{"nrhp_refnum":"79002928","name":"Copperas Cove Stagestop and Post Office","other_names":["Martin I. Walker Historical Museum"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1.6 mi. SW of Copperas Cove off U.S. 190","address_restricted":false,"city":"Copperas Cove","county":"Coryell County","state":"TX","lat":31.104081584000028,"lon":-97.92876671499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-09-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-room limestone stagestop and post office built in 1878 about 1.6 miles southwest of Copperas Cove, Coryell County, Texas, by Marsden Ogletree. It now serves as a museum.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it a fine example of the vernacular stone structures that dotted the nineteenth-century Texas landscape. It is the only structure remaining from the original town of Copperas Cove, then known as The Cove. It served several functions, including stage relay station, post office, home and grocery.","narrative":"Built in 1878 by settler Marsden Ogletree, this two-room limestone building southwest of Copperas Cove, Texas, began as a store, dwelling and stage stop for travelers between Georgetown and Fort Gates. Ogletree was named postmaster in 1879, though the post office moved to the new townsite about a year later. Walls of roughly dressed local limestone, some nineteen inches thick, are laid in an ashlar pattern, with a fireplace at each end and doors on both sides for cross ventilation. Later owners used it as ranch headquarters and a family home, and a frame rear addition has since been removed. The building was vacated in 1950 and deteriorated before being donated to the city in 1974 and restored during the Bicentennial. A restored cistern and settlement basin and a vaulted storm cellar remain nearby. As the only surviving structure of the original town, it now operates as a museum of local pioneer history.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Marsden Ogletree","architectural_style":"Vernacular stone structure","criteria":[],"status_note":"Vacated in 1950 and vandalized, then donated to the city in 1974 and restored during the Bicentennial; in excellent condition and used as a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.293542-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/9715/40971591/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/79002928.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002928/2dda3a4d63-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002928/2dda3a4d63-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Copperas_cove_stagestop.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Copperas_cove_stagestop.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971591","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperas_Cove_Stagestop_and_Post_Office","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54871518"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/coryell-county/copperas-cove-stagestop-and-post-office-79002928/"}