1910 Post Office Building

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. The story of the 1910 Post Office Building in Marble Falls, Burnet County, Texas. Now, the original Marble Falls Post Office got its start back in 1884, established south of the Colorado River.

That's where the mail moved in those early days, south of that river, serving the people of Marble Falls as best it could. Then comes 1901, and a man named William P. Cochran gets appointed postmaster.

Now, Cochran wasn't just going to move into whatever building happened to be standing around. No. He had a vision.

And in 1910, he built this structure himself. Then, here's the part that makes you think, he turned right around and leased it to the United States Government for use as a post office. The man built the building and rented it back to the government.

You've got to appreciate that kind of thinking. Now, this wasn't some thrown-together affair. Cochran built in poured concrete, solid and deliberate.

The building features a central double door with a three-pane transom above it, a simply detailed cornice, and a stone parapet crowning the whole thing. It carries itself with a quiet dignity that says it was built to last. And last it did.

That building continued to serve as a postal facility until about 1950. Decades of letters, parcels, and news from far away passed through those double doors. Some buildings in Texas just hold their ground, and this one does exactly that.

What the marker says

Established in 1884, the original Marble Falls Post Office was built south of the Colorado River. William P. Cochran, appointed postmaster in 1901, built this structure in 1910 and leased it to the U. S. Government for use as a post office. It continued to serve as a postal facility until about 1950. Constructed of poured concrete, the building features a central double door with three-pane transom, a simply detailed cornice, and a stone parapet. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1989