Built in 1834 by Henry Fanthorp as a home for his bride, Rachel Kennard, Fanthorp Inn was later enlarged for hotel use and served as the region's first mercantile establishment and first post office in 1835. Kenneth Lewis Anderson, Vice-President of the Republic of Texas, died here on July 3, 1845. Stage lines from Houston to Old Springfield and from Nacogdoches to Austin crossed here.