Kerrville's Louise Hays Park -- built in a day.

You probably know the story of how Louise Hays Park was built in a day.  Really.  It wasn't just for show, though.  Robert Hays, who gave the land for the park, made it a stipulation for the gift.  He would give the land if the City would build the park...in a day.
I don't have a lot of images of that day, but I ran across one today I thought you might like.  The event generated a lot of publicity for Kerrville.

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Pontoon bridge construction, Louise Hays Park, Kerrville,1950.

The reverse of the photo.  Interesting.

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Time Travel: Downtown Kerrville in both 1898 and 2006

It's good to have brilliant friends.  Aaron Yates, whose family I've known my entire life, combined one of my old Sanborn-Perris maps of Kerrville (from August, 1898) with a modern image of the downtown area.

The bridge on the left side of the image is the Sidney Baker bridge at Louise Hays Park.

The yellow "buildings" were frame; the blue, stone; the green, I believe, were metal.

I look forward to your comments on these!  Thanks, Aaron!

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Kerrville, as it was, as it is.  By Aaron Yates.

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Satellite imagery imposed on 1898 Kerrville

In my scrambling over the site of the old mill below the 800 block of Water Street in downtown Kerrville, I noticed there were two discharge channels from the old mill turbines.  From my collection of photographs I had assumed there was only one; but a closer inspection of the photographs, as well as a hike over the site, confirmed there were two.
Today I combined an image of the block (taken from a satellite above) with the old 1898 Sanborn Perris map of Kerrville.  They line up rather well, don't you think?  The two discharge channels line up nicely with the power shafts heading from the mills to the turbines below.  I'd like your comments -- this is all conjecture and speculation on my part.  Perhaps you can see a flaw in my thinking.

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Satellite image of the mill area, Kerrville, below the 800 Block of Water Street

Detail, August 1898 Sanborn Perris map of Kerrville.
Note the two power shafts at the bottom of map.

Combining the two. I've highlighted the two channels and also the old dam.
Surprising that you can make out the old dam from space.

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An extremely early image of Kerrville's Saint Charles Hotel

This is one of the earliest images of the old St. Charles Hotel I've ever seen.
Note how little the trees are in the image.  In most of the images I've seen, the trees are very large.
This image came with the photos of the Charles Schreiner Company James Maxwell sent last week.  I've really enjoyed studying these images.

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The St Charles Hotel, Kerrville, corner of Water and Tchoupitoulas Streets.
(Tchoupitoulas Street was later renamed "Sidney Baker Street.")
This was the site until recently of the Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital.

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Railroad cars along Water Street in Kerrville

One of the fellows who purchased my book, James Maxwell, sent along some images of the Charles Schreiner Company I've never seen before.  Over the next few days I'll be sharing them here.  I see a lot of photos of Kerrville in a week.  I've got to tell you: these really got me excited!  I love this series of images.  Thanks, James!

Here's something intriguing: I knew from old maps the railroad spur went all the way to Water Street.  Note the detail from the 1904 Sanborn map below.  The blue building at the bottom center (along Water Street) is Schreiner's wool warehouse.  Just to the west of the building is the railroad spur.

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Detail, 1904 Sanborn-Perris map of Kerrville

How about a photo that actually shows the railroad spur and railroad cars on Water Street in Kerrville? I'd never seen one before.  This is fantastic!

Train freight cars next to the Schreiner Wool Warehouse, Water Street, Kerrville, around 1904

Incidentally, the west side of this building is the wall we can see on the east side of what was left after they tore down the Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital.  Only the wall we can see was the interior west wall, or the inside of the wall above.

Only surviving portion of the old Schreiner Wool Warehouse.

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More views of the Charles Schreiner Company

One of the fellows who purchased my book, James Maxwell, sent along some images of the Charles Schreiner Company I've never seen before.  Over the next few days I'll be sharing them here.  I see a lot of photos of Kerrville in a week.  I've got to tell you: these really got me excited!  I love this series of images.  Thanks, James!

Click on any image to enlarge

I think this is the oldest image in this series, but not the oldest image
I've seen of the old building.

From an old publication by J. E. Grinstead.

Looks like something's brought a crowd.

I don't see any windows on the Earl Garrett side, do you?

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New images of the Charles Schreiner Company

One of the fellows who purchased my book, James Maxwell, sent along some images of the Charles Schreiner Company I've never seen before.  Over the next few days I'll be sharing them here.  I see a lot of photos of Kerrville in a week.  I've got to tell you: these really got me excited!  I love this series of images.  Thanks, James!

Click on any image to enlarge

Interior, Charles Schreiner Company, Kerrville.  Winchester items on right.
Note stairway up to mezzanine in back, and the cool radiator.
I think this was the room that recently held the mens' department.

Office, Schreiner Company.  I believe the man at the desk is A. C. Schreiner, whose house
is next to the Butt-Holdsworth Library.  Note the multitude of posters of pretty girls.

This appears to be the grocery department, though the shiny framed image in the center
is of a Winchester advertisement.  Note stairs in back.  
The ceiling is lumber, not pressed tin.

Shoe Department.  Perhaps hat department as well.  Not sure where in the building this was, 
but I see the old mezzanine in the back.

This looks like a grocery department -- what do you think?

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