Echo Stagecoach Depot and Post Office

Known as "Mount Echo" or "The Point", this site once belonged to empresario James McGloin. His daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Patrick Murphy, ran a general store at Echo. John Bernard Murphy (1822?-1884) and his wife Margaret Mary (Healy) (1833-1907), both born in Ireland, settled here in the 1850's and built a two story ranch house. J.B. Murphy, who was not related to Patrick Murphy, was later mayor of Corpus Christi. A one-story building near the J.B. Murphy ranch house served as a station for stagecoach lines from San Antonio to Corpus Christi and south Texas. It housed the Echo Post Office from 1858 until 1879. The stage road through echo was a dry weather route along the East Bank of the Nueces River. A higher caliche road that was passable in wet seasons served stage stops on the west side of the river. Until the arrival of the railroad in this area, the echo depot and post office provided a vital link with the outside world. In the 1880's, Margaret Mary Murphy moved to San Antonio and founded the Sisters of the Holy Ghost. She used the ranch as a retreat for nuns and converted the Echo depot into a chapel. R.F. Sellers bought the property in 1906 and used the building for storage. It was demolished by hurricane Celia in 1970. (1979)

Echo Stagecoach Depot and Post Office is a historical marker in Lagarto, Live Oak County, dedicated in 1979. It is one of 19 historical markers documented in Live Oak County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 34 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 28.1641, -97.8942 near Lagarto. The nearest cataloged historic site is unknown (Argenta) (cemetery), about 2.9 miles away. Others within a short drive include Lagarto Cemetery, Wright, and Town of Dinero.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5297001376. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.