Constructed in the 1830s, the original one-room house was home and office to Dr. Eli Merriman, a doctor and druggist. Dr. Merriman, born in Connecticut in 1815, was a graduate of Yale University and came to Texas in 1838, arriving at Galveston and coming on to Bastrop by buggy. In April, 1839, Dr. Merriman purchased the south half-block of building block #3 (now the 800 block of Main Street) and opened his drugstore/doctor's office, known as Apothecary's Hall. In 1845, Dr. Merriman and General Edward Burleson, together, purchased a portion of the Vera Mondi grant on the San Marcos River along the route of Camino de Los Tejas. He and Burleson donated the land and laid out town lots, the public square and farm lots that became the village of San Marcos. Dr. Merriman's log cabin that he built overlooking the springs has been preserved by the City of San Marcos. Additions to the house at 805 Main Street were constructed and by 1880 the present configuration of rooms was in place. The walls of the front two rooms remain painted with 1800's milk paint. Floors are constructed of long-leaf pine boards. The original one room portion retains the heavy timber wall studs with hand-hewn joints. Unfortunately, the 1800's buggy garage and maid's quarters on the premises could not be saved, but the lumber was salvaged and reused in a new cottage built on the site. Through its 173-year history, many outstanding Bastrop citizens have called 805 Main Street home, including a steam mill operator, a wagon maker and county judge, a Civil War veteran, a prominent physician's son and political candidate, two Main Street merchants and a postmaster.