Goldthwaite, Texas: The City of Windmills

As you drive along the backroads of Texas, you'll find yourself in some cool little towns, like Goldthwaite. You can't stop in all of them but if it were up to me...

I had planned to make two stops on our way home but WAZE took us on another path and we ended up stopping for gas in Goldthwaite, Texas. From the gas station, I could see the county courthouse and I was excited. 

Goldthwaite is the county seat of Mills County. It was a tiny somewhat lawless village in the 1870s before the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad came through in 1885. The first building that was erected was this county jail. The upper floor is where the jail cells were located. The lower floor housed the Sheriff and his family until 1912. 

The building served as the county jail until 1977.

Goldthwaite was established in 1885 when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad came through town and was named for Joseph G Goldthwaite, a railroad employee. The Railroad had big plans for Goldthwaite, building their shops here and intending that the town be a division point. The first depot was built in 1898 and used for both passengers and freight. This depot was built in 1916 and used for passengers, converting the original depot to just freight. 

Unfortunately, the townspeople that worked for the railroad didn't want to work with the Black employees. They kind of screwed themselves out of prosperity. Due to the labor issues, the railroad moved their shops to nearby Brownwood. Train service stopped in 1972 and the depot was demolished some time after that. I read that the historical society wanted to buy it for the museum but because of potential structural issues, it was too much of a liability.

This is a photo of a painting of the original courthouse in Mills County. It was built in 1890 shortly after the jail. Unfortunately, it burned in 1912.

The current courthouse was built in 1913 and still stands. As we had only "stopped for gas", we didn't have time to go into the courthouse, plus it was a Saturday so it was closed but I've seen some photos and it looks lovely.

We drove by the Mills County General Store and I looked it up. They have everything! Hardware, guns, clothes, food. I would have loved to take a peek in there.

Another opportunity missed was a visit to the Mills County Historical Museum. It lives in the old Palmer Building that was erected in 1893. In 1906, a second story was added. The lower level used to house the Piggly Wiggly, though I read a rumor the first tenant was a saloon. The second story housed a meeting room, then offices. In 1977, the building was sold to the Mills County Historical Museum Corporation. From what I've read, it looks really cool. They have rooms to represent historical businesses and the visit is free!

There didn't seem to be much happening in downtown Goldthwaite on a Saturday morning. But with only 1800 people living here, there probably isn't much going on at any time. There didn't seem to be any fast food places other than a Subway and a Dairy Queen. No chain restaurants. There was the Dollar General, the General Store, a Family Dollar and a DG Market, which I think is related to Dollar General.

The town is called the City of Windmills due to the "vast number of water pumping windmills needed for early ranching and homesteading." I didn't see any windmills on my drive through but I wasn't necessarily looking.

Goldthwaite seems like a cool little town. If you're in the area, check it out!