Historic Texas Dance Hall
The El Maton National Hall has a long and interesting history. Purchased by myself, Eric Kacer, in the summer of 2021, it is running as an old fashion Dance Hall and Event center. My vision is to restore the nostalgia of the hall for years of continued memories to be had by all. If you ask anyone that has lived in the area for any length of time, they will have some type of memory from the National Hall. Every generation has their own stories to tell of why they have spent time at the National Hall. I will explain the timeline of the hall later. But for those of us that were born and raised in the area, we can tell a person’s age range based on the events they attended at the National Hall.
My research has given me information from the 60s until now. If anyone has info or pictures of the National Hall from the 1940s until now, please contact me. Email and phone numbers are located on this website. Some of the signs of what decade you spent at the hall are as followed. If you mention that you remember Playing cards or dominoes while others danced and your kids slept on the benches that lined the walls of the hall. Then you were probably in the hall around the 60s to 70s. You might even have danced to the songs from the South Texas Bohemian Cowboys.
Moving along to 80s you were getting to experience Air conditioning and an expansion of the dance floor, then a backstage in the late 80s. This era was filled with Music from The Mix, Fast Forward and Mike Black. The hall was very Popular on Friday, Saturday and an occasional Tejano Band on Sundays. Not to forget the Go Texan BBQ Cookoff and trail rides that were held at the hall. Not many can forget the cars lining the road from the high school to the railroad tracks. The first part of the 90s was filled with Joel Nava and the Border along with the start of the Emotions legacy. In the Mid 90s, the hall shut down, leaving about 7 years of no history or fun.
The National Hall was bought, repaired and raised from the weeds and rotten floors and roof, by Linda Salyer in 2001 and put back in operation in 2002. This era was known by all, near and far, for the Thursday summer series. The National Hall was flooded with over 400 screaming teenagers listening to the sounds from The Emotions. I talk to people from all over that remember driving to El Maton to hear the Emotions play. Throughout the years people were constantly holding private events that they will never forget. Many memories of weddings, birthday parties, family Reunions, class reunions, and quinceaneras were had here in EL Maton Texas.
When I find the time and a little more documentation, I will upload the History of the National Hall from when it was built, around 1918 or 1919 and being used as a school house, to where it is now.
