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| U. S. Post Office under construction in downtown Kerrville, 1936, at the corner of Earl Garrett and Main Streets. Photos from the collection of Lanza Teague. Click on any image to enlarge. |
The federal government made an investment in downtown Kerrville in 1936, an investment the citizens of Kerrville had requested for decades. Franklin Roosevelt was president; the country was still in the Great Depression. On the evening of July 4th, with great fanfare, Kerrville's new post office was dedicated, the first post office here built by Uncle Sam.
The building still stands at the corner of Main and Earl Garrett Streets, though it's no longer a federal building. Today the building serves as the home of the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center.
Years ago my friend Lanza Teague shared photographs with me of the construction of the post office, and I'm thankful for her generosity.
The post office building was a really big deal for our community. It was the first federally-funded post office building in Kerrville, built at a cost of $65,000. Prior to the construction of the downtown post office, post offices here were tenants in commercial buildings; in the earliest days of our community, post offices were run from the homes of the postmaster. Kerrville's post office has been all over town.
The very first post office ran out of the home of the very first postmaster here, Hance M. Burney. Burney's home was opposite Sidney Baker Street from today's City Hall, about where the pedestrian bridge crosses over the street.
Burney is said to have had a cornfield behind his house, which he cultivated between deliveries of mail to his home. Being postmaster was strictly a part-time job, so he had plenty of time to tend his corn crop.
Christian Dietert was the next postmaster, but according to most accounts it was his wife, Rosalie, who ran the post office. Christian was busy as a millwright, building a mill on the banks of the Guadalupe River, near where One Schreiner Center stands today, in the 800 block of Water Street. The Dieterts' home was on Spring Street, which is across Water Street from the front doors of Notre Dame Catholic Church.
For a while the post office was in the Masonic Building on Earl Garrett Street. Its last location before moving into the 1936 building was in the 700 block of Water Street, in a building which was torn down in the 1980s. That building held a row of businesses; the post office was between a drug store and the printing offices of the Kerrville Mountain Sun, and was probably a great place to pick up town gossip.
Gober Gibson was postmaster here when the 1936 post office was constructed, and I remember him. He was a member of the Kerrville Kiwanis Club with my father.
The festivities of July 4, 1936 began at 10:00 am with a street parade along Clay, Water, Washington and Main Streets. Such a route would never be allowed today -- think of the traffic jam it would cause!
At 11:00 am the state of Texas dedicated the Charles Schreiner Bridge with a speech from the Hon. Coke Stevenson, speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Stevenson would later serve as governor. His grandson currently represents the district including Kerrville in the Texas Legislature.
The Charles Schreiner Bridge was Kerrville's first high-water crossing of the Guadalupe, with steel arches towering over the pavement below. Most people just call it the Sidney Baker Street bridge today, but it was named for Captain Schreiner because of his many donations to roads and road building in Kerr County.
At noon there was a barbecue at the state park, which is now the Kerrville-Schreiner municipal park; at 1:15 was the beginning of the "Crider's Rodeo" at the state park.
Then at 8:00 pm, after a much-needed siesta, I'm sure, was the dedication of the newly-built "Federal Building," with a speech by Congressman Charles L. South of Coleman. At 9:00 pm, Earl Garrett Street was roped off for a street dance; at 9:30 pm a "Ballroom Dance" was held at the Blue Bonnet Hotel, at the end of the block, where Water and Earl Garrett Streets intersect.
For those who didn't care to hear the speeches that evening, there was a Girls' softball game at Westland Field, where the Manhattan Marigolds from Kerrville hosted San Antonio's Barbera Sports, which began at 8 pm.
What a busy day that must have been.
The new post office opened for business 83 years ago, on July 20, 1936.
Many of us were concerned when the current post office was built across the river. What would happen to our downtown area? What would happen to the old post office?
Thankfully, through the efforts of many donors and volunteers, a wonderful use for the old building was found. The Kerr Arts & Cultural Center adds so much to our community, and brightens Kerrville's downtown.
Until next week, all the best.
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