This is about a college and a village. The earliest known man to settle at Salado Springs was Archibald C. Willingham who purchased 320 acres in December 1848 from Col. E.S.C. Robertson, son of the empressario, Sterling C. Robertson. Willingham and his family built a log cabin which was later used by the Robertsons after they repurchased the land in January 1854. They lived in this cabin while their permanent home was built. Even today Robertson descendants own this beautiful Greek Revival property.
Prior to the arrival of the settlers from the United States, this area was occupied for generations by native American Indian tribes-principally Tonkawas – who came to Salado Creek for the clean, clear water always available there. In Pace Park, the Texas Historical Commission has recovered Indian artifacts dating to the Archaic Period (6000 B.C. – 500 A.D.) Salado Creek is formed by springs along the Balcones Escarpment – a geologic line from here to San Antonio, and we are at the north end of the Edwards Aquifer – a vast underground sea of water.
As the community grew in the late 1850’s, talk began about the need for a school, and the citizens would settle for nothing but the best. Sulphur Springs seemed the favored site until October 8, 1859 when E.S.C. Robertson offered to donate 10 acres for the college grounds and sell 90 additional acres at $5 each to provide money for the building. This plan was accepted, and Salado College was underway. Ruins of the Salado College building stand on the hill south of the village and are under supervision of a foundation.
Among those who purchased the original lots in the town were Thomas Jefferson Eubanks, who on December 3, 1860, bought Lot #10, a two-and-a-half acre tract designated for a hotel. It was at this location that Eubanks would construct what is today known as The Stagecoach Inn. The hotel would fall into many hands, but it continues to be the stronghold of the community.
Many of the other people who purchased town lots and brought their families to Salado also contributed the sites which have received designations by the Texas Historical Commission and the National Register of Historic Places. The first such designations came in 1936, when in celebration of the State’s Centennial, the Dr. Welborn Barton House, E.S.C. Robertson House, O.T. Tyler House, and the W.A. Davis Mill were marked. When the Civil War Centennial was celebrated in the 1960’s, the site of Alexander’s Medicinal Distillery was recognized.
There are twenty sites with State Historical Markers, including Salado Creek, which was the first Texas Natural Landmark to be designated by the Texas Historical Survey Committee.
From the late 1920’s until the mid-1940’s, Salado took on the characteristics of most small towns in Texas. Its citizens went about their business, came to town for groceries and other supplies, and attended church services. Some people have even referred to Salado as a near ghost town during this time.
The transformation or revival came after Dion and Ruth Van Bibber purchased the old Shady Villa Hotel with the intent to run a tea room. By the time they got the building renovated and all their plans formulated, they opened a restaurant known as the Stagecoach Inn. The fine food and quality service gained the restaurant and village a spot in Texas annals. While the old original hotel brought the likes of Sam Houston and others, the Van Bibber’s establishment brought more modern celebrities, such as President Lyndon Baines Johnson and his family.
The old hotel is thought to be one of the oldest remaining structures in Salado. The simple, somewhat primitive wood-frame two-story building is a good example of frontier architecture. It features a rectangular layout and has upstairs and downstairs galleries, supported by square columns, running the length of the front. General Sam Houston, General Robert E. Lee and General George Armstong Custer were reported as early visitors who stayed there. It has also been said that the notorious James Brothers were guests of the Stagecoach Inn.
Hugh N. (Mac) Sherrill was the next to “get the call to Salado”. He joined the Van Bibbers and their nephew Bill Bratton in the Stagecoach Inn, and then came up with his own idea for a residential development which is now known as Mill Creek.
In 1962, a former New York model, Grace Rosanky Jones and her husband purchased the old First State Bank Building and began renovation for what would become a world-renown dress shop.
They were early pioneers, but they all helped create the charming village which we know as Salado today.
Salado Creek continues to entertain and fascinate local folks and visitors alike. The statue of a mermaid named Sirena decorates the bubbling spring on the Salado Creek, a few steps from the Main Street Bridge.
Salado's main industry today is tourism. And visitors come to the Village from near and far to enjoy festivals, live entertainment, shopping, dining, art galleries, a Robert Trent Jones, Jr. golf course, garden tours, historic lodging and being able to make memories.
Historical markers dot the Village and present fascinating snapshots of times gone by. Twenty-one bed and breakfast inns offer guests the opportunity to enjoy the history that many of these historic homes have shared.
