The Salado Stagecoach Inn (formerly Shady Villa) was founded in 1861. The second-floor balcony is said to be where Sam Houston delivered a fiery anti-secession speech. Generals Robert E. Lee, George Custer, and cattleman Shanghai Pearce are believed to have stayed here. The restaurant didn’t open until 1943. Still, its innovative menu – whose favorites included hush puppies, tomato aspic, banana fritter, and Strawberry Kiss – earned state and national media accolades. Many of these dishes will be on the menu when the hotel and restaurant re-open in the next few years after a top-to-bottom renovation.
Nearby, the 1866 home of pioneer and area physician Wellborn Barton – by which the Chisholm Trail passed – is now a restaurant.