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The
Manchaca International Great Northern Railroad Depot
1907
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
More Texas Depots |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Named after early settler José Antonio Menchaca, the name is now spelled
with an a for the second letter. The pronunciation is what's really
different. If you attempt anything but "Manshack," you will immediately
be recognized as an outsider.
The first post office opened in 1851 under the name Manchac House.
This was just south of town and closed the following year. The second
post office opened under the simpler name of Manchac in 1874
and this lasted almost exactly a year. Onion Creek started sending
and receiving mail after that point - until the arrival of the International
Great Northern Railroad in 1881. Renamed Manchaca, a new post office
opened and mail left and arrived on state-of-the-art leather pouches
and metal hoops.
The town had around 75 residents in the mid-1880s and before ten years
had passed, Manchaca had a school, church and even boasted a hotel.
The town kept its distance from Austin
and as late as the 1960s, the population barely broke 200 residents.
It was worse in the 1970s when it bottomed out at a mere 36. But the
1980s were boom times and the population soared to nearly 5,000. The
2000 census recorded about half that figure. |
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history
and vintage/historic photos, please contact
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