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"Business
Section North Side of Square, Goldwaite, Texas"
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/
~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
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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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History
in a Pecan Shell
A 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. |
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The jail
Photo courtesy Jim and Lou Kinsey |
Mills
County Tourist Information
Mills
County Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture
915-648-3619
© John Troesser |
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