Rock Front Saloon, 1870
McDade, Bastrop County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Stagecoach stand, U. S. Post Office, early business house. Scene of revenge gunfight, 1883. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1963
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Rock Front Saloon opened in 1870 in the rough railroad town of McDade, serving as a stagecoach stand, U.S. post office, and general business house. Like many frontier gathering places, it also witnessed violence, the scene of a revenge gunfight in 1883. Its survival earned it recognition as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1963.
Why it matters
The saloon captures the mingled commerce and lawlessness of a Central Texas frontier town, where a single building could be post office, waystation, and site of a deadly feud.
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