Marion was established as a depot on the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railway in 1877. It was named by the owner of the railway, Pierce, in honor of his daughter Marion.
Looking
at the map of the state as it may have existed in most of the early 1900s,
Marion was situated on a major east/west roadway between San Antonio and
Harrisburg and later paralleled by the railroad. Because this route was the major connection
between what is now Houston and San Antonio, it became the most significant
depot in Texas by the year 1877. The
railroad dropped off tonnage of imports from other Gulf Coast ports for
distribution to all south-central Texas.
The commercial activity of the area in the early history was cotton
farming, cattle raising and the mercantile business for a wide-ranging area of
south-central Texas. So, the Marion
depot was the loading spot for local baled cotton and live cattle.
The
cotton was ginned in the area through two ginning companies, baled and shipped
out. Cotton farming was big business for
countless small farms in an era before large scale operations. Even though there were only two gins nearby
to Marion, Guadalupe County had at least ten gins in operation. And, necessarily,
all the cotton gins were situated along the Guadalupe River, the only source of
natural power. Few know this, but Stagecoach
Road, west of the Guadalupe River and southeast of Marion ends at the site of
the old Erskine Ferry at the river. Then
just south of the ferry site, there was a six-foot-high dam on the river to
create the elevation needed for a millrace to power a mill and a cotton
gin. Today, looking at nearly any
detailed map of this spot, it is apparent that the resort called Son’s Island
is an island created by the millrace from the dam. Very close inspection might reveal some artifacts
of this old mill and ferry site, but in general, it’s all gone.
The
Marion State Bank in the early 1900s
Ranching
and cotton farming required a reliable supply of hardware, feed and other
supplies required to repair machinery, and make life more enjoyable. All this was provided by the Krueger Store.
The
Krueger Store was typical of the mercantile stores of the era, as they sold
nearly everything a person would need from clothing to ranch and farm supplies
and even canned goods for food.
Taking
a close look at this photo, it is apparent that there is an ample supply of toasted
corn flakes, and a significant inventory of canned goods on the shelves behind
the clerks. Keep in mind this was the
era when clerks attended to customers from behind a counter and fetched many of
the requested items for customers. Self-serve
had not been implemented yet.
Marion
slowly increased in population to about 500 people around the time of WWII and
added population steadily to about 1000 as its stable level.
So,
Marion thrived because of just a few key ingredients. Cotton farming, ranching, mercantile
business, and the attendant shipping and banking component necessary for
conduction of this business. The
geographical scope of this business activity was significant, covering a
wide-ranging area all served by the frequent visits from the Galveston,
Harrisburg and San Antonio Railroad.
Life in
this farming and ranching country is well described in a book titled Stagecoach
Road, written by an area resident and updated by Steve Mardock. We have several copies. It’s an historical novel and contains many
important facts of the area and of the times.
Stagecoach Road parallels the San Antonio Road that passes through
Marion, lying about 3 miles south. It
was an important road in the early days, because it led to the ferry crossing
across the Guadalupe River allowing easier access to Seguin long before any of
the bridges were built.
In the
late 1900s, changes in nearly all aspects of life in rural Texas changed and
these changes affected Marion.
The
changes of most significance were:
·
Cotton
farming went industrial, with big farms, mechanization, and improved access to
transportation. This change removed a
significant amount of cotton farming from the area around Marion and placed it
in the northern part of the state.
·
Cars
and trucks began to appear in great numbers replacing local traffic of the
railroad and that of wagons. Now it was
easier to get to San Antonio than ever before.
·
The
Interstate highway system was built and it bypassed Marion, thus making a rapid
transit connection even better between Houston and San Antonio.
·
The
demographics of the population made a slight shift due to the children of the
long-established inhabitants moving to large cities for better paying (and
easier) jobs, somewhat replaced by those moving from the larger cities to fill
the need to live a rural lifestyle. This
change however was not large and for that reason the area has maintained a
character unique to its history.
Adaptation
of the town continued. The Marion State
Bank, established in 1906 moved from its original location to a new location on
the main street, modernizing their facility and their services. Way back in 2006 it celebrated 100 years of
service and is still operating with its conservative practices.
The
Krueger Store was replaced in 1973 with the Helping Hands Store which probably
stocks and sells more items than any of the so-called big box stores. Its enlightening to wander the aisles and
note all the merchandise available here.
Also, the people who run the operation treat each customer as if they
knew them forever. We walked in after
not having been to the store for a year or so and asked “where’s the cat?”
since we were impressed on how the cat was apparently a fixture of the
store. The person simply said that the
cat was upstairs as it had not been feeling well lately. She answered the question without the usual
hesitation to answer an off-the-wall question from a stranger.
So,
today, there are the commercial mainstays consisting of the Marion State Bank,
the Helping Hand Hardware, the Penshorn Meat Market, the Gg's Corner Café and the
Coffee House, now locating in a ground level floor of the old bank building.
The
meat market and the Corner Café and the others mentioned are “all American”
establishments that take pride in what they have to offer.
However,
the activity at the depot is gone and gone probably for good. While we were
there recently, a Southern Pacific freight train blasted through the town
pulling at least 100 cars, all headed in the direction of San Antonio. The crew in the four-engine locomotive waved
as they went on through the gate closed crossings. Then, not more than an hour later, another
freight train sped through, going the same direction, both heading for now what
is the center of commerce, the big cities.
But
Marion is doing just fine, in fact is doing so well that it does not seem to
have the urge to be more robust by tapping into cheap tourism.
