Georgetown
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About this ebook
Donna Scarbrough Josey
Author Donna Scarbrough Josey is a lifelong resident of Georgetown. She has been active in the Georgetown Heritage Society and involved in downtown business, tourism, and historic preservation.
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Georgetown - Donna Scarbrough Josey
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INTRODUCTION
Travelling downstream over the high banks and rough terrain of the North San Gabriel River in 1853, diarist J.H. Kuykendall recorded his thoughts as he made his way to the region where Georgetown had been established in 1848. Noting the abundant natural resources, he wrote, This is an admirable section and must soon attract attention. There are but two or three settlements hereabout, where there is room for a hundred.
Indeed, this area along the Balcones Fault and Edwards Aquifer is rich in water resources, timber, stone, wildlife, and good soil for farming.
Georgetown’s original 173 acres was donated by land developers in exchange for naming the town after one of the owners, George Washington Glasscock. This tiny town was nestled in a scenic crook of the South San Gabriel River, where early industries such as mills, gins, farms, and orchards were established and supported by the waterway. It was a good place for a town to grow.
From the mid-1860s, cattle drives on South Texas trails came through the center of Georgetown on their way north to the Chisholm Trail. It was a rough cowboy town filled with saloons, a few stores and inns, blacksmith shops, and log or frame dwellings. The local economy revolved around farming and cattle, but two developments in the 1870s ultimately shaped Georgetown’s growth and personality. First, the Methodist Church consolidated four colleges to form Southwestern University in 1873. Soon after, in 1878, Georgetown’s first rail line was built, linking the town to important points across the country.
Georgetown grew quickly in size and sophistication from 1880 to 1920. But like many small towns, for a few decades in the mid-1900s, it stagnated and declined. Railroads eventually disappeared, and Interstate 35 was completed in the 1960s, bypassing downtown. Many businesses closed, and buildings were left vacant as traffic through downtown dwindled. Fortunately, many of these badly deteriorated buildings were restored during Georgetown’s participation in the Main Street Project, which began in 1982. Today, the Georgetown Square is considered one of the finest and best preserved in