Features

FRIDAY

Q. I was stopping for a train yesterday and started to think about the history of the trains in San Marcos. Can you tell me about that? What about train wrecks? A. Trains, while often frustrating and sometimes dangerous, have a long history in the West. Even before the train “came” to San Marcos, it had been a waypoint for cart and stagecoach travelers going between San Antonio and Austin. In 1880, train service was introduced from San Antonio to New Braunfels. That line was then joined from the north to San Marcos in 1881 by the International-Great Northern Railroad (I&GN). The arrival of the railroad, much like other towns throughout the United States, made a huge impact on the development of our town. In 1870, the population of San Marcos was 742. After the arrival of the railroad in 1881, it grew to 2,335. That is a tripling of population — in just 18 years. (Hugh) Compare that to population growth in recent years. In 2000, San Marcos had 36,120 residents. Twenty years later, in 2020, its population doubled to 67,553.

Texas State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance presents the devised work titled “DeMaskUs” Feb. 23-26, in the Patti Strickel Harrison Theatre.

The comedy, “The Importance of Being Earnest” opens on the Wimberley Players stage Feb. 24 and runs through March 19. Written by Oscar Wilde, the play exposes the absurdity of Victorian norms when two gentlemen lead double lives for the sake of living and loving their way. Their comic ruse provokes difficulties for themselves and their ladies, delivered with Wilde’s classic wit and charm.