History
Site of Bartlett Colored School
Site of Bartlett Colored School. The farming community of Bartlett was founded in 1882 when the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad reached the town, which is situated on the county line between Bell and Williamson counties. By 1912, a second railway served the town, and Bartlett became a shipping point for area farm and ranch products.
History
Site of Concord School
First settled in the 1850s, this area boasted a school named Clear Creek by 1857. Concord School was established in nearby Brizendine Mills in 1883. By 1888 the Concord School was located in the Bear Creek settlement, succeeding the Clear Creek School. In 1896 H. N. Elliott and J. E. Elliott gave their land on the shore of Bear Creek for the site of a one-room schoolhouse.
History
Site of Gano Community
Settlement in this area began in the 1870s. The Wilder family operated a cotton gin, grist mill, blacksmith shop and general store. Other pioneer residents included the Allcorn, Watson, Casey, Gambrell, Gregory, and Howe families. By the 1890s the community was named Gano in honor of Confederate general R.M. Gano and included a post office, school and church.
History
Site of Marshall-Carver High School
The first school for African American students in Georgetown was established in the early 20th century. Called "The Colored School," the institution served grades 1 through 8 and provided the only local educational opportunities for African Americans. The school's principal, Mr. S. C. Marshall, was an outspoken advocate of higher education.
History
Site of Moravia School
Site of Moravia School In the mid-nineteenth century, Moravian immigrants began moving into Central Texas, attracted by fertile soils and the hope for better lives. One who settled here was Pavel Machu (1834-1907), a native of the Vsetin Valley in what is now the Czech republic. Machu came to Texas in 1870 with his wife, Rozina (Trlica), and their three children, settling first in Austin County.
History
Site of Neusser (Naizerville)
Moravian immigrant Johann Neusser (Jan Naizer) came to Texas in 1872 and settled in Fayette County. In 1881, he and a number of fellow immigrants moved their families to this area. The Georgetown and Granger Railroad Company built a line through Neusser's land in 1890, and soon a general store and dance hall were built near the rail line.
History
Site of New Bern Church, School, and Cemetery
Swiss and German immigrants who settled here in the early 1890s named their settlement for Bern, Switzerland. In 1892 the newly organized St. John Lutheran Church built a sanctuary which also housed the New Bern School here on 2.5 acres donated by Daniel Murphy. The New Bern Cemetery (0.1 mi.E of this site) was established in 1895 on 3 acres acquired from Friedrich and Anna Stauffer.
History
Site of Stony Point School
Stony Point School was established in Williamson County by 1891. Children living in the rural area attended the school, which served students from grades one through eight. Most of the students were sons and daughters of families that emigrated from Sweden. For many of the children, attendance at school was their first exposure to English on a regular basis.
History
Slave Burial Ground in Old Round Rock Cemetery
Near the gravesite of outlaw Sam Bass, one-half acre of Old Round Rock Cemetery was set aside for slave burials. Enclosed by cedar posts and barbed wire, sites are marked head and foot with large limestone rocks. Some rocks are hand-grooved with names and dates. White graves here are dated as early as 1851. The first marked grave of a freed slave is dated 1880.
History
Sloan House
Home built 1854 by David McCurdy Sloan (1827-1912) and wife, Mary Elizabeth Easley (1829-1890), who came to Texas from South Carolina. Finished lumber was hauled from Houston; rest hand-hewn in nearby river bottom, by slave labor. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
Smart-McCormick Home
Smart-McCormick Home, 1855. Built by Bryce M. Smart (1816-1880), who had a grist mill, tannery, freight line. His children rescued newborn calves abandoned on nearby Chisholm Trail. McCormicks, 5th generation descendants, now own home. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
Southwestern University
Mother of all Texas colleges and universities. Absorbed charters of Rutersville College, Fayette County (1840), and Wesleyan Male and Female College, San Augustine (1844), chartered by the Republic of Texas; McKenzie College, Clarksville (1848), and Soule University, Chappell Hill (1856).
