HistoricSiteMarkers
Civil WarReconstruction & Gilded Age

Old D. A. Young Building

Kyle, Hays County, Texas

Marker Inscription

First permanent store in Kyle. Builder, David Alexander Young (1841-1883), moved with parents to Texas from Tennessee, 1857. D. A. Young, one of 179 Hays County men in Civil War, was wounded fighting in Woods' 32nd Cavalry. When International & Great Northern Railway came into Kyle, Young and wife, Fannie Elizabeth, moved here from Mountain City. This 1881 building was given to city of Kyle in 1936 by M. G. Michaelis, Sr., early-day rancher. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

David Alexander Young came to Texas from Tennessee in 1857 and was among 179 Hays County men who fought in the Civil War, wounded while serving in Woods' 32nd Cavalry. When the International & Great Northern Railway reached Kyle, Young moved from Mountain City and in 1881 raised the town's first permanent store. The surviving building was given to the city of Kyle in 1936 by rancher M. G. Michaelis, Sr.

Why it matters

It links a Civil War veteran's service to the railroad-driven birth of a new Texas town, whose first store still stands as its commercial cornerstone.

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Related people

  • · David Alexander Young
  • · M. G. Michaelis, Sr.

Themes & tags

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