First phase of survey to be detailed Monday

A draft of the report on Phase 1 of the city’s Historic Resources Survey is available online, and two properties that have attracted a lot of attention recently have been given a high priority.

The old Lamar/San Marcos High School campus at 500 W. Hutchison Street and the historic First Baptist Church at 219 W. Martin Luther King are among scores of structures given high priority in an area of the city that stretches roughly from campus to the interstate and from Endicott Street to CM Allen Parkway.

The old San Marcos High School campus is on a site set for development. Guadalupe RE intends to build Lindsey Hill, which will include apartments, residences and retail space and incorporate some elements of the school building. The development plans have drawn criticism from numerous San Marcos residents who would like to see the building preserved and repurposed because of its historic value: San Marcos High School is thought to be one of the first schools in the state to integrate after Brown vs. Board of Education. The Historic Resources Survey Report states, “... the Lamar School has been evaluated in the current survey as high preservation priority for its association with African-American education and early integration of public schools.”

The historic First Baptist Church on Martin Luther King was built in 1908 to replace a church burned down by the Ku Klux Klan. It served as a religious and social center for the Black community. The church has been the focus of recent preservation efforts and, in late 2018, won a $150,000 grant from Partners in Preservation to help with restoration. 

Numerous buildings in town that already have historical designations were also listed as high priorities: the Hays County Courthouse, the First United Methodist Church, the Cock House and Merriman Cabin, the old downtown fire station and city hall and the Moore Grocery Company Building are among those structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places that are considered high priority resources. 

Other structures on the list include the Ulysses Cephas House, the Southside School which houses Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos, Cheatham Street Warehouse, the old San Marcos Milling Company, the Southside Community Center, the former First Baptist Church on North Street where Sanctuary Lofts is located, Christ Chapel at Texas State, the McCarty Student Center, the Baptist Student Center at Texas State and the former MKT railroad depot at 400 Cheatham Street that previously housed Katy Station restaurant. Also counted among high preservation priority resources are numerous residences, including some on Nance Street, Harvey Street, West Hutchison Street, South LBJ Drive, Martin Luther King Drive and West Hopkins Street, along with an apartment complex on Valley Street.

The full results of Phase 1 of the survey will be part of a city open house scheduled for Monday at 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Dunbar Recreation Center, 801 W. Martin Luther King Dr. The open house will give residents a chance to learn about the My Historic SMTX project, meet the consultants and hear the results. The consultants will give a presentation at 6 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring photographs or documents of historic-age properties to be scanned as part of a historic photo round-up.

The City is conducting the historic resources survey to identify and document historic-age resources (50 years of age and older) and develop recommendations to help officials make decisions about historic resources for future planning and development initiatives. According to the city’s timeline, the Phase 2 field survey will take place between Feb. 11 and March 1. The second draft of the survey, which will include Phase 1 and Phase 2, will be released April 12, and a wrap-up community meeting will be held in May. The final draft of the survey report is expected to be available in June.

Residents may share information on potential historic resources, view a map showing the phases, and view the project deliverables by visiting www.sanmarcostx.gov/myhistoricsmtx.

For more information, contact Historic Preservation Officer and Planner Alison Brake at abrake@sanmarcostx.gov or call 512-393-8230.