Erin O. Wallace - Haunted Seguin

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2014 by Erin O. Wallace

All rights reserved

First published 2014

e-book edition 2014

ISBN 978.1.61423.993.2

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

print edition ISBN 978.1.60949.891.7

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

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This book is dedicated to Pearl E. Lacroix Goldate (19221991). Pearl (known to the locals in St. Tammany Parish as the Peacock Lady) believed that every building was a shell of the owners lives who lived there, giving it a soul and an important role in history. This unusual belief inspired me to see old buildings beyond the walls that held them together and wonder more about the lives of the people who once resided there. Pearl held dear to her heart the belief that every buildings history has a right to survive, even if only one person cares to remember. After her passing, it was her strong conviction that encouraged me to continue her quest in transforming her beloved Fairview Riverside Otis House into a Louisiana state museum. When an old building is demolished, the history of the people who lived among it is lost as well. The quote If only these walls could talk is truer than most people wish to believe. They actually can speak, if we only listen with our eyes, hearts and minds, not just our ears. All it takes is one person to devote time to uncovering a buildings words by listening to locals and researching archives and libraries. Then you become the buildings voice, do the talking for it and share what stories have been found. Without a doubt, although Pearl is no longer here, I am certain she had a hand in guiding me to continue to speak for these silent buildings. I am confident she still stands by my side in saving forgotten historic buildings, for together we just rescued another.

The 1840s Magnolia Hotel before restoration around the late 1980s. Photo courtesy of Texas Most Endangered Places, Preservation Texas.

CONTENTS

Preface

THE GHOST BARRICADE

Seguin is one of the most unique and fascinating cities in Texas. Besides its labeling in history as the city built of concrete and mother of concrete, it is also a quaint town known for having endured Indian attacks, assaults by the Mexican army, the invasion of Northern soldiers during Reconstruction, the Great Depression years, flood and droughtand that is just to name a few. Yet community members have always rallied together to help one another and refused to allow their small town to fade away like so many others. Not only is this a tight knit community with many descendants of the original founders still living there, but it is also an area considered to be one of the most haunted places in this great state. It has been described as the city whose citizens refuse to leave, even after death. Of course, it is a beautiful place worthy of the desire to remain even in the afterlife, but some believe this desire is due to the towns man-made surroundings, known to the paranormal realm as the ghost barricade.

This unsuspecting small frontier community was once the hub for testing out a specially patented material known as limecrete invented by the highly creative physician and chemist Dr. John Esten Park, who moved to Seguin in the late 1840s. Park used crews of male slaves to dig caliches and gravel on location and then brought water and sand from the streams nearby for his experiment. The items were then mixed with ash, clay and lime, which was produced from the Hill Country limestone brought in from San Marcos by wagons. This procedure demanded extremely skilled labor to get the proper quantities just right, or the limecrete would not set properly. The end results were immensely strong limecrete walls that were firmly insulated, fireproof and, unexpectedly, ghost lures. Seguin quickly became known for its extraordinary concentration of concrete buildings and was labeled the city made of concrete. Astonishingly, at the time of Dr. Parks death in 1872, Seguin had a general population of no more than one thousand people with almost ninety limecrete buildings, plus numerous other structures such as animal pens, fences, cisterns and the now very famous limecrete barricade.

Historic American Buildings Survey, Marvin Eickenroht, Photographer March 1, 1934 VIEW FROM SOUTHWEST. Colonel Joshua Young House, 704 Mill Avenue, Seguin, Guadalupe County, TX. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, HABS HABS TEX,94-SEGUI,11.

During 1840, Seguin even used Dr. Parks limecrete invention to build the now famous wall that encircles the small city. This innovative decision would eventually distinguish Seguin as the only walled city in Texas. The limecrete wall was primarily built for protection from Indian attacks and the Mexican army. It was then gratefully used to separate Seguin from a short-lived town called Guadalupe City. This town was considered to be a very unruly area known for its rowdy saloons and bawdyhouses. Later, after the two cities merged, the wall helped keep wildlife and livestock from eating the gardens of the locals. Unbeknownst to the citizens of Seguin at the time of construction, their specially made limecrete is now believed by many to be a conduit for spirits. This particular mixture has been branded by the paranormal realm for attracting and even energizing spirits wishing to make their presence known. It wasnt until the arrival of the railroad in 1875, which brought in lumber and bricks, that the use of limecrete finally came to a halt. Today, only a handful of the limecrete relics still survive in Seguin, such as the 1840 Magnolia Hotel and the Sebastopol House and, of course, the ghost barricade. Only portions of these relics remain, but they are still energizing the spirits. These scarce limecrete buildings and wall now stand as a monument to Dr. Parks clever use of local resources and his ingenious invention. They are also hushed barriers keeping in certain spirits that wish to remain, while they continue to draw in those who simply seek a safe environment. This most definitely explains Seguins vast hauntings and its designation as one of One of Texass Most Haunted Cities. If you sincerely seek paranormal activity, spend a day or night in the historic area of Seguinif you dare. One word of advice, though: be sure you exit the city limits alive, or the limecrete ghost barricade just might make certain you remain for all of eternity, whether or not you want to.

Historic American Buildings Survey, William C. Kleine, Photographer February 10, 1934 VIEW FROM NORTHEAST. Colonel Joshua Young House, 704 Mill Avenue, Seguin, Guadalupe County, TX.