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Unlike
most "railroad" towns, Smithville's main street (First)
doesn't run parallel to the tracks.
In addition, the railroad hasn't completely left. Repair facilities
still work on cars, although not to the degree of days past. If you
start at the Railroad Historical Park and walk North you'll
pass the commercial district, The Smithville Times, City Hall, the
Library, the Post Office, residences and eventually you’ll come to
a rest area overlooking the Colorado River. |
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Historical Marker
(in front of City Hall , 316 Main St.)
SMITHVILLE
In 1691 missionaries
on the expedition of Don Domingo Teran de Los Rios sighted a lagoon
which the Indians called Nenocadda. The lagoon, known today as Shipp's
Lake, is on the southern edge of present Smithville. Frederick W.
Grasmeyer operated a ferry here on the Colorado River in 1836. Steamboats
plied the river from 1845 to about 1865. The village of "Old Smithville"
was laid out on 640 acres of land granted to Thomas J. Gazley and
Lewis Lomas. The town was located along the Colorado River in the
northeast section of present Smithville. There were mercantile stores,
dry good shops, and a Masonic lodge. In 1876 the first post office
was established with John Pride Jones as postmaster. The Taylor,
Bastrop & Houston Railroad, later a part of the Missouri, Kansas
& Texas system, arrived in 1887, and the town relocated along the
tracks. The legend is that a coin was tossed to decide if the name
would be changed to Burlesonville for Murray Burleson, who gave
land for the railroad depot. The coin toss resulted in "Smithville"
being retained as the name, apparently in honor of pioneer settler
William Smith. The town was incorporated in 1895 and T. C. Collins
served as the first mayor.
(1979)
Incise in base:
Marker Sponsor: Smithville Chamber of Commerce 1977-78
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Railroad Theme
in Smithville
Riverbend
Park out on Highway 71 has a real caboose
on display in addition to the two others in Railroad Park. |
Photo
Courtesy Smithville Historical Society
From Arcadia Publishing's Images of America Series: Smithville, Texas |
Photo
Courtesy of the Smithville Historical Society
From Arcadia Publishing's Images of America Series: Smithville, Texas |
Movie Theme
in Smithville
At present, Smithville
displays artifacts (mostly bogus storefronts) from the movie Hope
Floats. We think it’s worth mentioning that Smithville was called
Smithville in the movie, the only time we can remember that happening.
Even Hollywood couldn’t improve their name.
The restaurant Pockets (Hwy 90 and First St.) displays many
more of the signs used in the picture. |
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Smithville's
Dexter - From Underdog to Best of (Picture) Show
by Ted R. Krueger
"Adena Lewis called asking us to bring our dogs to a casting
call for the movie "The Tree of Life" that was soon to be filmed in
Smithville. The director, Terrence Malick, wanted the "hero dog" (to
be called "Shep" in the movie) to be an untrained dog..."
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A
ghost sign of a product that never was - but is.
Smithville, Texas
TE Photo, 2003 |
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Bright
and Early
A ghost sign in Smithville
TE Photo |
Former Masonic
Lodge
Smithville's Tallest Building
TE photo, May 2010 |
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Smithville
street scene
Courtesy Cissy CeCe Wong |
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L
- Smithville School TE photo
R - Texas Cuisine
Courtesy Valentine Ricé |
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The snake over the door
Courtesy of The Smithville Times. |
Smithville
Library
We recently called the library on a Monday and said; "Oh, you’re
open!" The response was: "Why? Is it a holiday? Are we missing
out on something?" This is representative of the openness (and
the ever-present fear of missing out on something) of Smithvillians.
A few more words about the Library: They have a new copier with a
"photo" key, which copies a photo better than you’ve ever
seen. They also give you a choice of a regular borrower’s card, or
one of their bar-coded, state-of-the-art, postage stamp-sized cards
that fit on one’s key chain and (wait, there’s more) they’re waterproof!
Unlike many current trendy libraries, these folks aren’t hell-bent
on making shelf space. We’ve found many books other libraries have
discarded. If you haven’t read it, it’s news to you. Our only complaint
about the library is that it is underused. The staff is competent
and friendly. It’s rare to find this mixture of "cutting-edge"
technology and practical tradition. They have even been heard saying
"thank you" when books are returned.
And while we’re mentioning subtlety (the kitten's names-not Geraldo),
a visit last year found three of the hour hands knocked loose from
the four-faced clock at the end of First Street. Less
than a week later we returned and all had been reattached and were
in perfect synchronization. These are the same people who put Christmas
lights on their old Fire-truck, and fence the fire station's property
with old fire hydrants as posts. What's not to like about Smithville?
Book Hotels Here > Smithville
Hotels |
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When the Swallows
Come Back to Smithville
TE Photo, May 6, 2010 |
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Texas
Escapes,
in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas,
asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and recent
or vintage/historic photos, please contact
us.
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