West, Texas, McLennan County. (original) (raw)
West, Texas - Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad Depot
Photo courtesy Stephen Michaels, April 2008
History in a Pecan Shell
Dating from a settlement called Bould Springs (after founding settler Carey Boulds) in 1852, a post office opened that same year. Four years later the Bennett family relocated here � becoming the town�s first permanent residents. The town reported an estimated population of just over 300 for 1860.
West (as it appears today) came to life in 1881 with the arrival of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad. It was platted on a quarter section of land belonging to Thos. M. West, landowner, storekeeper and postmaster. The West post office opened in 1852 and was followed by the store (a reversal of how most post offices were opened in Texas) the following year.
The town incorporated in 1892 and by 1900 the population was estimated at 2,000. The town had duplicates of all essential businesses and became a stop on the Texas Electric Traction Railway � an Interurban line that once connected Waco with Dallas. Primarily an Anglo community during it�s early years, Czech and German immigrants began arriving around 1900. Cotton and cattle ranching were the regions economic engines, supplemented by a textile mill and a sausage factory. The West ISD was formed in 1923.
Over the years West has become established as the center for Texas-Czech culture despite the fact that it is on the northern extreme of Czech settlement which stretches from west of Austin to Colorado County to the east and as far south as DeWitt County.
West, Texas Landmarks
West, Texas Photo Gallery
West Texas' Historic Landmark: The 1892 Groppe Building
Photo courtesy Stephen Michaels, April 2008
Ghost signs on the historic 1892 Groppe Building
Photo courtesy Stephen Michaels, April 2008
St. Mary's CemeteryPhotographer's Note:
Speaking on graveyards, I came across one just south of West, off I-35. St Mary's Cemetery took my breath away. It was so peaceful, well attended too, and beautifully layed out that I really did not want to leave. That is saying something about a cemetery. I don't know if it was because of the early morning mist, the quietness or just the overall feeling of being in a place that so respected their dead. I just can't explain how I felt. I even went out of my way to go back again, later. - Barclay Gibson
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