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GONZALES,
TEXAS
Suggested slogan:
Come and enjoy it! ©
Gonzales County Seat, Central
Texas South
Hwy 183, 13 miles S of I-10
65 miles S of Austin
65 miles E of San Antonio
130 miles W of Houston
Population 7202 (2000)
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Gonzales
County Courthouse
TE photo, 2002 |
A
Short Description of a Town Long on History
Outside
of Nacogdoches,
whose History predates the Texan Revolution, there is no town that
figures so significantly in Texas History as Gonzales. Well, there
is Brownsville.
O.K. Nacogdoches, Gonzales and Brownsville. Of Course San
Antonio goes without saying.
Gonzales is the only town of its size to retain its name from Spanish
rule. It's ironic that this was the westernmost Anglo settlement
in what was to become Texas. Beside it's being "The Lexington
of Texas" and firing the first shot, it also was the only
town to send reinforcements to the Alamo,
a gesture that is understated in every History of the State. In return,
Gonzales was burned to the ground in "The
Runaway Scrape" and survived flood, other fires and John
Hardin (who behaved himself both times he called Gonzales home). There
was that little escape from the jail, but nobody got killed. With
a history like this no wonder Gonzales developed a sort of self-imposed
isolation for many years.
Gonzales
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The
former Gonzales County Jail
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson |
A
Destination Worthy of a Drive
Today,
there's plenty to do and see, and it's certainly a destination worthy
of a drive from Dallas
as well as Houston.
It's a mere 64 miles from Austin,
and San Antonio
is a brief and comfortable 66-mile drive.
Bed and Breakfasts provide a civilized and relaxed way to visit, and
for the more savage and pagan, there are two unusual and under-used
parks only minutes away. The city itself has Independence Park
with many amenities and views of the Guadalupe River come
with nearly every picnic table.
Gonzales is undergoing a skin shedding of sorts, with many houses
undergoing restoration, following the lead of their magnificent courthouse.
A Main Street City, it has shown its awareness of its own importance.
Gonzales
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Gonzales
County Courthouse
Photo Courtesy Ron George |
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Coca
Cola ghost sign in Gonzales
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson |
Gonzales
Chronicles:
Susannah
Dickinson
by Linda-Kirkpatrick
Richard
Kimble and Almaron Dickinson, Heroic hat makers at the Alamo
by Murray Montgomery
Murder
of Local Doctor During Reconstruction from Murray Montgomery's
"Lone Star Diary"
After the Civil War ended, folks in Texas and throughout the South
underwent a phase in time known as "Reconstruction." During this
period, the states that had previously been part of the Confederacy
were now subject to military rule as well as, occupation by Union
troops. Citizens of Gonzales, Texas, had to deal with the problem
of enemy soldiers, in their hated blue uniforms, walking the streets
...
Mass
Grave in Gonzales - from Murray Montgomery's "Lone Star
Diary"
Small
Town Artillery I -
The Most Famous Piece of Ordnance in Texas
Small
Town Artillery II -
Gonzales: The Gun of August
The
Gonzales Memorial Museum
The
Gonzales Inquirer
The
Texas, Gonzales, and Northern Railroad
Southern
Clay
The Caracara - Vulture of the Millennium
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Gonzales
Local and Tourist Information
Gonzales Chamber
of Commerce and Agriculture
414 St. Lawrence (830) 672-6532
P.O. Box 134, gonzales, TX78629
Gonzales
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Gonzales
Texas Forum
Subject: Gonzales
Inquirer - Thank You
I'd just like to thank you for the blurb on the Gonzales Inquirer.
My father, Paul Ziemer, served as Editor of the paper in 1953-55,
and my mother, Margaret Ziemer, was (I believe) the first female
editor in chief of that venerable paper, in 1956. - Eric Ziemer,
August 07, 2004
All the DeWitt
Colonists want to say thanks for the feature on our head municipality,
Gonzales. Well done, it's hard to fish out because of poor record
keeping, but contemporary Texians (and DeWitt Colonists) were a
bunch of jokers half the time, in fact it's pretty well known that
a significant portion of the Old 18 including alcalde Ponton were
"pulling Col. Ugartechea and Lt. Castaneda's leg" on multiple events
during the affair over a tube that could barely belch (or should
we say vomit given a good powder emetic) out a potpourri of half-digested
ordinance from local blacksmith trailings (it made a lot of noise
though). - Wallace L. McKeehan, SONS OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS October
10, 1999
I found your
website today and was both impressed and enchanted with the variety
of material and humor. I liked the cow (steer?) over the Gonzales
restrooms! - Bill Rau, SIDE ROADS October 13, 1999
Each
visit to Gonzales convinced us that their desire to show their town
is a sincere desire to share. Our special thanks to the Chamber
of Commerce for their candor and to the Historic Society who contributed
the images you'll see throughout
the trip. Thanks also to the citizenry of Gonzales (new and
old) who took time from their daily routine to answer questions
and give directions to us (most of which were correct). - 1999
© John Troesser
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