Historical Markers and Landmarks of Georgetown Texas

Historical Places - Historical Markers and Landmarks
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Georgetown High School Building -Historical Marker 507 E. University, Georgetown click on thumbnail images for an enlarged view Historical Marker text Built in 1923-24 on the original site of Southwestern University, this structure served as Georgetown High School for over fifty years. Designed by Austin architect Charles H. Page and exhibiting influences of the Spanish Colonial Revival style of architecture, the building features a Baroque entryway with cast stone detailing that includes motifs of shells, flowers, urns, and garlands. A gymnasium was added to the back of the building in the 1940s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1988 we are unable to locate marker A. M. Brown Cabin - Historical Marker FM 2243, 6 miles west of Georgetown Historical Marker text When Asa M. Brown cut cedar, elm, and oak trees and built this cabin on his 317-acre State of Texas claim in 1853, this land was on the frontier. His chimney and fireplace were of hand-hewn native stone, the floor of dirt. William Wood, one of the many later owners, enlarged the home. In 1909-66, L. M., T. L., Annie, and Charles Hughes by turns owned and occupied the property. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Garey restored the cabin after their purchase, 1966. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1974	Original Site of Southwestern University - Historical Marker 507 E. University, Georgetown click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view Historical Marker text The Methodist church established four colleges in Texas prior to the Civil War: Rutersville College (1840), Wesleyan College (1844), McKenzie Institute (1848), and Soule University (1856). The Rev. Dr. Francis Asbury Mood (1830-1884) was named president of Soule University in Washington County in 1868. Soon after he took office, plans were begun to relocate the school and develop a centralized Methodist university. About the same time, city leaders in Georgetown began plans to establish a college. This site was donated for that purpose by John J. Dimmitt and G. W. Glasscock, Jr., and a community school, instead of a college, opened in 1870. Georgetown was among the cities competing for the site of the planned Methodist university. In 1873 this property was chosen as the site of the new institution, which was granted a union charter (with the four earlier colleges) in 1875 as Southwestern University. Dr. Mood served as president until his death. Buildings added to the campus after 1873 included a young ladies school, a chapel, a boys dormitory (Giddings Hall), and a gymnasium. Southwestern University moved to its present site in 1900 but continued to operate a preparatory department here until 1916.
click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view Site of Marshall-Carver High School - Historical Marker Blue Hole Park, near Rock St. and 2nd St. intersection Historical Marker text 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. A scholar himself, he persuaded the school board to allow him to provide classes through the high school level. He named the new program "The Georgetown Colored High School," and the first student enrolled in 1913. A new high school building was erected in 1923 due to increasing enrollment. When Marshall left the school in 1930, it was renamed Marshall School in his honor. The name was changed to George Washington Carver in the 1940s. In 1962, the parents of seventeen Carver students who had been denied admission to Georgetown's white schools filed a lawsuit in U. S. District Court to force integration. The court ordered the Georgetown Independent School District to integrate one grade level per year beginning with the first grad.e Partial integration began in the fall of 1964. Convinced that gradual integration would not benefit their children, African American parents appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit Court which upheld the lower court's verdict. Proponents of full and immediate integration engaged in a letter-writing campaign to the U. S. Attorney General, the U. S. Department of Health, education and Welfare, and the Federal Assistance Program urging another review of the case. In the fall of 1965, the Georgetown School Board agreed to a plan to complete integration of the school system by September 1967. The Carver School was permanently closed due to integration.	click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view North Fork of the San Gabriel River - Historical Marker 3.5 mi. W of Georgetown via FM 2338, south on CR 264 (look for brown Lake Georgetown sign), turn into overlook past Corps of Engineers office, Georgetown vicinity Historical Marker text The North Fork of the San Gabriel River, part of the Brazos River system, flows east across Williamson County to join with the Middle and South forks at Georgetown. Abundant fish and wildlife attracted numerous Indian tribes to the areas along the stream in historic times. Named Rio de San Xavier by Spanish explorer and priest Fray Isidro Felix Espinosa in 1716, it was known as the San Gabriel River by the time Williamson County was created in 1848. Anglo settlements along the river in the 1800s led to the establishment of four major crossings which took the names of families living at the sites: Booty, Russell (later Jenkins), Box, and Hunt. Located along the stream near the crossings were homes, mills, schools, churches, cemeteries, postal stations, and a gin. Booty, Russell, and Box Crossings were inundated by the waters of Lake Georgetown, but Hunt Crossing remains above the reservoir. Planned as part of a flood control measure for the Brazos River system, a dam creating Lake Georgetown was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1979. The lake and adjoining parks and recreational facilities were opened in 1981. click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view