Architecture
Southwestern University Main Building
Oldest structure on permanent campus. Planned 1895-97 as chapel, library, classrooms, offices, when the regent (president) was Dr. J. H. McLean (1838-1925); built 1898-1900 under regent R. S. Hyer (1860-1929). From throughout the state came building fund gifts, which even included land from plantation of late Texas president Sam Houston. Neo-Romanesque style.
Architecture
St. James Church
First Episcopal services in Taylor were held 1878 by the Rev. E. Wickens, a missionary. Visitations were also made by the Rt. Rev. Alexander Gregg, first Bishop of Texas. Services were in homes and opera house. This church of cypress, oak and pine woods was completed 1893 in traditional cruciform plan. The organ installed in 1914 is still in use.
History
Steele Store-Makemson Hotel Building
Built about 1870 by M.E. Steele on the site of an early log hotel, this is one of Georgetown's oldest commercial structures. During Steele's ownership it housed a mercantile and a bank. Emma Dickman Makemson later operated a hotel here from the early 1900s until 1924.
Architecture
Stubblefield Building
Erected in 1871, this structure of hand-cut native limestone is perhaps the oldest still standing in Liberty Hill. it was built by S.P. Stubblefield (1824-1902), a native of Alabama and veteran of the Mexican War (1846-48), and owned by his family until 1907. The lower floor has housed various stores and businesses, while the upper floor was often used as living quarters.
History
Taylor Brethren Church
During the 1880s, many Czech Protestant immigrants who settled in the Taylor area were members of the Unity of the Brethren, founded in 1457 by followers of the Czech reformer and martyr Jan Hus. These local Brethren found it difficult to worship in area Protestant churches because of the language barrier -- most conducted services in German or English.
Architecture
Taylor National Bank
A. O. Watson of Austin designed this red sandstone building for the Taylor National Bank, which was organized in 1888. Completed in 1894, it has also housed the law firm of Mantor and Briggs, an office of the Weather Bureau, and the Taylor Refining Company. The Romanesque and Renaissance Revival styling features detailing of limestone, granite, and pressed metal.
Architecture
Taylor Post Office
The first post office established in this community opened in 1876 under the name Taylorsville. In 1882, when the city was incorporated, it was renamed Taylor. The post office was housed in a number of locations until this structure was built in 1929-30.
History
Taylor-Cooper House
Founded in 1848, interim county commissioners chose Georgetown, Texas, as the seat of Williamson County. Soon after, the Taylor family moved to Georgetown. Josiah Taylor opened one of the earliest businesses in the new city, a store on the courthouse square. Taylor's son, Emzy Taylor (1841-1895), worked at his father's store until he enlisted in the Confederate army around 1861.
History
Tex Avery (Birthplace)
Born in Taylor on February 26, 1908, Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery is one of the most important figures in the history of animation. Directing cartoons at Warner Brothers and MGM from 1935 to 1955, he developed such legendary characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Droopy and Chilly Willy.
History
Texan Santa Fe Expedition
A dramatic chapter in administration (1838-1841) of Republic of Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar. Aware of United States-Mexico commerce crossing Texas by the Santa Fe Trail near the Canadian River, President Lamar sought similar trade advantages for Texas. He initiated the Texan Santa Fe Expedition early in 1841, with Dr. Richard F. Brenham, Col. Wm. G.
History
The Double File Trail
Laid out about 1828 by Delaware Indians, "The Double File Trail" got its name because two horsemen could ride it side by side. The Delawares carved this trace migrating ahead of expanding white settlements. They moved from what they called "the Redlands" in East Texas to Mexico near present Nuevo Laredo.
History
The Double File Trail
As the Delaware Indians moved from their home in the "Redlands" of east Texas in 1828 to near present Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, they laid out this trace. It was named Double File Trail because two horsemen could ride side by side. The first settlement in Williamson County, Kenney Fort, was built here at the Brushy Creek crossing in 1838. It served as a way station and for Indian protection.
History
The Harrell-Stone House
Built about 1895 for lumberman Henry W. Harrell, this Victorian house resembles others erected in this neighborhood by the C. S. Belford Lumber Co. It was sold in 1907 to storekeeper W. F. Magee. In 1937 the structure was purchased by Judge Samuel Vaughan Stone, civic leader and county judge for 35 years, and his wife Berenice, who restored it.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.
