Site of Old Andress Inn

Duane's take

The official marker's the word on this one, and here's how Duane tells it. Now, if you were passing through early Polk County and you needed just about anything, and I do mean anything, there was one place that had it all. Built around 1848 by a man named James Andress, who'd made his way up from South Carolina, the Andress Inn wasn't just a building.

It was the whole town, practically, wrapped under one roof. A restaurant. A saloon.

A grocery store. A post office. A stage station.

And if your horse needed tending, well, there was a livery stable right nearby for that too. Center of civic affairs, social affairs, business affairs. You name it, the Andress Inn was where it happened in early Polk County.

Now, a place like that, drawing in travelers and locals alike, day after day, stage after stage, you're bound to see some notable faces come through the door. And among the noted guests who passed through? General Sam Houston himself.

Let that settle a moment. The man walked through that door, the same door where the mail got sorted and the groceries got sold and the horses got rested. James Andress, a long way from South Carolina, built something that became the beating heart of a county.

And the Andress Inn made sure everyone knew it was there.

What the marker says

Center civic, social and business affairs, early Polk County. Built about 1848 by James Andress, from South Carolina. Contained restaurant, saloon, grocery store, post office, stage station. Had livery stable nearby. Among noted guests was General Sam Houston. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967