{"nrhp_refnum":"02001211","name":"Onion Creek Post Office and Stagecoach House","other_names":["McElroy-Severn House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"109 N. Loop 4","address_restricted":false,"city":"Buda","county":"Hays County","state":"TX","lat":30.090404985500044,"lon":-97.8369692757604,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-10-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex on a bluff above Onion Creek about a quarter mile east of Buda, Hays County, Texas, with a frame stagecoach house (McElroy-Severn House) and a small cut-limestone post office dating to 1876, plus a garage, shed and other features.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the complex is significant for its role in early settlement of Hays County, as a stagecoach stop and post office on the Austin-San Antonio post road. It also claims architectural significance: the stone post office is a rare, finely crafted building type for the area, and the house shows several building campaigns of a center-passage dwelling.","narrative":"On a bluff above Onion Creek, a quarter mile east of Buda, sits a group of buildings that once served travelers and mail on the Austin-San Antonio post road. A frame house began about 1875 as a dogtrot, later enclosed as a center-passage dwelling, and grew through additions around 1900, 1920 and the mid-twentieth century. Behind it stands a small front-gabled post office of dressed limestone, dated 1876 by a carved lintel. Its stonework includes a floral design, a three-link chain and an eagle in the keystone, possibly marking the nation's centennial. The post office and stage station served the community only a few years before the railroad reached Buda in 1880 and shifted settlement to the new town. The property is significant for its link to early settlement and stagecoach and mail routes, and for the craftsmanship of the post office. The city owns the site and plans a museum and community center, but the buildings are vacant and deteriorating.","period_of_significance":"1875-1921","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Other: Center-Passage; One-Room","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Currently vacant with restoration work planned; buildings are unsecured and deteriorating, and the post office has lost its door and much of its roof.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.161747-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/9725/40972554/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/02001211.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001211/f4ddef3b50-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001211/f4ddef3b50-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Onioncreekpostoffice1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Onioncreekpostoffice1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972554","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999800"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/hays-county/onion-creek-post-office-and-stagecoach-house-02001211/"}