DRIPPING HISTORY: HISTORIC B & B OPENS ON MERCER PLUS A MAGICAL HISTORY TOUR IN SEPTEMBER
In July, we reported that the old barber shop on Mercer would be reborn as The Barber Shop, an icehouse, giving hope to a revitalized downtown Dripping Springs. Today, at 4:00PM, a ribbon cutting will be held for the Homestead at the Dripping Springs on Mercer, a new bed and breakfast with a treasured historic past. Owned by residents Charles and Sherry Haydon, the site of the bed and breakfast was established in 1854 by John Moss, whose wife is credited with giving our community its name as tribute to the dripping springs located on the property. In 1871, B.J. Marshall moved the frame section of the main house to it current location and added a rock portion. Mr. Marshall became postmaster for the community and operated the post office out of the home. The Homestead was the stagecoach stop for the Austin to Fredericksburg postal route. Unfortunately, Mr. Marshall’s tenure as postmaster and master of the Homestead was short lived as he passed away in 1872, and Mrs. Marshall remarried to W.T. Chapman. It was Mr. Chapman who laid out the town site for Dripping Springs, and Mercer Street is named for their son, Mercer Chapman. The Marshall-Chapman clan owned the property until 1942 when John W. and Clara Wilson purchased the home and surrounding 77 acres. Today, the property remains with the Wilson descendants. Also on the property, sitting just to the east of the main house, affectionately known as “Clara’s House,” is the Butler Cabin. Although not an original part of the property, this historic cabin was built in the 1850s about four miles east of Dripping Springs. It was moved to its current location at the Homestead in 2007.
Next month, Mr. Haydon, a local historian and life-long resident of Dripping Springs (his dad was the town's second mayor) will be on hand to provide perspective on the city's fabled past as part of A Magical History Tour of downtown Dripping Springs. On Sunday afternoon, September 12, at 3:30PM, the Heritage Circle will host a narrated walking retrospective of Mercer Street that kicks off at 103 Old Fitzhugh Road, known locally as the Old Masonic Lodge,and known much earlier (1881), as the Dripping Springs Academy. There, attendees will take a photographic peek of the city’s treasures from the collection of Travis Garnett.
Participants will then be guided down Mercer Street with brief updates along the way, ending the event with a tour of the Homestead, located at 500 Mercer, refreshments on that lawn, and a presentation by the Dripping Springs Historical Commission. Local historian Carl Waits will also be on hand for a book signing of his book The Complete History of Dripping Springs, Texas, and the P. A. Smith Survey .
The Heritage Circle is an auxiliary of the Friends of the Pound House and tickets for A Magical History Tour on September 12, just $5, are available through Dr. Pound Pioneer Farmstead, call (512) 858-2030 for more information.
For more information on the Homestead at the Dripping Springs, located at 500 Mercer, including rooms, rates, and more, visit dshomesteadbandb.com .
The Homestead at the Dripping Springs is a historic bed and breakfast in downtown Dripping Springs, Texas. Photo by Melanie Cambron.
Next month, Mr. Haydon, a local historian and life-long resident of Dripping Springs (his dad was the town's second mayor) will be on hand to provide perspective on the city's fabled past as part of A Magical History Tour of downtown Dripping Springs. On Sunday afternoon, September 12, at 3:30PM, the Heritage Circle will host a narrated walking retrospective of Mercer Street that kicks off at 103 Old Fitzhugh Road, known locally as the Old Masonic Lodge,and known much earlier (1881), as the Dripping Springs Academy. There, attendees will take a photographic peek of the city’s treasures from the collection of Travis Garnett.
Participants will then be guided down Mercer Street with brief updates along the way, ending the event with a tour of the Homestead, located at 500 Mercer, refreshments on that lawn, and a presentation by the Dripping Springs Historical Commission. Local historian Carl Waits will also be on hand for a book signing of his book The Complete History of Dripping Springs, Texas, and the P. A. Smith Survey .
The Heritage Circle is an auxiliary of the Friends of the Pound House and tickets for A Magical History Tour on September 12, just $5, are available through Dr. Pound Pioneer Farmstead, call (512) 858-2030 for more information.
For more information on the Homestead at the Dripping Springs, located at 500 Mercer, including rooms, rates, and more, visit dshomesteadbandb.com .
The Homestead at the Dripping Springs is a historic bed and breakfast in downtown Dripping Springs, Texas. Photo by Melanie Cambron.
Posted by DSBabble.com at Thursday, August 19, 2010 8:58 AM 
Categories: dripping history
Tags: bed and breakfast dripping springs homestead texas
Categories: dripping history
Tags: bed and breakfast dripping springs homestead texas
Will Carl be selling books? Can we buy tickets in town anywhere for the tour?
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Carl will be selling books at the book signing. Please call the Pound House for more ticket information.
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