HARRIS STAGECOACH INN (INN AT BRUSHY CREEK) Before the railroad came to Round Rock in 1876 to offer a new form of transportation, people had four travel choices. They could walk, ride a horse, take a buggy or ride a stagecoach. According to Wikipedia, stagecoaches generally traveled at 5 mph and 60-70 miles each day. Stagecoach stops were needed to offer relief to weary travelers, to deliver mail and to change out horses. The Harris Stagecoach Inn (or the Inn at Brushy Creek as it was sometimes called) was built 170 years ago, between 1848-1853, by John J. Harris and his wife Susanne E. (Tisdale) Harris. Harris built the stagecoach inn on the crest of a hill south of Brushy Creek and above a low water crossing on the Chisholm Trail. The existence of the Harris Stagecoach Inn, with its link to early-day transportation, helped grow the settlement of Brushy. That was some 6 years before the city of Round Rock appeared on a map. Harris built the inn using stone hand-quarried from the hill on which the inn stands. Today you can locate the inn within The Commons Shopping Mall on the southwest corner of RM 620 and Chisholm Trail Road in Round Rock. The inn is home to the French Quarter Restaurant. Originally the inn served as a place for passengers to rest and as an exchange for horses on stagecoach routes from Brownsville to Salado and from Helena Arkansas to San Antonio. Stagecoach drivers would sound their horns a mile out of Brushy, which alerted the geese kept at the inn. The geese would then alert the citizens of Brushy, who rushed up the hill to the inn to greet passengers arriving on the stage. According to local legend, Susanne Harris served a wonderful meal of chicken noodle soup to travelers and provided guests a goose-down quilt on every bed in the inn. The inn continued to serve travelers until sometime after the railroad came to Round Rock. The guests visiting the Harris Stagecoach Inn included Sam Bass (Texas Beloved Bandit), John Wesley Harden (fastest gun in the West), Ira Aten (the Lone Star Man), Soapy Smith (notorious Confidence Man of Alaska) and Prist Olive (Williamson County Cattleman, who supplied the remuda of horses stabled at the inn). The Harris family made the inn their home for almost 54 years until John’s death in 1907. The Harris’ had seven children: George, Alexander, Jack, Nathan, Joseph, Nora, and Dera. From 1907 until 1984, the inn continued to serve the community as a residence for the families of M. D. & Ella Surber (foreman of a stone quarry); Benjamin C. & Henrietta Richards (proprietor of a stone quarry); Donald Joseph (author & teacher at UT); Harold & Sue Richards (proprietor of a wholesale oil and gasoline firm); J. O. & Mary Barger (occupation unknown); and Donald & Laura Davol (rancher and aircraft pilot, sold aircraft). The State of Texas designated the Harris Stagecoach Inn as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark for 33 years between 1963 and 1996. Today 20 stage stops are listed as Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks. In 1996, the inn lost that designation due to non-contributing exterior changes made to the inn over the years (resizing of windows and different roofing materials). Beginning in 1984 to present day, the inn has served Round Rock as home to the Chisolm, Gumbos, and The French Quarter Restaurants. During the next couple of months, the City of Round Rock will decide the fate of the Harris Stagecoach Inn. The city must either relocate the inn or demolish the inn to make way for improvements to RM 620. This situation makes the Harris Stagecoach Inn the most endangered historic structure within the City of Round Rock. The Harris Stagecoach Inn is an important historic structure within the City of Round Rock. Share your views about saving the Harris Stagecoach Inn with the Round Rock City Council by posting comments on line at [email protected]. Above comments provided by: Shirley Marquardt, 2351 Masonwood Way, Round Rock Tx 78681, knoxmanor@aol, (512) 373-3819. Always welcome new info or corrected info on the Harris Stagecoach Inn and also welcome early-day photos of the inn and the family members who llived at the inn.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 21:37:19 +0000
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