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San Marcos is a small city in the Texas Hill Country between San Antonio and Austin. It’s home to Texas State University.
Introduction to San Marcos
San Marcos is thought to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the Americas, with a history of settlement dating back over 10,000 years. The first European to visit the area was Alonso de León (1639-1691), who led an expedition in 1689 to explore Texas and establish missions and forts in the region. He established the Camino Real, later the Old San Antonio Road, which follows some of the modern roads through San Marcos.
In January 1808, Mexican settlers arrived and in April founded a village named Villa de San Marcos de Neve. It was abandoned in 1812. The first Anglo-American settlers moved to the area in 1846 and laid out the town center in 1851. San Marcos grew rapidly with the arrival of the International & Great Northern Railroad on September 30, 1880. Southwest Texas State Normal School, now Texas State University, was founded in 1899.
Downtown Square
We stopped in San Marcos for a quick cup of coffee and kept our visit confined to Downtown Square. It’s a lively area surrounded by historic buildings. They’re filled with restaurants, bars, shops, cafés, and other businesses.
Hays County Courthouse
Hays County Courthouse is the centerpiece of Downtown Square. It was designed by Austin-based architectural firm C.H. Page & Brothers in the Classical Revival style. It was built between 1908 and 1909 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1980. There are historical exhibits on the lower floors.
John Coffee Hays Monument
A monument to John Coffee Hays (1817-1883), a military officer of the Republic of Texas, a Texas Ranger, and the namesake of the county, sits on the northeast corner of the square. It was sculpted by Jason Scull and installed in 2001. It’s 14 feet high.
LBJ Museum
Also on Downtown Square is the LBJ Museum. It’s dedicated to the legacy of President Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), who attended Southwest Texas State Teachers College, now Texas State University, from 1927 to 1930. Admission is free (as of May 2025) and it’s open Thursday through Saturday from 11am to 5pm.
LBJ’s learning and teaching experience in San Marcos played a formative role in the Great Society legislation he passed during his presidency. In fact, it was at Texas State University where he announced the Job Corps program in November 1964 and signed the Higher Education Act on November 8, 1965. On display is the desk, chair, and pens he used to sign the Higher Education Act into law.
Also on display are artifacts from LBJ’s life, such as photos, yearbooks, campaign buttons, paintings, statues, presidential memorabilia, and newspaper clippings. The second floor is dedicated to his wife, Lady Bird Johnson (1912-2007), and her four-day whistle-stop tour through eight Southern states in 1964 to show her support of the civil rights movement.
Where to Eat in San Marcos
As I mentioned earlier, only stopped into one place for a cup of coffee.
Cafe on the Square
We popped into Cafe on the Square. The coffee was decent and they also serve breakfast and other dishes.
