine, science, and even Blacksmithing. The museum also showcases various war history, such as the Buffalo Soldiers who helped fight in the Civil War. However, the museum closed in 2013 for renovations and expansions that included: interactive displays, exhibits for notable citizens, and more cultural history. In February of 2015, though, the museum opened its door again with many new features and displays for the public.

Built in 1873, this former jail is now the home of the Calaboose African American History Museum. The historic structure was the first jail in Hays County and later served a variety of different purposes throughout the years. The museum offers a variety of exhibits with artifacts that preserve and share the history of African Americans in central Texas. The museum was established in 1992 by Joanie Armstead. Highlights of the museum include memorabilia from Eddie Durham, a local jazz musician In recognition of Joanie Armstead's work; the museum was recently designated an official Texas Historic Landmark.

Calaboose African American History Museum

Ulysses Cephas was born in San Marcos in 1884, the son of Joe and Elizabeth Cephas, both of whom had been slaves as young children. Cephas learned the skills of the carpenter and Blacksmith, allowing him to design and build this home as well as his shop. Cephas was well-known and referred to as "the village Blacksmith" in local papers. These newspaper accounts reveal that he used his skills to designed a number of original items for residents, including a medical device that helped a local woman walk after suffering a traumatic injury in a car accident. Perhaps most significant, Cephas was so skilled at his craft that when masked Klan riders committed an act of violence against some of his neighbors, Cephas was able to correctly identify the perpetrator by the horseshoe prints left at the scene of the crime. Cephas became an independent business owner in 1933, when he purchased the shop he had previously rented. His business allowed him to provide for his five children, establish himself as a local musician, and serve as a active member of the First Missionary Baptist Church. When Cephas passed away in 1952, he not only owned a home and rental property, but had amassed ten thousand dollars to pass on to his heirs.&nbsp; The effort to preserve the home began with residents of San Marcos, such as the late Johnnie Armstead. Armstead's legacy lives on across&nbsp;the street from this home, as his Calaboose&nbsp;African American History&nbsp;Museum. The home can serve a number of purposes, including as an annex for the museum, a place to house art courses and host cultural events,&nbsp;and as community meeting space for&nbsp;events within the Dunbar Neighborhood.&nbsp;

Ulysses Cephas was a Blacksmith and leader within the African American community in the Dunbar neighborhood of San Marcos. This neighborhood was home to many influential residents, including composer Eddie Durham who pioneered many of the elements of jazz and swing music from the 1930s to the 1950s. In response from residents of this neighborhood, who expressed concerns about the loss of many of the original and historic properties in this neighborhood, the city of San Marcos purchased the home with funds from the Community Development Block Grant and began efforts to restore the home. 

Ulysses Cephas House

This historic church was built in 1963 for a congregation that dates back to 1874. The congregation met in a variety of buildings between the 1870s and the completion of this structure and also operated a school for the city's growing African American population in the era of Reconstruction. The first school for African Americans in San Marcos was established in 1868 by the Freedman's Bureau, a federal program aimed at assisting former slaves and other Southerners in the wake of the Civil War. The city offered no financial support to the Freedman's School or any other school for African Americans until 1877 when the school district established a public school for fifty African American students.  

Wesley Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church

Cheatham Street Warehouse is located along the railroad in San Marcos, Texas. It was opened in June 1974 by Kent Finlay and Jim Cunningham. On opening night, there were so many people in the warehouse that the bartenders could barely keep up with opening and distributing to consumers. The warehouse was destined for honky-tonk fame from the start. On October 13, 1975, George Strait made his first appearance at the Warehouse, playing with the Ace in the Hole Band; it was their first gig as a band. 	Cheatham Street is also well known for its Songwriter Circle nights, when it invites local musicians to workshop their new material. Randy Rogers, Todd Snider, James McMurtry, John Arthur Martinez, Terri Hendrix, Hal Ketchum, Adam Carroll, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Big John Mills, Shelley King, Monte Montgomery, Charlie and Will Sexton, Slaid Cleaves, and others are among the names that have participated in these Songwriter Circles. 	In 2006, the property was purchased by Texas State University professors Gregg Andrews and Vikki Bynum in order to save it from demolition. The Cheatham Street Music Foundation  was then created in order to permanently preserve the Warehouse and preserve Kent Finlay's legacy. Finlay continued running the Warehouse until his death in 2015. It was then taken over by one of his proteges, Randy Rogers.

Cheatham Street Warehouse is a bar and music venue in San Marcos, Texas known to be George Strait's stomping grounds and where he first made his debut. Cheatham Street Warehouse opened in June 1974 and has been popular ever since. The Warehouse was popular with local college students for its unique mix of traditional country, rock, folk, and blues. It continues to be a popular spot today.

Cheatham Street Warehouse

This school was constructed in 1949 and replaced a wooden school&nbsp;building that was formally known as "the Mexican School." Both schools served Mexican American children during the many years when the schools of Texas were officially (and later, unofficially) segregated. The school later changed its name to the Southside School and then Bohnam Elementary School.&nbsp;

Located in a building that was once known as "the Mexican School," Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos offers classes that preserve and share Hispanic heritage and operate a small museum, library, and art gallery. Since its opening in 2010, the organization has worked to support art, dance, music, and other cultural programs. The center is open to the public each afternoon and offers exhibits that preserve and share Hispanic culture and heritage.

Walking Tour of San Marcos - Historic Guadalupe Street

Old State Bank

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information