|
|
Ledbetter street
scene
TE photo, 2004 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
Named
for early settlers, Ledbetter had a head start over other Fayette
County towns when it was the first town to get a railroad.
Ledbetter's heyday seems to have been the 1870s and 1880s. It was
a voting precinct and the first town in Fayette
County to form its own ISD, incorporating for that very reason.
Ledbetter began waning around 1900, as La
Grange's star was ascending. It's hard to compete when the "other
town" has the courthouse.
But even in decline, Ledbetter still had four stores, two doctors,
two druggists, two lumberyards and a blacksmith in 1902. By 1947 the
population remained at a healthy 300 people, although the churches
were gone and only stores and filling stations remained to serve travelers
along highway 290. That year the town dis-incorporated, since the
Ledbetter ISD merged with Giddings.
The gravel industry is the major economic engine in Ledbetter today,
according to the Handbook of Texas. In 1986 the town had three businesses.
Gotcher Trace historical marker
› |
 |
Ledbetter intersection
TE photo |
Ledbetter church
TE photo, 2004 |
Gotcher Trace
historical marker in Ledbetter
on FM1291
TE photo, 2004 |
Historical Marker:
Gotcher Trace
Opened about 1828
by James Gotcher from Alabama, a settler on Rabb's Creek in present
Lee County, as route
from San
Felipe, in Stephen
F. Austin's original colony, to Bastrop
in second or "little" colony. A short, exposed route to the upper
settlements, this trace shared with nearby Wilbarger
Trace the title of "via Dolorosa" of early Texas, as both were
marked by tragedies.
Gotcher moved to this area, and in 1836 six people of his family were
killed and several captured during an Indian attack. At this point
the trace is crossed by a 20th century road.
(1973) |
Related
Stories:
Sarah's
Dream by Charley Eckhardt
Josiah Wilbarger's Ordeal, Scalped Alive on Onion Creek
|
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
|
|
HOME
Texas
Gulf Coast
East
Texas
Central
Texas North
Central
Texas South
Texas
Panhandle
South
Texas
Texas
Hill Country
West
Texas
Texas
Ghost Towns
Texas
Counties
