| Author: | Carol Phillips Snyder, David L. Herrington, Smithville Heritage Society | ISBN: | 9781439638217 |
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing Inc. | Publication: | March 23, 2009 |
| Imprint: | Arcadia Publishing | Language: | English |
| Author: | Carol Phillips Snyder, David L. Herrington, Smithville Heritage Society |
| ISBN: | 9781439638217 |
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing Inc. |
| Publication: | March 23, 2009 |
| Imprint: | Arcadia Publishing |
| Language: | English |
Smithville�s reputation is that of a railroad town, yet it offers an even richer history. Fertile land and the Colorado River attracted pioneers with energy, dreams, and a hunger to build. After Thomas Gazley chose head-right land in Stephen F. Austin�s Second Colony in 1827, area settlers joined the fray to secure a Texas free from Mexico�s supremacy. Some represented Bastrop County in the new Republic of Texas�s legislature. Others stayed home and built a village on the banks of the Colorado. Businessmen influenced the growth of Smithville by attracting the railroad, and soon Smithville was the largest city in the county, offering a place for businesses and families to thrive. Smithville�s fortunes have risen and fallen with the railroad, the river, and the Central Texas economy, and it has again become a vital community, this time nurturing scientists, artists, filmmakers, and antique lovers.
Smithville�s reputation is that of a railroad town, yet it offers an even richer history. Fertile land and the Colorado River attracted pioneers with energy, dreams, and a hunger to build. After Thomas Gazley chose head-right land in Stephen F. Austin�s Second Colony in 1827, area settlers joined the fray to secure a Texas free from Mexico�s supremacy. Some represented Bastrop County in the new Republic of Texas�s legislature. Others stayed home and built a village on the banks of the Colorado. Businessmen influenced the growth of Smithville by attracting the railroad, and soon Smithville was the largest city in the county, offering a place for businesses and families to thrive. Smithville�s fortunes have risen and fallen with the railroad, the river, and the Central Texas economy, and it has again become a vital community, this time nurturing scientists, artists, filmmakers, and antique lovers.
