HISTORY OF COUPLAND

The History of Coupland

In 1887 Civil War Major and former Travis County sheriff, Theodore Van Buren Coupland, founded a small town on inherited land.

The Old Coupland Inn and Dance Hall

The building was built in 1904 and housed the Coupland Drug Company in 1911. In 1948, it became known as Albers Drugstore.. Three doctors practiced medicine and used a hand powered x-ray machine. The former Drugstore is now the restaurant area. The Coupland Tavern, built in 1910, was formerly a hardware store, where pun-offs were held quarterly. It also housed a newspaper called the Coupland World Globe News.

  The former Speckles Grocery/Tavern was converted into a Texas-sized (7,000 plus square foot) dance hall,  A bar/bar-back from the Old Tavern that was formerly in the Old Schulenberg Hotel is over 100 years old.. The other bar/bar-back came out of a River Boat on the Mississippi River. The 2nd floor of the pharmacy, where the Doctors office used to be is now a 3500 sqft loft space, is now a bed and breakfast, with 7 rooms available. Now days, we rent the rooms on Saturday nights for patrons of the dancehall. Be sure and look for the B&B PACKAGE option when buying show tickets.

  The dance hall has been the backdrop for music videos including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Pat Green and Kevin Fowler. Coupland has also been used as a set location for several movies including Lonesome Dove. This Spotify video features George Strait’s hit “Every Little Honky Tonk Band,” and features Johnny Bush cameos.

Most recently, Asleep at the Wheel and Brennen Leigh filmed “In Texas with a Band” here. No doubt about the location!