Site of First Livery Stable
Junction, Kimble County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Busiest spot in early Junction. Fed and housed visiting ranch teams. Had horses and buggies for public hire. Men collected here to gossip, trade. Built 1879 by John Allen on this lot where public corral operated as early as 1877. Owned by T. M. Hodges when outmoded by autos in 1920s.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On a lot where a public corral had operated since 1877, John Allen built a livery stable in 1879 that quickly became the busiest spot in early Junction. It fed and housed visiting ranch teams, hired out horses and buggies, and drew men to gossip and trade. Owned by T. M. Hodges in its final years, the stable was made obsolete by automobiles in the 1920s.
Why it matters
The livery stable was the gas station and town square of the horse-powered West, and its passing marks the moment the automobile remade frontier life.
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Related people
- · John Allen
- · T. M. Hodges
Themes & tags
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