click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view San Gabriel Park - Historical Marker E. of Austin Ave., N of San Gabriel River, in San Gabriel Park Historical Marker text The land and springs around this site made it a favored camping site for local Indian tribes for centuries before the Spanish discovered it. Raids, drought and conflict led the Spanish to abandon the area in 1756. The Mexican State of Coahuila and Texas granted a colonization contract to Robert Leftwich in 1825. Conflicting contracts were granted to Stephen F. Austin and Sterling C. Robertson. George W. Glasscock, Sr. (1810-1868) purchased the land while speculating for Thomas B. Huling and Company. In 1839 Glasscock received two headrights including this land as part of his share of assets when the company dissolved. The site had become a popular gathering place for settlers when Sam Houston spoke here in 1859. It became known as "The Fairgrounds." Large annual fairs, reunions and religious revivals drew crowds from surrounding areas. The county's first public hanging took place here in 1886. Williamson County Old Settlers' Association, formed in 1904, used the area for annual gatherings, eventually leasing 33 acres and building reunion structures. Helen Glasscock, the widow of George Glasscock, Jr., sold the site to I. M. Williams in 1912. A devastating flood in 1921 swept away the fairgrounds. Georgetown citizens requested that the city buy the site from the Williams family and name it San Gabriel Park in 1933. Under the direction of R. E. Ward, the city improved the park in the 1930s and 1940s. A river wall, low water crossing, large building and rest rooms were erected with funding and labor from the Federal Works Progress Administration. Rodeo pens, sports fields and further land acquisitions continue to ensure that the park provides recreation and shelter for area citizens.	Railroad Produce Warehouse - Historical Marker 401 W. Sixth Street Historical Marker text Built in 1904 by William Pearce to provide storage space for a wholesale grocery company, this building was part of a larger industrial complex. A number of buildings were constructed along nearby railroad lines, including an ice plant and bottling works, grist and planing mills, and a passenger and freight depot. Thick stone walls and spring water channeled through the basement of the structure helped to cool produce. This site is a reminder of the role industry and the railroad played in the economic development of Georgetown. (1997) Incise on base: Preserved for the future by Karalei Nunn and Tom Nichols Southwestern University Main Building - Historical Marker 1000 E. University Ave. Historical Marker text 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. Builders, Flume & Waterston (from British Isles), had worked on State Capitol. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962
we are unable to locate marker Jesse Cooper House - Historical Marker Wilbarger Point, off SH 29, 1.5 mi. E of Georgetown Tennessee native Jesse Eugene Cooper (1855-1944) came to Texas in 1876. The following year he helped establish a Georgetown newspaper, the "Williamson County Sun." In addition to his role as editor, he also founded a local bank and cottonseed oil mill. The C. S. Belford Lumber Co. built this home for Cooper and his second wife, Sara (Wilbarger) (d. 1935), in 1911-12. The American Foursquare design features rustic detailing of native limestone. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1988	click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view Mankins Crossing - Historical Marker SH 25, at San Gabriel River bridge, 3 miles east of Georgetown on Hwy 29 east - turn right SH 25 Historical Marker text (100 yards west) This historic crossing on the San Gabriel River was named for pioneer settler Samuel Mankins, who purchased land along the river in 1849. The limestone bed in the river provided a convenient crossing for area farmers. A nearby community included a school, church, and cotton gin. A 1914 concrete and gravel causeway was replaced by a State Highway Department concrete bridge in 1931. After the Highway Department built a new bridge on higher ground at Highway 29 in 1958, the Mankins Crossing Bridge became a popular recreational site for area residents.
click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view Double File Trail - Historical Marker SH 29, 3 miles east of Georgetown Historical Marker text 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. Of the 200 to 250 families reported in East Texas in the 1820s, only about 150 remained after the move. Early sites in Williamson County were settled where this trail crossed waterways. Texas Rangers and the Santa Fe Expedition also traveled the track. click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view marker is located in the Founders park at Myrtle and 9th st FOUNDING OF GEORGETOWN HISTORICAL MARKER Historical Marker text ACCORDING TO LOCAL TRADITION WILLIAMSON COUNTY'S FIRST SIX COMMISSIONERS MET HERE UNDER A STATELY OAK TREE IN MAY 1848 TO CHOOSE A LOCATION FOR THE COUNTY SEAT. GEORGE WASHINGTON GLASSCOCK, SR., LATER JOINED THEM AND OFFERED TO DONATE LAND HE OWNED JOINTLY WITH THOMAS B. HULING AS A SITE FOR THE COUNTY SEAT. THE LAND WAS BOUNDED BY THE OAK TREE AT ONE CORNER AND THE SAN GABRIEL RIVER TO THE NORTH AND WEST. THE OFFER WAS ACCEPTED AND IN JULY 1848 THE COMMISSIONERS NAMED THE TOWN GEORGETOWN IN GLASSCOCK'S HONOR. THE LANDMARK OAK TREE WAS FELLED BY A STORM IN 1886.	click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view Texan Santa Fe Expedition - Historical Marker 3 miles east of Georgetown on SH 29 Historical Marker text 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. Cooke and Jose Antonio Navarro as commissioners. Cooke began recruiting in April, forming an artillery and five infantry companies. Remainder of 321 members included merchants (with $200,000 worth of goods), teamsters, guides and others. George W. Kendall, of the New Orleans "Picayune", joined to write classic book on the venture. Travel was by 21 slow ox-wagons. First day's march, June 19, 1841, ended on the San Gabriel, and expedition's campsite is near here. Before reaching the Santa Fe Trail some 600 miles north, the men were to have torturing experiences with drought and unknown terrain. Ill from hardships, the group was betrayed into the hands of Mexican authorities and sent as prisoners to Mexico City. However, this penetration of upper Texas gave the Republic stronger claims to her northern lands. click on thumbnail image for an enlarged view San Gabriel Lodge No. 89, A. F. & A. M. 800 N. College St Historical Marker text Organized in 1851, three years after the creation of Williamson County, San Gabriel Lodge No. 89 was chartered in January 1852 with John T. Cox, a Methodist minister from South Carolina, as worshipful master. The lodge grew rapidly with the new county seat. An Eastern Star chapter was formed and met in the Masonic Lodge. San Gabriel Lodge No. 89 assisted in laying the cornerstone for the State Capitol building in Austin in 1885. The lodge has long been involved in such Williamson County matters as public education, its members serving on the board of education as well as in the roles of superintendents, teachers and patrons. One hundred and forty-eight years after its inception, San Gabriel Lodge No. 89 continues in the traditions of its founders. (1999)