If you’ve ever pulled into the Boerne Walmart parking lot and noticed the old crumbling rock walls, small stone building, and tower sitting just off the edge of the lot, you’re not alone. The ruins are hard to miss, and even harder not to wonder about. In fact, we’ve been asked multiple times about their significance.
Presented by Mesquite Archery
Speaking of old Boerne, our sponsors at Mesquite Archery are lifelong Boerne residents. Mesquite Archery has everything you need for this hunting season, whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a complete beginner, including both indoor and outdoors ranges.
Visit them for no-frills, common sense advice from someone who has been bow hunting for decades. Learn more on their website or visit them at their Boerne location, 41205 I-10 Bldg D, Boerne, TX 78006.
As you might have imagined, those weathered limestone structures are among the oldest in all of Boerne. Their story stretches all the way back to the 1840s, when John Small, a surveyor who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, was rewarded for his service with 1,280 acres of land, the same land where Boerne sits today. Small built a modest two-room rock house and a defensive tower to protect his family from Native American attacks.
In 1850, the land passed to Johann Nicholaus Simon Menger, who is the namesake for what we still call Menger Creek. He owned a soap and candle factory, Menger Soap Works, est. 1850 along San Antonio’s San Pedro Creek.
In 1853, the property was purchased by Dr. W.G. Kingsbury, who was a civilian dentist that travelled alongside the highly regarded Texas Ranger Samuel Walker during the Mexican-American War. Walker died during this war and Kingsbury was said to have received several wounds during this conflict including a deep saber cut to his cheek.
Kingsbury settled along Menger Creek and turned the land into a teaching ground for the wave of English settlers arriving in the area. It is believed that he showed them how to use local limestone to build homes and rock walls, which explains the mix of masonry styles still visible in the tower today.
Kingsbury was appointed the Texas Commissioner of Immigration and had offices in London and St. Louis. He assisted with bringing the San Antono & Aransas Pass Railway to Boerne. The town of Kingbury, Texas, located along the GH&SA railroad was named in his honor. He died in 1896 and is buried in the Boerne Cemetery.
After Kingsbury’s death in 1896, the land passed to the Shumard family, who built a larger rock ranch house in 1907 with bunk space in the attic for ranch hands. The family added a kitchen walkway and other improvements in the 1920s, and the property remained in their hands for nearly a century.
When Walmart purchased the land in the late 1990s, Boerne residents feared the historic buildings might be lost. Instead, Walmart agreed to donate the land to the City of Boerne, where the old structures stood, ensuring their preservation. The property later became home to the Boerne Visitors Center, and today, it houses Twin Sisters Interiors, an interior design business run by identical twins Cheryl Green and Theresa Naramore.
Cheryl, who now owns the property, says the stone building behind the store was once used as an Indian watchtower and later as a training site for German masons. “I was also told they trained German masons on it and you can see several different styles of masonry” she said in a Facebook comment. “We love this property and its history.”
So next time you’re at Walmart and spot that old rock wall and tower, you’ll know you’re looking at one of Boerne’s earliest landmarks, a surviving piece of the town’s frontier beginnings that somehow ended up in one of the busiest parking lots in town.
We want to thank Paul Barwick, the City of Boerne’s Special Projects Director, for assisting with this article. He’s a local historian and one of the two people behind the restoration of the Old Jail Museum here in town. You can learn more about visiting that here.
Boerne Radio also has a great video on the topic that we used in our research. You can watch that below:
Great and Informative article about a very important part of Boerne’s history and heritage. Thank you for writing this article and letting people know about important aspects of Boerne’ s beginnings and history.