Cock House
402 E. Hopkins St., San Marcos, TXThe Charles s. Cock House, erected in 1867, is a modest, vernacular Greek Revival structure and the oldest remaining residential building in San Marcos. The Town of San Marcos, located within the 1832 Spanish grant given to Juan Veramendi, was established in 1851, by General Edward Burleson, William Lindsay and Dr. Eli. T. Merriman.
In the same year as the founding of the town, Charles s. Cock and his wife, Susanna Walker Cock left Water Valley, Mississippi, to come to Texas. After a year in Bastrop, the Cock family, which then included twin daughters, moved to San Marcos. After living for some years in the city, Cock purchased the property on Fort Street (Later Hopkins Street) and in 186 built his rock house. Cock lived in the house until 1871, when he gave the property to his daughter, Cecilia, the wife of James A. Montgomery. He re-acquired the house on January 14, 1884, and lived there until his death in 1897. As well as being a farmer, Cock served as mayor of San Marcos from 1881 to 1883. The Cock family continued to occupy the residence the residence until 1906.
After a succession of owners, the Cock House was purchased on June 22, 1970, by the City of San Marcos. The Cock House, a typical example of stone residential architecture in Central Texas in the decade following the Civil War is an important local landmark to San Marcos. This structure which is one of the last remaining historic buildings in San Marcos, has now received additional emphasis through its location in the Veramendi Plaza project. The Plaza, which is an Urban Renewal program, is the first state of a Green Belt recreation area to be developed along the San Marcos river. The house, located on the corner of the triangular shaped Veramendi Plaza, occupies a pivotal position between the green belt development of the river and the downtown area of San Marcos.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.