D'Hanis, Texas

It was nice to get a slow start this morning.  Even though I got up at my normal 5 AM, I still had my pajamas on at 8 having enjoyed a blessed 3 hours of coffee sipping, reading, and an hour of the Today show.  I did manage to get myself dressed before going out for our morning walk.  Today turned out to be another hot one in the mid 80s and very humid.  Even as early as 8:30 the humidity was hanging in the air.

The morning was filled with a few chores and internet surfing.  After lunch we hopped in the truck to tour D’Hanis, Texas.  This campground has a mailing address of Hondo which is about 8 miles east of here.  D’Hanis is only about a mile to the west. Go figure.  Anyway, it seemed worthy of a tour so we went.  Downtown D’Hanis is only 1 block long along its only street.  Well, actually only on one side of the street.  It consists entirely of a bank, a grocery, city offices, two restaurants (one out of business), and a Bed and Breakfast.  We also drove back about 2 blocks in the residential area and found the old brick factory still in operation.

Old brick kiln at the brick plant

D’Hanis was established in 1847 by Alsatian immigrants.   Besides growing cotton and raising cattle for market the community also had a brick plant. That plant is still in operation today.  We just had to go in the general store where we found a hardware section, gift shop, small restaurant, and great looking fresh meats.  The best thing about it, however, were the screened doors complete with a Rainbow bread advertisement.  The old Koch Hotel which opened in 1906 is now a Bed and Breakfast.

Koch Hotel

Real screen doors

We asked in the grocery about historic buildings in town and one of the customers suggested we go out to the Holy Cross Cemetery where there are the remnants of the old church.  We went, but were unable to locate the old church walls.

By this time we had worked up a pretty good thirst so stopped in the only open saloon in town—Bill and Rosa’s.  It was a pretty old building (maybe early 1900s) but not so special inside.  If it was ever a real saloon, the original bar is gone.  After a couple tall iced teas, we moseyed on home.

My camera is ready to be picked up so we have a plan for tomorrow—the San Antonio Missions.