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Ledbetter
street scene
TE photo, 2004 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Named for early settlers, Ledbetter had a head start over other Fayette
County towns when it was the first town to get a railroad.
Ledbetter's heyday seems to have been the 1870s and 1880s. It was
a voting precinct and the first town in Fayette County to form its
own ISD, incorporating for that very reason.
Ledbetter began waning around 1900, as La
Grange's star was ascending. It's hard to compete when the "other
town" has the courthouse.
But even in decline, Ledbetter still had four stores, two doctors,
two druggists, two lumberyards and a blacksmith in 1902. By 1947 the
population remained at a healthy 300 people, although the churches
were gone and only stores and filling stations remained to serve travelers
along highway 290. That year the town dis-incorporated, since the
Ledbetter ISD merged with Giddings.
The gravel industry is the major economic engine in Ledbetter today,
according to the Handbook of Texas. In 1986 the town had three businesses.
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Ledbetter
church
TE photo, 2004 |
Ledbetter
intersection
TE photo |
Gotcher
Trace historical marker in Ledbetter
TE photo, 2004 |
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