Kerr County Stories by Lanza Teague

Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on August 29, 2026 This cannon, a relic of the Civil War, stands on the eastern side of the Kerr County Courthouse A reader approached me recently and asked about a story she heard involving the cannon on the courthouse lawn. The woman heard that shortly after being installed in the court-house square, the cannon was fired in celebration and a truck parked nearby was totaled in the process. This is the second time the question has come up this year. It’s a story I had never heard before. I decided to do some digging to learn the cannon’s history and the truth behind the rumored truck destruction. The story is interesting enough to make it into a column, so here it is. The cannon once belonged to C.W. “Bill” Bocock, a master machinist and founder of Technical Instrument Company, a Houston-based business that was involved with seismographic equipment. He also had a passion for collecting and restoring classic cars. He came to Kerr County in 1952, wh...

  Published in the Kerrville Daily Times on July 25, 2026 The post oak in front of the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center before the July 16 Storm  If you are familiar with the old Post Office building in downtown — now home of the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center — you may have noticed a big change in the yard this week. The big, beautiful oak tree that has stood sentry in the front yard fell victim to the storm on July 16.  In the grand scheme of damage in Kerr County, the loss of a tree is minor, but the loss hit me hard all the same. For the better part of 19 years, I have worked in Kerrville’s historic Post Office building — I started here as the manager in 2007 and am now the director of the Kerr Arts and Cultural Center. I have worked other places but have recently come to the realization that KACC is my professional home, and I will be here for a while. As a local history geek, I enjoy working in and maintaining a historic downtown building, although the maintenance pre...