Texas Livery Stable

Had animal-drawn vehicles and saddle horses for hire. Served doctors on calls; people arriving on or meeting trains; lawyers attending court;"drummers" (salesmen) on local rounds; land seekers; hunters and fishermen; young men courting; ladies out visiting. Usually housed in a good frame or brick building; stalls, harness rooms, office might cover a block. Pasture was nearby. Boarded teams of businessmen and townspeople. Provided hearses, funeral carriages. Stable was town's "club" -- for men trading, meeting visitors, getting news. After school, used boys for deliveries; they took along horses to ride back to barn. They painted, polished carriages; groomed, fed horses. Tramps cleaned stables, slept in hay. Manager often "doctored" animals, sometimes was an undertaker. Fine saddle horses and rigs stood out front, for show -- top buggies, with storm curtains; plush-lined hacks; Studebaker dray wagons. Rent: $3 to $5 a day. On this courthouse site (until 1912) was Blackwell Livery Stable. To the east (1880 - 1914) Nidever Livery Stable kept city fire engine team at its front. In minutes after an alarm, had fire wagon on its way. A centuries-old institution, the livery stable vanished about 1915. No true successor replaced it. (1966)

Texas Livery Stable is a historical marker in Cooper, Delta County, dedicated in 1966. It is one of 22 historical markers documented in Delta County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 54 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.3739, -95.6897 near Cooper. The nearest cataloged historic site is Delta County Courthouse (courthouse), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include First National Bank, Cooper Rail Depot, and East Texas Normal College.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5119006948. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.