|
Flatonia Bird's
Eye View, 1881
Click on image to enlarge
Courtesy
Amon Carter Museum |
Historical
Marker
(on Main Square, 0.1 mile E of Intersection of Hwy 90 & NE Main, Flatonia.)
FLATONIA
Market town for
rich agricultural area, on one of this state's earliest railroads
(chartered 1841 by the Republic
of Texas).
Situated on land granted in 1840s to rancher William A. Faires. Germans
began to settle here in 1860s, and soon needed a shipping point for
their products. Sailing master Friedrich Wilhelm Flato (1820-1899)
and his wife Sophie, of the German Colony, had a store about 2 miles
south of here. In the 1870s, Czech immigrants arrived, and the Galveston,
Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad (delayed by Civil War, 1861-65)
was built to this point. John Cline, F. W. Flato, John Lattimore,
and railroad president T. W. Pierce founded Flatonia on Oct. 16, 1873,
naming it for the Flato family. At the same time, adjacent landowners
Anton Freytag and James Faires platted Freytag and Faires' additions
to the town. Post office opened in 1874.
Town was incorporated Nov. 8, 1875. Soon it had churches, a school,
cotton gins, a newspaper (The Flatonia "Argus"), a cottonseed oil
mill, and other businesses. A casino was built for political gatherings,
dances, dramas, and other uses. In 1886, a second railroad, the San
Antonio & Aransas Pass, reached here. Throughout its first century,
the town has remained industrious, thrifty, and stable.
1973 |
Flatonia Landmarks
& Photo Gallery
|
Old post office
wall mural showing train & switch tower
Photo
courtesy Bill Trevillion, February 2015 |
Intersection
showing railroad crossing & switch tower
TE Photo,
2003 |
| A
railroad town with a spacious median between main streets and the
last switching tower left in Texas. The tower was saved from
demolition through the efforts of Flatonians Martha and Arnold
Tauch. Exceptional museum, rock buildings, and a Theater named
The
Lyric. Flatonia also has many antique shops and the town namesake's
gravesite. |
|
|
Arnold
Tauch Sr
Photo
courtesy Flatonia Chamber of Commerce |
Central Texas
Rail History Center
104 E. South Main St.
Photo
courtesy Bill Trevillion, February 2015 |
Lyric Theater
grand reopening on April 7, 2017
Photo
courtesy James Longmire |
The 1886 Arnim
& Lane Building
TE
Photo, 2002 |
Arnim & Lane
Building vintage photo
Courtesy
Flatonia Chamer of Commerce
More Texas Then
& Now |
L - Arnim as
a young man
R - Arnim as an old man
Courtesy
Flatonia Chamer of Commerce |
Lane
Courtesy
Flatonia Chamer of Commerce |
The 1901 Former
Post Office Building
Photo
courtesy John
J. Germann, February 2015 |
M. Fernay Book
Store 1887 Tile Sign
TE Photo,
2003 |
Cast Iron Building
Threshold
TE Photo,
2003 |
Sea Level Marker
TE Photo,
2003 |
Former Jail
in Flatonia
TE Photo,
2002
More Texas
Jails |
Flatonia SAAP
Freight Depot
TE Photo,
2002
More Texas
Depots |
Crossed Tracks
TE Photo,
2002 |
Newspaper Racks
TE Photo,
2003 |
Flatonia Masonic
Lodge
TE Photo,
2003 |
Dove On Church
Steeple
TE Photo, 2003 |
Mockingbird
on Old Spanish Trail sign
TE Photo, 2002
See
Birds in Texas |
Tin buildings
TE Photo,
2002 |
Friendly Tavern
TE Photo, 2003 |
Flatonia water
tower and approaching train
Photo
courtesy Kathryn L. Geesaman
More Texas
Water Towers |
Photographer's
Note:
"Flatonia is really a neat town with a goodly amount of pride
in its history... You mentioned that the community of Flatonia actually
started about two miles south(east), which it did in 1870. The community
was there long enough before it moved to the railroad to have established
both a post office and a cemetery. The post office building is, of
course, long gone but the cemetery is still there. Here are two photos
- one of the "Old Flatonia" cemetery and one of a prominent tombstone
therein." - John
J. Germann, October 12, 2018 |
Flatonia Cemetery
- Tombstone with open bible
TE Photo,
2002 |
More Flatonia
Attractions & Events
|
The
Arnim Museum
101 E. North Main St.
361-865-3455
arnimmuseum.org
Central Texas Rail History Center
104 E. South Main St.
Open by appointment. 979-743-5366
Czhilispiel, last full weekend in October. |
|
|
Onions
awaiting Czhilispiel
TE Photo |
|
|
The
"Real Thing" in Flatonia, Signed by "Eddie and Monk" in
December 1966
TE Photo, November 2003 |
 |
Flatonia Chronicles
Flatonia's
Newspaper, The Argus, was first printed in 1875, but has
joined the ranks of the high-school sports-and-grocery-ad school
of journalism.
The
Great Flatonia Train Robbery by Murry Montgomery
The
Day the Elephant died in Flatonia
Told to the Editor by Flatonia Historian George Koudelka
Sometime way back when the 20th Century was spanking new, a circus
stopped in Flatonia.
The name has been lost, but they were indeed a circus – and had
(at least one elephant) to prove it.
For readers fortunate enough to have visited Flatonia, you may remember
that the town is bisected by the railroad tracks - with large open
spaces separating the two rows of storefronts from the tracks. Some
of this is paved now; but it was once lush greenery (except in the
Texas summer when it became crisp brownery). Here's
the story ›
California
Jim by Mike Cox
"One of Texas' meaner if little-known hard cases, California
Jim died of sudden onset Winchester disease one summer day in 1882..."
|
 |
| Take
a road trip
12 miles east
on Hwy 90 to Schulenburg
12 miles west on Hwy 90 to Waelder
21 miles north on FM 609 to LaGrange
26 miles north on Hwy 95 to Smithville
19 miles south on Hwy 95 to Shiner
with a stop at Moulton,
then take Hwy 90Alt 18 miles west to Gonzales,
or 15 miles east to Hallettesville
Flatonia Chamber of Commerce
208 E. North Main * P.O. Box 610 Flatonia TX 78941
Phone (361) 865-3920
website: http://www.flatoniachamber.com/
|
Fayette
County 1907 postal map showing railroads crossing Flatonia
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic
photos, please contact
us. |
|
|
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