We were on our way somewhere else when we stumbled upon Lampasas, Texas.
We stopped at the H-E-B for a sandwich and we were looking for a place to have a little picnic when I realized this was a county seat! The town was settled from a land grant given to John Burleson for his service during the Texas Revolution. He died before the town was laid out but his daughter and son-in-law took over.
One of the first buildings in town was the Star Hotel. The Center of this hotel was built in 1856 by John Gracy. It had ten rooms: 5 on the first floor and 5 on the second. It cost fifty cents a night to stay there. Some of the people that stayed there were cowboys who couldn't afford the cost so they were allowed to stay in the attic for free. The son of the owner, 13-year old James, was killed by Indians in 1862. He was buried on site until the Oak Hill Cemetery was opened. The hotel was enlarged over the years and then in 1965, it closed. The building was then used as an attorney office, savings and loan, among other things, before it sat vacant for many years. In 2017 it was purchased and under rehab. I tried to look how much it would cost to stay there but I couldn't find a website to book a reservation. Maybe they aren't done?
This was Hart House built by tanner Thomas Hart. It was a two room, two-story building that was a stop on the Austin Stage Coach route. In 1870, the building was enlarged to accommodate visitors.
In 1882, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway came to Lampasas and it was the end of the line. This opened up the town for trade. Then two mineral springs were discovered: Hancock Springs and Hannah Springs and Lampasas became a health resort. This is the Santa Fe Depot. There were mule-drawn carriages that would take people from here to the Park Hotel near Hancock Springs.
I found this photo of the Park Hotel on the internet. It looks very cool. It had 200 rooms and cabins. The cabins were for families. There were also rooms for single men, called Bachelor's row. It seems to have been quite the place with ballrooms, dining rooms, parlors and an outdoor bandstand. This is all in addition to the springs themselves. By the 1890s, the railway had continued the line further west. That plus advances in medicine made the springs obsolete. The hotel burned to the ground in 1895.
Like all counties, the initial courthouse for Lampasas county, which was created in 1856, was a log cabin structure. In 1871, they opened their first courthouse only to have it destroyed by arson on Christmas Eve of that year! Most of the county records were destroyed by the fire. They used various locations for county business. In 1873, they were using another little wooden structure when the Sulphur Creek rose in a rain storm flooding the city. The remaining county records, along with the little wooden structure they were in, were washed away. This courthouse was built in 1884 and, though damaged, has survived subsequent floods in 1916, 1936 and 1967. It has been restored with the help of one of my favorite organizations, the Texas Historical Commission. This is where we had our picnic lunch.
There are tons of churches in Lampasas. This is St. Mary's Episcopal Church, built in 1885. I guess St. Mary is a popular church name in Lampasas as there's a St. Mary's Catholic Church as well.
This was the Christian Central Church. The congregation formed in 1879. This church was built in 1905 to replace an older one. It's now a funeral home.
They also have the Lampasas County Museum which we did
not have time to visit. It wouldn't have mattered anyway as they are only open on Friday and Saturday from 10 - 4. It looks like it's pretty cool, though. The exhibits around the history of the town and the county in general look interesting.
This building on the town square was built in 1884 and housed a bank among other things. Then in 1900, it was purchased by J. N. Manuel and housed his hardware store for the next 60 years.
Some of the buildings in downtown Lampasas. I like that they are so colorful. I wish I knew what they had been.
Apparently back in the early days (1870s), Lampasas was a lawless community! There's a historical marker that describes a gunfight in the Lampasas Saloon involving the Horrell brothers. They were five brothers that were anti-Hispanic and accused of murder among other crimes. In the saloon, they killed four state police! Ben fled to New Mexico where he was eventually killed after killing a Hispanic constable. Merritt was killed by John Higgins in a gunfight in the town square. Mart and Tom were jailed in Meridian Texas when a vigilante mob broke in and killed them. The last brother, Sam, packed up his family and moved to Oregon. All this over a period of five years!
I would loved to have hung around in Lampasas a little longer. It was a cute little town with lots of history. About 7,300 people live there. The biggest employers are Lampasas ISD, Walmart and Ajinomoto (which is a food manufacturer). They have the two big grocery stores: Walmart and H-E-B (which is where we got our sandwiches for lunch!). They have the standard fast food chains but no big chain restaurants.
The thing I found the most interesting is that they were only about an hour from either Waco or Austin. That was weird to me because it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere.
And finally, it's home to the World's Largest Spur! I could live here.
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