Overview / Summary

WILLIAM  DAVENPORT  HOUSE

The William Davenport Homestead sits on the last parcel of land of the original farm which dates back to 1847.  The homestead is listed in Volume 3657, Page 1336, of the Bexar County, Texas deed records. The house, according to the Bexar County Appraisal District, has a living area of 1,334 sq. ft. and was constructed in 1895.  However, in a short article “Looking Back” from the New Braunfels Herald Zeitung dated May 5, 2001 regarding historical occurrences that happened on that date:

125 years ago (1876)

“Translators:  Carl and Ethel Saur"

Wm. Davenport on the Cibolo lost his entire farmstead to fire last Sunday.

Emil Kellner, City Marshal, states that any one who takes his horse or carriage on the cemetery grounds will be fined or punished.  Only the hearse is permitted. 

Also cited in the Appraisal District’s information is that the main focus is not the house, but the land it occupies as “potential development land.” 

The house sits on a bluff adjacent to the Cibolo Creek in the area of historic Luxello, between Bracken and Selma, Texas on Evans Road and just down from what was the old Luxello General Store.  Charles Lux, an early Selma settler, moved his store from the business district of Selma to the Luxello location around 1900.  The official address for the house and remaining land is 16589 Nacogdoches Road, San Antonio, Texas 78266, which is misleading as the house directly faces Evans Road and the Cibolo Creek. Its Architectural Classification is “Folk Victorian,” which was a standard type of house for that area during that same time period such as the John S. Harrison House in Selma.   The original materials used in the construction of the house are:  wood, stone, asphalt, and cedar - with the original roof now covered by metal.

Selma is about 16 miles northeast of San Antonio on Interstate Highway 35 half way between San Antonio and New Braunfels.  With its first settlers establishing a farm on the Cibolo Creek in 1847, William Davenport and John Brown are given credit as being the official founders of Selma as they were the large landholders of that time.  Selma’s city limits encompass a little over a 5-mile radius in Bexar, Guadalupe and Comal Counties and the town lies in a valley with the Balcones Escarpment to the west.

Bracken is located off FM2252 (the original route of the El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail) about 5 miles past Loop 1604 and down from Rolling Oaks Mall just across Cibolo Creek in Comal County.  The crossing of the trail at Cibolo Creek is referred to by the National Park Service in their routing of the trail as the "Davenport Crossing".   Luxello (still seen on current maps) is located between Selma and Bracken, but the area has declined over the years and only a few dilapidated houses still stand along Evans Road.

Selma and Bracken are experiencing tremendous industrial and residential growth which will eventually directly affect the Davenport house and adjacent historic family cemetery putting both in jeopardy (demolition of the house and the decline of the cemetery). 

Submitted by Jean M. Heide

Member of the San Antonio Conservation Society Farm & Ranch Committee