Experiencing the elegance of one of downtown Seguin’s most iconic buildings
As a child, Patricia Saucedo stood witness as her father was forced to rebuild their family home time and time again.
Whether it was after one of the many record-breaking floods or the fire that ripped through that same Glen Cove home on Christmas Eve, Saucedo says nothing could put the brakes on rebuilding their home.
Now, years later, Saucedo has been left to pick up the hammer for her father, but this time to restore some of Seguin’s most precious structures.
In January, Saucedo officially reopened the historic Mosheim Mansion, which sits just south of the Texas Theater on North Austin Street.
After a fire left much of the home in ruins in April of 2021, Saucedo purchased the property and began the journey of one of her largest restoration projects to date.
In fact, Patricia’s desire to restore the Mosheim was driven by more than just her love for historical restoration. She says she wanted to offer the Mosheim to the Seguin community in honor of her late parents, Dr. Juan Garcia Perez and mother, Margarita.
“I think the reason that I’m not afraid of structures when they are devastated is because I watched my dad rebuild that house after the floods and after the fire,” Patricia said. “He was a physician in Seguin, but a second thing that he loved to do was construction so I learned from him. I think that as far as the Mosheim in Seguin, I was drawn to that because I felt, first of all, I had started a project that is at 902 N. Austin Street also had a fire, and that house, which is called the Erskine Hollamon Home which has a historical marker on it, and when I started the project there, the Mosheim caught on fire. It was being run then as the Olivia Mansion, and I think that for me, one of the reasons that I was drawn to do that project is because I felt like the Mosheim family had built that home and the name had taken, I guess, a turn to the Olivia Mansion to be able to have a fresh kind of new marketing for a bed and breakfast, and I felt like, historically, it should go back to the original name and be seen as a historical home that it is in Seguin and open up back for the community there.”
Originally built in 1898, the Mosheim is noted as the first home in Seguin to have running water and electricity. A few years prior to the fire, the home changed its name and operated as the Olivia Mansion. Today, the newly renovated home serves as an event center featuring parlors, a ballroom and several bedrooms – bedrooms that Saucedo says are each eloquently named after her four sisters, Adriana Garcia Trevino, Martha Alicia Garcia Ramos, Nena Garcia Gomez and Mary Lou Garcia Castillo.
Detailed with carefully handcrafted staircases, elegant chandeliers, and wrap-around verandas, the Mosheim’s giant presence from the street does not compare to the elegant affair beyond those brick walls.
“I think that I was drawn to it because it was on Main Street and felt like the excitement of downtown Seguin would eventually go up that way on North Austin Street,” Patricia said. “And I just felt like it was a great opportunity to be able to do something in tribute to my parents.”
Although there have been challenges along the way, Patricia’s desire to breathe life into the Mosheim has always been the focus.
Attention to detail has been of the utmost importance for Patricia, who continues to be selective in designing the home. At the helm of those decisions were her parents, who “inspired” the property through their own legacy in Seguin. Saucedo says that after immigrating to this country and raising a family, her parents worked to open the first bilingual health clinic in Seguin.
For Patricia, this venture has not only been an opportunity to restore the Mosheim and to retell its story but also to maintain a connection to her own roots.
“It’s been a success in that I’ve put an incredible team together that has been able to do it right and really take back that building to what I feel is important because she is just a majestic beauty,” she said. “So I’m proud of that but also excited to share it with the community because I feel like every time they walk in, there is no way you can’t think of my parents because I have something of them in almost every room and so I’ve been able to share more stories about my parents and that keeps their memory alive for me and that’s what my goal was here.”
Today, Patricia has left the property in the hands of her daughter, Erica Saucedo who works to bring life back into the Mosheim. As operations manager, Erica taps into the various potential opportunities for the home to include things such as meetings, trainings, weddings and family reunions.
“She’s an incredible artist and she is a project manager,” Patricia said. “She has a way of looking at life and at art and at community that I think is amazing. She’s already worked on some things with Yvonne De La Rosa with the ballet folklorico there and what I feel I bring that is the most incredible thing back in this community is the next generation and she is one of my three daughters and is incredibly just talented and driven. She loves the project.”
Any respect in working to grow the mansion’s potential is heartfelt as Erica credits her mother for serving as the example.
“I absolutely love my job! I have over 10 years of experience in project management,” Erica said. “So bringing my expertise to a shared vision dreamt up by my remarkable mother is a dream come true.”
When you have such a gorgeous mansion, Erica says folks can’t help but imagine their own special occasions there too.
“I’d have to say I am most excited to bring guests into the expansive ballroom with its colossal ceilings and sprawling imported terrazzo floors,” Erica added. “I love how clients walk into the space and instantly start making connections and dreams of how they would use our venue on their special day. We have had weddings, professional dance concerts, rehearsal dinners, corporate events, local community meetings, and more, and with each event, my favorite part is watching the space shift and adapt to bring a special something to each client’s vision.
Erica says she hopes the community embraces the Mosheim Mansion as a gift. She says while it could have sat as a vacant eyesore in the middle of town, its limitless list of possibilities thankfully caught her mother’s attention.
“My personal goal for the business is that we create a thriving and welcoming event space in Seguin where people can come together to make lasting and unforgettable memories,” she said. “I am driven by the legacy my grandparents started in Seguin; they were true members of their community, actively invested in the people, places, and culture of the town, and always leading with compassion and care. I see that reflected in our dream of running a historic venue where people feel both at home and like royalty!”
While the property is open for business, the hope is for it to eventually become a bed and breakfast, bringing in even more people to experience the stories that have been resurrected within its walls.
After a labor of love, she says the history of the Mosheim is ready to embrace its future.
“It’s just a story that fascinates me and so that’s why it was important for me to just keep it open for Seguin,” Saucedo said. “I think tearing the building down would be terrible. I couldn’t see that happen and so I’m excited for where we are at.”
For more on the Mosheim Mansion visit 409 N. Austin St.
