Scenic Loop receives designation
2/19/2009
By Joni Simon, Contributing Writer/Hill Country View
This month's designation of the Scenic Loop-Boerne Stage corridor as one of the state's most endangered historic places has shed new light on the road's unique place in early 20th century Bexar County history.
The Scenic Loop was created in the 1920s as a paved road for families in San Antonio, many of whom were just then moving out of the horse-drawn era and getting their first cars, allowing them to escape the increasing urbanization of the city and to enjoy a Sunday in the Hill Country.
“It was a paved touring route,” said Jennifer Nottingham of the Scenic Loop-Boerne Stage Alliance. “It came from the Bexar County courthouse, all the way up Bandera Road, through Helotes, around the corner to what is now Interstate 10, but was Fredericksburg Road at the time, and went back into town on the old Fredericksburg Road to the courthouse. That's 46.3 miles of touring for the Model T's.”
Included in the designation is the Scenic Loop Playground Club, which was developed in 1928 as a rural recreational resort for the weekend motorists, including boating, fishing and swimming.
The unique Hill Country style building was built largely out of the empty wooden ammunition crates which had been used to haul ammo to Camp Stanley during World War I.
“My father remembered when (the loop) was built and remembered driving on it,” said Bebe Fenstermaker of the Maverick Ranch. Her family has lived in Leon Springs for 150 years.
But Nottingham says the designation also recognizes the importance of Boerne Stage Road for the activity that gave it it's name, a stagecoach and horse carriage route.
“It had been for many, many years the wagon trails. People rode horses into San Antonio on this road; we've lost track of how many stagecoach stops there were on this road. It has a very long history,” she said.
The recognition also highlights the designation of a portion of Boerne Stage Road as a part of the pioneering Old Spanish Trail, the ambitious cross-country highway built in the 1920s, linking St. Augustine, Fla., and San Diego, Calif.
“When they built the big auto highway, they followed a lot of old cattle trails and stagecoach routes,” said Charlotte Kahl of the Old Spanish Trail Association.
“They followed the road from San Antonio to Boerne, so when they got to Leon Springs, they turned west, went over to Toutant Beauregard, went north and crossed Balcones Creek on into Boerne.”
The designation for the Scenic Loop-Boerne Stage Corridor comes from Preservation Texas, a nonprofit organization which advocates for preserving the historic resources in Texas.
“In addition to the passion of the residents, it's just the beauty of the area,” said Krista Schreiner Gebbia, the Preservation Texas executive director. “This is uniquely Texas.”
The next step is to gain historic corridor designation from the Legislature. That action would carry legal weight in preventing future development in the area, which is also a key portion of the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer.
Nottingham says she was especially driven to act by a new high density housing development which is going in at Scenic Loop and Toutant Beauregard, just a couple of miles from the Scenic Loop Playground Club, which sits behind the Grey Forest city municipal building.
Online: www.mysanantonio.com/community/hill_country/hill_country_view/Scenic_Loop_receives_designation.html
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