For more than 160 years, The Old Stage Coach Inn has stood on a hill above Brushy Creek, near a low-water crossing originally used by stagecoach lines and cattle drives along the Chisholm Trail.

Now the city is looking at options to relocate the structure that sits in the way of future improvements to RM 620.

The city of Round Rock applied for a permit to dismantle the building and “utilize some of the materials in another historic setting to commemorate its historic significance to Round Rock,” according to a statement from the city. However, the Historic Preservation Commission voted 4-1 on March 15 to deny a permit application to the city to dismantle the structure. According to a statement from the city, the commission’s vote included a provision that there be a 120-day waiting period to give interested parties an opportunity to relocate the structure. At the end of the 120-day period, a permit will be automatically awarded to allow the dismantling to move forward, according to the statement.

Located at 901 Round Rock Ave. in The Commons shopping center, The Old Stage Coach Inn, which was built between 1848 and 1853 by John and Susie Anna Harris, is one of the three oldest buildings remaining in Round Rock, according to a report from the commission.

The inn was used as a rest stop for passengers and a horse-changing station for stagecoaches traveling on routes extending from Brownsville to Salado, and San Antonio to Helena, Arkansas, according to the Historic Round Rock Collection project.

“Supposedly the Harris [family] had geese, and when they heard the stagecoach [approaching], they’d make all kinds of sounds, and then the residents of Brushy [Creek] would hurry up the hill to get their mail,” Round Rock resident Shirley Marquardt said.

Marquardt’s efforts to raise public awareness of the building’s historical significance include presentations to Round Rock City Council, maintaining a Facebook page and organizing an online petition, she said.

Before moving to Round Rock, Marquardt and her husband, Donald, lived in a historic home in Enid, Oklahoma for 15 years.

“I really loved historic preservation and understood why it is so important, because once you lose [a building], it’s gone,” she said. “You can never bring it back.”

The original structure, which measures approximately 35 feet by 40 feet, features two large fireplaces centered at each end of the building. The inn was built using hand-cut stone that was quarried on the property, hand-hewn beams made of oak and cedar hauled in from Brenham, Texas, by oxcart, according to the commission’s report.

“A lot of [the stone] was almost a foot deep to keep the homes cooler. So the structural integrity and the beauty ... [was] pretty unique,” said Frank Davol, whose parents bought the property in 1960, becoming the last owners to use the inn as a private residence. “I’m hoping that the city of Round Rock can ... hang on to some of its history for future generations.”

In 1963 the Davols applied for and received designation for the property as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. That status was removed in 1996 because of alterations to the structure, such as changes to the windows and roofing materials, that were made without the required approval from the Texas Historical Commission, according to the commission’s report.

Local recognition of the inn’s place in history was signified in 1984 when the property was rezoned by the city as a historic landmark and again in 2013, when the inn was named a Round Rock Local Legend, an annual award recognizing contributions to the community’s culture, development and history.

Three restaurants, including Gumbo’s and the French Quarter Round Rock, occupied the building until it was bought by the city in 2013.