DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, most buildings don't have much of a story to tell. Four walls, a roof, and whatever went on inside stays inside.
But this little office building sitting on the River Walkway in Hays County, it's been around long enough to accumulate a few chapters worth talkin' about. The marker says this structure was erected between 1894 and 1895, which means somebody put it up with a purpose in mind. That purpose was to serve as the office building for the San Marcos National Fish Hatchery, an operation that had been established just the year before, in 1893, near the head of the San Marcos River.
A national fish hatchery. Right there on one of the clearest, coolest stretches of water in all of Texas. You get the sense somebody knew what they were doin' when they picked that spot.
Now, the hatchery ran for a good long while, but in 1965 the facility closed. When it did, the site was given to Southwest Texas State University. And that little office building, the one with those unusually large brackets, which the marker takes care to mention and I'll take care not to overlook, it found new purpose housing the main offices of the school's Aquatic Biological Center.
Then, at some point after all that, it was moved again, this time to its current location on the River Walkway. Same building. Same big brackets.
Different century, different mission, different view. Some things just keep findin' reasons to stick around.
What the marker says
This structure, erected 1894-95, originally served as the office building for the San Marcos National fish Hatchery, established in 1893 near the head of the San Marcos River. The facility closed in 1965 and the site was given to Southwest Texas State University. The building, which features unusually large brackets, then housed the main offices of the school's Aquatic Biological Center until it was moved to this site on the River Walkway. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982