San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Family restores 1840s Texas Rangers station in Seguin
In the early 1840s, the Hardscramble Ranger Station was the home to a pair of Texas’ earliest Rangers — Henry and Benjamin McCullough. Over time, the stone structure had deteriorated, prompting the Vickers family to bring it back to its former glory, preserving this piece of Seguin’s and Texas’ history.
The Vickers family recently invited their family, friends and a handful of community members to remember their matriarch, Eve, who died last year, but also to celebrate the completed restoration of the Hardscramble.
“We planned to do this event a couple of years ago, but then COVID hit and then Eve passed away,” Emily Vickers said. “It is sad that she is not here, but I think she is here.”
Eve and her husband, Joe Vickers, were instrumental in the restoration process, Emily said.
Shawn Vickers purchased the property the historical Texas landmark is situated on about 12 years ago, Emily said.
“He bought it specifically because it had the Ranger Station on it,” she said. “I believe we’re the third owner of the property since the beginning of the colony, which is kind of cool. I am fifthgeneration Texas, and he has been in Texas for several generations. My fourth great-grandfather was a Texas Ranger, and he was living in Cibolo where they settled.”
In 2019, the Vickers family got to work hiring a contractor and an engineering firm to bring the building back to its former glory, Emily said.
“Joe and Eve wanted to restore it, so they financially funded the project,” Emily said. “They’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and finally decided they were going to get this done. We had a few structural changes to the stonework and the roof, and supporting the foundation so it would last.”
The previous owner had renovated the former Ranger Station; however, the work didn’t hold up well, and a hurricane eventually damaged the roof, causing it to collapse and the floor to eventually rot away, Emily said.
“The Hardscramble was in disrepair,” she said. “There was no floor; the roof was caved in; it was looking pretty bad.”
With the Vickers family’s deep Texas roots, preserving history and sharing that information with others is important, Emily said.
“It is because of people like Joe and Eve that you have some of these historical buildings or parks, because someone decided to give their money or their time to preserve it, that way we’re able to enjoy it and learn about it,” she said. “Otherwise, it would continue to deteriorate and maybe even be forgotten about.”
During the celebration, local historian, author and Seguin Gazette columnist Floyd McKee spoke about the city’s and state’s history surrounding the Hardscramble, the McCulloughs and the Texas Rangers.
Emily hopes to have guests to come out to the ranch to visit the Hardscramble and learn more about the famed Texas Rangers, Seguin and Texas’ history.
She’s working with McKee on how to accomplish that.
“Floyd and I decided we’re going to try to figure out how to get more people out here to walk through the Ranger Station, to see it and to touch it and know what it is about,” she said. “We’re hoping to maybe get the Hardscramble open a couple of times a year for people to come out and see history, put their hands on history.”