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History in a
Pecan Shell
Dating from a settlement called Bould Springs (after founding settler
Carey Boulds) in 1852, a post office opened that same year. Four years
later the Bennett family relocated here – becoming the town’s first
permanent residents. The town reported an estimated population of
just over 300 for 1860.
West (as it appears today) came to life in 1881 with the arrival of
the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. It was platted on
a quarter section of land belonging to Thos. M. West, landowner, storekeeper
and postmaster. The West post office opened in 1852 and was followed
by the store (a reversal of how most post offices were opened in Texas)
the following year.
The town incorporated in 1892 and by 1900 the population was estimated
at 2,000. The town had duplicates of all essential businesses and
became a stop on the Texas Electric Traction Railway – an Interurban
line that once connected Waco
with Dallas. Primarily an
Anglo community during it’s early years, Czech and German immigrants
began arriving around 1900. Cotton
and cattle ranching
were the regions economic engines, supplemented by a textile mill
and a sausage factory. The West ISD was formed in 1923.
Over the years West has become established as the center for Texas-Czech
culture despite the fact that it is on the northern extreme of Czech
settlement which stretches from west of Austin
to Colorado
County to the east and as far south as DeWitt
County. |
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