San Marcos Milling Company
Why it's listed
Rising nearly 50 feet at its gable peak, this L-shaped warehouse on Nicola Alley in San Marcos is the oldest known industrial building in the city. Its wood frame is sheathed in corrugated metal, and each arm runs more than 100 feet. It began in 1910 as the Acme Manufacturing Company, a furniture plant that also made a sanitary cigar showcase, but closed the next year. In 1914 the San Marcos Milling Company took over, and its sifting and grading equipment still survives in the east wing. H. A. Nelson bought the property in 1922 and ran a Holstein dairy, milking cows in the basement and bottling milk upstairs until the herd was sold in 1931. During the 1930s the north end hosted dances for the local Mexican-American community, and cotton seed was stored here for years. Since the 1950s it has served as a storage warehouse. Its scale and surviving mill and dairy features illustrate the town's early industries.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it the oldest known industrial building in San Marcos. Although it has no defined architectural style, its mass is dramatic, and remnants of its milling and dairy operations illustrate industries that mattered to the town. It is listed under the area of industry.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83003799, listed December 1, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Nicola Alley, San Marcos |
|---|---|
| County | Hays County |
| Listed | December 1, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83003799 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900- |
| Architectural style | Not an example of a defined architectural style |
| Areas of significance | Industry |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition fair and altered; unoccupied at the time of nomination, with commercial storage as the present use. The basement is in disrepair and part of the second floor has caved in. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 29.87614, -97.93869 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83003799.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002230
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.