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GANADO,
TEXAS
Jackson County,
Texas Gulf Coast
Highway 59
9 miles E of Edna
34 miles E of Victoria
38 miles NE of Port Lavaca
Just W of Louise and El Campo
Population 1,701 (1990)
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Photo by John Troesser, 6-03 |
History
in a Rice Hull
Jackson County’s “second city,” Ganado was originally known as Mustang
Settlement, after nearby Mustang Creek. Cattle ranching was the primary
economic engine and herds were driven to Louisiana for sale and later
to Kansas City. That came to an abrupt end with the coming of the
railroad in 1882.
A railroad official is credited with the name Ganado - which is Spanish
for “herd.” The name was well established when the post office opened
a short time later.
Scandinavian immigrants bought land and began farming in 1891. A second
wave of immigration brought Germans and Bohemians in the 1880s and
1890s.
By 1914 the town was thriving with a rice mill and storage facilities,
750 citizens, a school district and a weekly newspaper. |
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Rice Elevators in Ganado
More cubic feet than the rest of town’s buildings combined
Photo by John Troesser, 6-03 |
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The Ganado Masonic Lodge
Photo by John Troesser, 6-03 |
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Ganado Cinema in downtown Ganado
Photo by John Troesser, 6-03 |
Ganado Texas
Forum
Subject: THE
GANADO THEATER
AS A YOUNG LAD OF 12 YEARS OF AGE MY FAMILY MOVED TO GANADO WHERE
MY FATHER WAS TRANSFERRED BY HUMBLE OIL. THE GANADO THEATER WAS ABOUT
ALL THE ENTERTAINMENT THERE WAS IN THE TOWN OUTSIDE OF FOOTBALL. THE
OLD GANADO THEATER HAD NO MARQUEE AND HAD A SIGN OUT FRONT THAT SAID
SIMPLY GANADO. IT WAS PART OF THE LONG THEATER CHAIN, NOW EXTINCT,
WAS RUN BY A LITTLE OLD LADY NAMED MRS. STAHALLA AND BELIEVE YOU ME
SHE MADE US KIDS BEHAVE ON SATURDAYS. SHE WAS NOT ABOVE CALLING PARENTS
TO COME GET THEIR WAYWARD BRATS. THE OLD THEATER HAD A BALCONY FOR
WHITES AND ANOTHER ONE FOR BLACKS UP INTO THE 60S. THE GANADO THEATER
( THAT'S WHAT IT WAS CALLED THEN SHOWED 2ND AND 3RD RUN MOVIES, ADULTS
50 CENTS AND KIDS 25 CENTS. THE PROJECTOR WAS RUN BY A YOUNG BOY NAMED
ALVIN SVBODA, PRESENT OWNER OF SAME. THE GANADO CENEMA HAD EVOLVED
THROUGH MR. SVBODA'S CAPABLE HANDS INTO A FIRST RATE, FIRST RUN SURROUND
SOUND THEATER AND THE PRICES HAVE SLIGHTLY GONE UP TO MEET DEMAND.
THIS THEATER HAS FAR OUTLIVED IT'S SISTERS IN SURROUNDING COUNTIES.
THANK YOU - R.R. "HANK" GUPTON, ANAHUAC, TEXAS, December
17, 2004
Anyone
wishing to share history or photos of Ganado, Texas - please contact
us.
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