Fork Inn, Hunt

This rock building at 1225 Highway 39, Hunt, now known as Elaine's Table, was first called the Fork Inn.

It sits on the South Fork of the Guadalupe opposite the Hunt Store.  According to the restaurant website, this building has housed a restaurant for most of its existence.

It dates to about 1940. It apparently had been operating for several years when the first mention of the Fork Inn appeared in the Kerrville Mountain Sun 9 October 1946. It was reported that Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Taylor entertained with a party the previous Saturday evening at the Fork Inn, to honor their daughter and new son-in-law.
The next mention is when the Mountain Sun reported 19 May 1949 that "Mr. and Mrs. Sid Cooke have returned from Houston and now have the Fork Inn open for business.  They will welcome all their old friends.  The Inn has been painted inside and out and is very attractive."

The Cookes, who were English, bought a small 1/3 acre property in Hunt in 1940 and came from Houston for summers several years.  They operated the restaurant for the spring and summer camp and tourist season, although it appears it also opened for special events because I found mention of dinners in February. By 1954 it may have been operating year round.

In April 1964 it changed hands, was completely renovated and became Connie's Corral, operated by Connie Covert and Grace Frazier. The Hunt-Ingram Lions Club met there regularly.

In April 1998, Elaine's Table opened for business and continues today.

The 1886 Courthouse and Where it Went

I first wrote about the Courthouse here.

It may surprise people to learn that parts of the 1886 Kerr County Courthouse still exist in the area.  After the current courthouse was opened for business in 1926 the previous 1886 courthouse was torn down and the materials sold. T. W. Sawyer was in charge of the razing.  The March 1, 1928, Kerrville Mountain Sun listed everyone who purchased materials from the courthouse.  Those who bought the limestone rock were: Sid Peterson, Mrs. H. C. Geron, Herb Johnson, W. A. Lochte, Aron Denton, Mrs. Geo. Morris, Oliver Goss, Mrs. H. A. Shand, Louis Domingues, G. W. Walthers, J. C. Adrian, Schreiner Institute, Robert Saner, Jack Moore, Otto Bernhardt, August Leeder, Heidel.

Those who bought lumber, "which by the way was in splendid condition, straight grain, heart pine,"
were: Judge Baker, Harry Karger, P. L. Raaz, J. C. Hux, W. H. Reshworth, T. K. Carr, J. W. Denton, Jim Whalen and I. W. Van Hoozer.

Those who bought tin were: Fred Real, Ameil Harbecker, Capt. McCaleb and A. J. Colbath. B. C. Richards bought the old vault doors; A. L. Starkey, window sash; Mrs. S. E. Thompson, the iron cornice and Mrs. P. J. Domingues and Louis Domingues, bought the judge's desk, bannisters and stairway, all solid walnut wood.

The largest purchaser of rock was the Schreiner Institute, who got 108 loads.  August Leeder was next with 75 loads.

Remaining material was ground up and used as the road base for the parking lot surrounding the courthouse.

What did Schreiner Institute do with the rock from the 1886 Courthouse?  The August 9, 1928, Kerrville Mountain Sun reported that the limestone wall along the Old Spanish Trail (Hwy 27/Memorial Boulevard) came from the old Kerr County Courthouse! Although the main entrance to Schreiner is being widened, it appears that some of the old wall, built from these historic materials, is still there.
I think the wall around Glen Rest Cemetery is part of that. There is a rock wall along a house on Jackson Road in the same style that MAY also be from the 1886 courthouse.
Doubtless there are other remnants of the courthouse still around as well. If you know more, please let me know.

Valley View Addition

Kerrville Mountain Sun, January 7, 1926

In 1926 L. A. Schreiner's Valley View Addition opened in Kerrville. It was close to Hillcrest Addition. I've already written about Hillcrest here. That subdivision opened in 1922. Four years later a section in the same area called Valley View also opened. The surveyor's notes in the Kerr County deed books show that the main road in the subdivision is Mae Drive.  It runs northwest from Stadium Drive.  This Valley View Addition should not be confused with the Valley View Road of today located south of the river.

The Valley View portion of the advertisement to the right from the Kerrville Mountain Sun, January 7, 1926, reads

E. L. Sublett and M. F. Weston, Proprietors. Exclusive Agents for Hillcrest Addition.

L. A. Schreiner Valley View Addition.

Valley View

This beautiful new addition to Kerrville is located above the city just off the Fredericksburg Road and overlooks the Quinlan Creek Valley, hence the name "Valley View."  Property in this desirable addition is being sold in acreage tracts and already several nice suburban homes have been built in this section.  These beautiful home sites are priced very reasonable and will be sold on easy terms.  If you are in the market for a home or a good investment, let us show you over this property and quote prices.

Kerrville Mountain Sun, January 21, 1926

The first sales in Valley View reported in the newspaper were L. A. Schreiner to Walter A. Lorenz, lot 6, block 5, for $2,550, and L. A. Schreiner to T. G. Johnston, lots 1, 8, 9, block 5,  $1,700, followed shortly by a sale to Peter Dondlinger of lot 10, block 1 for  $650, and to Walter E. Saenger lot 2, block 5 for $500.

