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| Question:
If Belton is the Seat of Bell
County and Hillsboro the Seat
of Hill County, then the Seat of Mills County is:
a. Millopolis
b. Millsboro
c. Milton
d. Goldthwaite
Yes, it's Goldthwaite - named after Joseph G.
Goldthwaite a railroad official who sold the first town lots. |
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Vintage photo courtesy TXDoT |
History
in a Pecan ShellA
timeline of significant Goldthwaite events:
1885: The town is established
in what was Brown County on the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway.
1886: The post office opens.
1887: Mills County is organized. Land was donated
with the understanding that Goldthwaite would be designated the county seat.
1888: The Mills County jail is built.
1890: Courthouse
is built. Santa Fe Railroad builds a roundhouse and shops, but moves their
division point to Brownwood after labor problems.
1898: The population reaches
1,200, and the town has two weekly newspapers, the Eagle and the Mountaineer.
1905: The Confederate Reunion that year was the largest public gathering in Mills
County history.
1912: The courthouse burns
1913: The
courthouse is replaced
1915: county's first school library was established
and construction began on Lake Merritt.
1928: Goldthwaite had a population
of 2,800.
1931: The population falls to 1,324 due to drought and economic
hard times. Recovery after the depression was slow, and the actual number of business
in 1988 was below the 55 reported in the 1950s. Agricultural diversification provided
a solid economic base and wool, mohair, cattle,
sheep, and pecans, are mainstays of the economy. |
 |
The
First Baptist Church, built in 1949.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
|
"Looking north up Fisher Street from the courthouse.
Fisher Street (HWY 16/183) is the main street in Goldthwaite." - Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 photo |
"Business
Section North Side of Square, Goldwaite, Texas"
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
Buildings on North Side of Square - Today
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
| "I've
been to Goldthwaite four times now and this always made me laugh. The building
is across from the courthouse." - Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 photo |
| Historical
Marker "on Fisher St (183/16) in front of the First Baptist Church"
- Terry
Jeanson photo |
1907
Mills County Postal map showing Goldthwaite
(Under "L" in "MILLS")
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
Photographer's
Note:
Subject: Mills
County Courthouse
"It seems funny that this central Texas county was
organized after some of the Panhandle
counties. One of my favorite articles on TE is "Sagging
Symbols" by Dwight Young. Mr. Young makes a reference to some of the Texas
courthouses being "the architectural paperweight that kept the town from blowing
away." I think that is certainly true in Goldthwaite." - Terry
Jeanson, October 12, 2010 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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