DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the 1915 New Braunfels Post Office. Now, most buildings don't get to live two lives — but this one pulled it off, and the story starts, as so many Texas stories do, with a signature. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act to fund the construction of a postal office building right here in New Braunfels.
Before that moment, the postal service had been making do — headquartered in various homes and businesses around town, doing its best with what it had. But the country was in the middle of a full-scale transformation of the United States Postal System. The Postal Savings System, parcel post, airmail, improved rural delivery — the whole operation was growing, reaching further, touching more lives.
New Braunfels was going to get a proper home for all of that. The new building was dedicated in 1915, and if you'd looked at that cornerstone, you'd have found two names carved into it: William G. McAdoo, the U.S.
Secretary of the Treasury who was responsible for post offices, and James A. Wetmore, the supervising architect. Many contractors were involved in building the thing, and the exterior took on a character all its own — Round Rock limestone on the outside, and brick supplied by the D'hanis and Acme brick companies.
Now, a building that opens in 1915 has got history coming for it whether it's ready or not. The Great Depression arrived, and then World War II, and through both of them that post office did more than move mail. It sold war bonds.
It handled food stamps and ration books. The counter where folks mailed their letters became, for a time, a place where a community held itself together. Come the 1960s, the building got remodeled, and a new addition went up on the north side.
Then in 1985, after seventy years of service to the New Braunfels community, the post office operation was moved to Seguin Avenue. Seventy years. That's a long time to be the place where a town sends its words out into the world.
The building stood quiet for a while after that — but not forever. In 2007 and 2008, it was completely renovated, and it came back as McAdoo's Seafood Company, named for that very same Secretary of the Treasury whose name had been set in the cornerstone nearly a century before. William G.
McAdoo went from signing off on the building to having his name on the menu. Some legacies arrive in limestone. Some arrive on a plate.
What the marker says
The old post office of New Braunfels was built during the full-scale 20th century transformation of the United States Postal System. Programs like the United States Postal Savings System, parcel post, airmail, and improved rural delivery services expanded the reach and popularity of the postal system for letters and packages. In 1915, president Woodrow Wilson signed an act to fund the construction of a postal office building in New Braunfels. Prior to this, the postal service had its headquarters in various homes and businesses. The new building was dedicated in 1915, with the names on the cornerstone of William G. McAdoo, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury responsible for post offices, and James A. Wetmore, supervising architect. Many contractors were involved in construction, with Round Rock limestone and D’hanis and Acme brick companies as suppliers for much of the exterior materials. During the Great Depression and World War II, the office also sold war bonds and handled food stamps and ration books. In the 1960s, the office was remodeled and an addition to the north side was constructed. The location of the New Braunfels Post Office was eventually moved to Seguin Avenue in 1985. For 70 years, the New Braunfels community was supported and served through this post office building. In 2007-08, the building was completely renovated to house McAdoo’s Seafood Company, named for the former Secretary of the Treasury. (2015)