History of San Marcos

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Founding

Modern San Marcos, Texas was founded in 1851 and has flourished for more than 161 years. In 2001, the community celebrated our Sesquicentennial-our 150th Birthday-with an entire year of special events, commemorations and special publications.

Ancient Inhabitants

But the story of this place and what it has meant to human beings is actually an ancient story-dating back more than 12,000 years! Ancient Native Americans-the Clovis Indians-lived, hunted and fished along the banks of a pristine river that mysteriously burst from underground with a rush of clear, clean water and flowed to southeast.

The mild year-round climate, the profusion of game and fish-and we suspect, the incredible the beauty of this place at the edge of the ancient hills and blackland prairie-invited the Native Americans to stay here continuously through modern times.

150 Years

150 Years in San Marcos (PDF) is a great historical overview of the San Marcos story produced by the City of San Marcos in partnership with the San Marcos Daily Record and Hays Free Press in 2001.

Sesquicentennial