The juncture of the Llano and Colorado
Rivers has attracted visitors for millenia.
European settlers, including Martin D. King,
began moving to the area in the 19th
century. King purchased land here in 1877,
and it is for him that Kingsland is named.
In 1892, the Austin and Northwester Railroad
built a railroad bridge at the Llano-Colorado
river confluence and a depot between the
tracks in Kingsland. At the same time, the
railroad company purchased this land from
Mrs. N.J. King. The company started
construction of the Antlers Hotel in 1900.
The two-story wooden hotel, which opened
in 1901, was designed to welcome railroad
passengers, who could easily walk from their
train. Hotel porches afforded views of both
rivers, and guests could also stay in small
cabins later built on the grounds. Visitors
walked across the street to enjoy a park full
of cottonwood trees that featured a pavilion
with stage and dressing rooms. Behind the
hotel, guests and residents fished in the
adjoining lake, then called Crescent Lake.
Pleasant and convenient, the railroad resort
was frequented by tourists and well as
business travelers.
As the automobile influence slowed rail
travel, the hotel business quieted; C.E. Schults
purchased the hotel in 1913 and later sold it
to the Van Der Stucken family. In 1923,
former hotel guest Thomas H. Barrow of
Austin bought the Antlers, and he and his
family spent summers and vacations here.
He also purchased surrounding land and,
after death in 1936, his family continued to
enjoy the property until they sold it in 1993.
The hotel and cabins were refurbished and
reopened as a hotel complex in 1996, once
again offering Texas hill country scenery and
recreation to its many guests.
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