Barnett Chapel United Methodist Church

Barnett Chapel United Methodist Church, 710 Paschal Street, was established in 1896. It is the oldest historically black church in Kerrville.   Due to segregation, there were no schools or churches for non-whites for the first four decades of the county’s existence.  The black community was very small.  Four of the first black families in Kerrville were the Buckners, the Robinsons, the Butlers, and the Blankses.  Recognizing the need for a church and school, Mr. and Mrs. Jim Barnett were instrumental in organizing the first religious observances, first in homes then in a small, one room building in 1897. Later the congregation met in an old schoolhouse.

In 1898 they bought the land they still own today and have worshiped at this location continually since. The present house of worship was erected in 1963, adding a parsonage in 1976 and a multi-purpose building in 1982.
Josephine Barnett, whose name the church carries, was one of the original church trustees. The others were Levi Butler, Z. T. Wilson, and James Askey
Circuit-riding ministers from Bandera, Uvalde and Fredericksburg preached the early services until 1902 when the Reverend W. M. Mosby, a Methodist, was assigned as the first minister to Barnett Chapel.
Barnett Chapel has been an active participant in Kerrville since its earliest years. Notable programs have included Juneteenth and Heritage celebrations, youth programs, emergency relief, Women’s Conferences, musical programs, evangelism and outreach, and community-wide interracial programs.  Through its many years of service and mission, the church has had a significant impact on the community and region.

Westland Hills

The first announcement of Westland Hills was in the November 26, 1925, Kerrville Mountain Sun: "Model Home to be Erected in Westland Hills".  A group of Kerrville businessmen had completed plans for "Kerrville's first model home" at Site No. 8, Block 51, facing on Circle Drive. It was to be of "natural beauty-stone of the Hill Country ... blending the unusual artistic lines of the cottage into the artistic emerald setting which has been chosen for the enterprise."  (That stretch of Circle Drive is now known as Jackson Road and is between West Main Street and West Water Street.)

"The winding macadamized drive will diverge from the main boulevard at its intersection of Circle Avenue and will lead the visitor directly to the entrance to the home."

"The house was completely furnished, lighted and heated by the merchants of Kerrville."

Lowry Addition

Lowry Addition is the section more or less between Guadalupe Street, Town Creek, and Hugo Street. Guadalupe was once part of the old road to Ingram known as the Old Spanish Trail. Streets include Lowry Street, Hugo Street, Hamilton Street, Palmer Street, and Starkey Street. Hamilton is named for Jack Hamilton, Palmer for J. E. Palmer, and Starkey for A. L. Starkey.
Also in that area is Spence Drive, named for E. L. Spence who was the principal developer of the former Fair Grounds section. Marion G. Lowry's wife, Mary, was a Spence before her marriage.

Map clipped from Sanborn fire insurance map for 1930

The first mention of Lowry Addition is in the Kerrville Mountain Sun of March 16, 1907, were it is reported 

M. G. Lowry, who recently purchased the Mrs. L. A. Lowrance property near the fair grounds, consisting of about 60 acres, has had the same surveyed into town lots and will in a short time place them on the market.  Streets have been layed [sic] out and it will be known as the Lowry addition to Kerrville.  Mr. Lowry is now engaged in building a house in the new addition and more will be commenced soon.  There is [sic] eleven blocks in the addition and all are cut up into sixteen lots each making some very desirable building sites.  When placed upon the market, they will be put at reasonable figures.

I don't know for certain these are the first houses, but the first mention in the newspaper of a real estate transfer in Lowry Addition was in the Kerrville Mountain Sun for November 13, 1909, when it was reported M. G. Lowry sold to Mrs. Laura F. Hay, lot 7, Lowry addition, and Mrs. Alice Schumacher, purchased lot 8. Lot 7 is bounded by Hugo, Starkey, Lowry, and Palmer.  Lot 8 is bounded by Hugo, Palmer, Lowry, and Guadalupe. Each lot has several houses in it today.

There are a couple of buildings of special historical note here. At the corner of Guadalupe and Lowry is a rambling house that once served as a private sanitarium run by the Steifel and Anderson families called Hillcrest Sanitarium. Hillcrest Sanitarium should not be confused with Hillcrest Addition subdivision on the opposite end of town.
There is also a rock house at the corner of Hugo and Guadalupe that was once a small service station.

The female mayors of Kerrville

On May 17, 2016, Bonnie White, a local businesswoman, was sworn into office as the second female mayor of Kerrville.  But who was the first?  A little research showed it's been four decades since Kerrville last had a female mayor. 

The first female mayor was Zelma Boyd Hardy, who was mayor 1973-74 and 1975-76.  She was also the first woman on the Kerrville City Council, serving from 1970 to 1976.  According to her obituary in the March 12, 2003, Kerrville Daily Times, the city made many improvements to streets, upgraded the drainage system, and voted to build the city's swimming pools and Singing Wind Park. She was an English teacher at Tivy and later at Schreiner College (now University).  It was said she had a "way of making things happen."  Mrs. Hardy died in March 2003 in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where she had move to live with her daughter.   She and her husband George, a chaplain at the VA hospital, are buried at Fort Sam Houston.

40 years between female mayors.  Hopefully it won't be 40 years until the next one.