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LLANO, TEXAS
"The Granite
City"
They use all they can and they sell the rest.
Llano County Seat, Hill
Country
State Highways 16, 29, and 71
FM 152
73 miles NW of Austin
30 miles W of Burnet
34 miles E of Mason
33 miles S of San
Saba
39 miles N of Fredericksburg
Population: 3,325 (2000) 2,962 (1990)
Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
Llano
Hotels
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The date
at the ruins of the Llano Waterworks Smokestack
TE photo |
History in a Pecan Shell
Land donated by John Oatman, Sr., Amariah Wilson, and the Chester
B. Starks estate provided 250 acres for the county seat. The donated
land was on both sides of the Llano River. The county was raided by
Indians during the Civil War when most of the men were fighting. Llano
had a very high percentage of votes for succession - which is evident
by the Confederate statue on the NE side of the square. |
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Downtown
Llano at dusk
TE photo |
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A time line
of significant events in Llano history:
1856: Llano
County is established by the state legislature. A disputed election
that same year was held under a tree on the south side of the river
to determine the county seat of government. The losing faction were
residents of the Tow- Bluffton region - north of present Llano.
1880s: The Llano Rural - Llano's first newspaper was published.
The second was The Iron City News. The Rural evolved amd merged into
other newspapers, including the Advocate, the Searchlight, and the
Gazette. Just after the turn of the 20th Century it became the Llano
News - the name it retains today.
1886 - 1893: Boom times for Llano when iron deposits were discovered
and investment money flowed.
1890s: Llano suffers a series of fires that were set for insurance
claims. Other businesses were consumed as well as when word got out
- insurance companies refused to sell Llano fire insurance for several
years.
1890: Population is said to have been 7,000 people
1892:
Llano was incorporated, the Llano River was bridged, and the Austin
and Northwestern Railroad opened a depot on the north side of the
Llano River. This was also the
year the courthouse burned.
See Llano County Courthouse
>
1935:
The Roy
Inks Bridge was built after a flood swept away the 1892 bridge.
Photos of both the Algona Hotel fire and the 1935 flood can be seen
in the museum.
In the famous drought of the early 50s - the Llano River actually
went dry on two separate occasions.
1936: Llano Gold
by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales" column)
"Washed in golden sunset, from a distance Llano County's Sharp
Mountain looks like a giant Paleolithic flint hide scraper lying on
its side.
At 1,594 feet above sea level, the landmark barely deserves its mountain
designation. Its summit rising 400 feet above the land around it,
the huge pile of cedar-studded rock sits on private property about
five miles southeast of Llano. Few today know about the long-abandoned
mine shafts the mountain hides..." more
1954: The
Great Llano Uranium Boom by Mike Cox' ("Texas Tales"
column)
"Since Texas' time as a colonial outpost of the Spanish crown,
people have believed great mineral wealth lay hidden in what would
become Llano County..." more |
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One
of the several working stone finishing plants around Llano
TE photo |
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1950s:
Granite production becomes a million dollar per year industry
Llano's Confederate soldier statue was made by noted sculptor Frank
Teich who was instrumental in establishing the Granite Industry in
Llano County. German-born, Teich made a good living designing Confederate
statues for county governments across Texas and other southern states.
He also supervised the extraction and working of the stone for the
state capitol and several monuments on the grounds. |
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American
Doughboy Statue
and Llano
County Courthouse
Sculptor - Frank Teich
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, August 2003 |
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Llano nearly became a steel town when huge iron deposits were
found. The boom didn't last long, after someone noticed there was
no coal for smelting. Many streets in Llano have names that date from
those optimistic times.
Marble and granite production partially made up for the steel mills
that never materialized. Marble and granite was shipped all over the
U.S. until the railroad went up on their rates. Llano County today
continues to be trucked away daily by the ton. A proposed railroad
link to Fredericksburg never made it off the drawing board, but there's
little doubt it would've been a boon to the economy of both towns.
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The
abundance of granite enabled Llano County to have some elegant County
Line markers - this one is on the Llano/Gillespie county line on Hwy
16.
TE photo |
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Rooms With
a Past:
Llano suffered a fire in 1923 that destroyed a former landmark
hotel on the north side of the river - The Hotel Algona.
The larger-than-it-needed-to-be hotel was at one time the center
for Llano society. The hotel changed hands several times, and did
business as the Hotel Franklin and the Don Carlos. It was used by
The Texas Military Institute for a period before being damaged in
a 1900 tornado. The fire of '23 was the final chapter in the Algona's
life.
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The
Masonic Lodge in downtown Llano
TE photo |
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Llano
Tourist Information
Llano
Chamber of Commerce
Contact the chamber for a detailed walking tour of Llano.
700 Bessemer, Llano, Texas 78643 325-247-5354
Website: http://www.llanochamber.org/ |
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