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 Texas : Towns A-Z / Central Texas South : Gonzales

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
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.

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Former Gonzales County jail, Gonzales, Texas designed by Eugene Heiner
The former Gonzales County Jail designed by Eugene Heiner
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.

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Gonzales County Courthouse
Gonzales County Courthouse
Date - 1894
Architect - J. Reily Gordon

The Legend of the Courthouse Clock



Photo Courtesy Ron George
Sam Houston Oak, Texas historic tree
The Sam Houston Oak
Photo courtesy Sarah Reveley, 2008

More Gonzales Attractions

  • The Gonzales Memorial Museum
  • The Sam Houston Oak Mike Cox "Texas Tales" column
    The ancient tree shades a wide area just east of Peach Creek, 8.5 miles from Gonzales...
  • Driving Tour
  • Holiday Historic Home Tour, and Christmas Lights
  • Pioneer Village
  • Riverside Park
  • The nine-hole golf course and
  • The Guadalupe River


  • Sight Seeing

  • Gonzales, The Trip

    Gonzales Nearby Destinations

  • Cost
  • Lakewood
  • Palmetto State Park

    Gonzales Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
  • Gonzales County Towns and Ghost Towns
    Gonzales County Seat - Gonzales
    Gonzales County Courthouse
  • Albuquerque
  • Bebe
  • Cheapside
  • Cost
  • Dewville
  • Belmont
  • Gonzales
  • Harwood
  • Leesville
  • Nickel
  • Nixon
  • Oak Forest
  • Ottine
  • Smiley
  • Waelder
  • Wrightsboro

    Gonzales Local and Tourist Information

    Gonzales Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture
    414 St. Lawrence (830) 672-6532
    P.O. Box 134, gonzales, TX78629

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    Gonzales Hotels
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  • 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 Inquirer
  • The Texas, Gonzales, and Northern Railroad
  • Southern Clay
  • The Caracara - Vulture of the Millennium
  • Coca-Cola ghost sign in Gonzales, Texas
    Coca Cola ghost sign in Gonzales
    Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson
    More Ghost Signs |
    Coca Cola | Texas Towns
    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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