Williamson County Courthouse
The Williamson County Courthouse is a courthouse located in Georgetown, Texas. It was created in 1909 by Charles Henry Page and has Beaux-Arts architecture. The structure was restored for $9 million in the 2000s. In October 2006, the courthouse was rededicated.
The Williamson County Courthouse Historic District includes the structure. Outside the courthouse, a Confederate monument has been erected.
Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument
The Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument is an outdoor Confederate memorial located in Georgetown, Texas, outside the Williamson County Courthouse.
The monument was built in 1916.
Courageous Conversations is an anti-racism organization “wants to erect a plaque next to the statue that addresses slavery as a component of the Civil War. Members claim that in its current state, the statue represents slavery. Another plaque outside the courthouse now refers to African-Americans as “pioneer settlers.”” Williamson County Commissioners voted 4-1 against allowing the plaque, which would have required the Texas Historical Commission’s approval in any case. “The commissioners expressed a desire to learn more about the problem and possibly consider establishing a civil rights monument.”
Georgetown
Georgetown is the county seat of Williamson County in Texas, USA.
The population was 67,176 as of the 2020 census. It is located approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Austin.
Southwestern University was founded in 1875 from four former institutions, the oldest of which was founded 35 years earlier. It’s just a half mile from Georgetown’s historic square.
Georgetown is home to a large array of Victorian commercial and residential architecture. In 1976, a municipal historic law was enacted to protect and maintain the historic core commercial district. In 1977, the National Register of Historic Places included the Williamson County Courthouse Historical District, which included 46 contributing structures.
Because of the quantity of red poppy (Papaver rhoeas) wildflowers scattered across the city, Georgetown is also known as the “Red Poppy” Capital of Texas. The Red Poppy Festival, which attracts tens of thousands of tourists each year, is held in Georgetown’s historic square in April.
History
Georgetown was named after George Washington Glasscock, who gave the property for the new town. The abundance of timber and pure, clear water in the area enticed early American and Swedish immigrants. In addition, the land was inexpensive and fertile. Georgetown is the county seat of Williamson County, which was formed on March 13, 1848, when early settlers petitioned the state legislature to split it off from Milam County. San Gabriel County was titled after Robert McAlpin Williamson (nicknamed “Three-legged Willie”), a Texas politician and judge at the time.
Georgetown was an agrarian community for the most of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Cullen Building on Southwestern University’s campus shortly after completion (c. 1900). The Shawnee Road, a cattle road that connected Texas to rail terminals in Kansas and Missouri, passed through Georgetown. The establishment of Southwestern University in 1873, as well as the building of a railroad in 1878, enhanced the town’s growth and importance. A steady economy emerged, centered primarily on agricultural activity. Cotton was the predominant crop in the area between the 1880s and the 1920s. Previously, Williamson County was the biggest cotton producer in Texas during this time period.
The International-Great Northern Railroad (later integrated into the Missouri Pacific) and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad once served Georgetown. Both aided in the transportation of commodities, notably beef cattle and cotton, to market. The regional Georgetown and Granger Railroad (GGR) arrived in Austin in 1904. The Georgetown Railroad, a “short line” railroad that connects with the Union Pacific Railroad at Round Rock and Granger via the former M-K-T and I-GN, presently serves Georgetown.
Georgetown hosted minor league baseball games. In 1914, the Georgetown Collegians were the first members of the Middle Texas League.
In 1921, a low-pressure system generated by a hurricane descended on Williamson County, dumping more than 23 inches of rain in Taylor and more than 18 inches in Georgetown. The flood killed 156 people, many of them were farm workers. There was also severe property damage, and residents of Georgetown worked to begin flood control.
More than 50 years later, on October 5, 1979, the US Army Corps of Engineers completed construction of a dam on the north fork of the San Gabriel River to create and impound Lake Georgetown.
Municipal water rights to Lake Georgetown are held by both Georgetown and Round Rock.
Population growth and industrial expansion were moderate in the twentieth century until roughly 1960, when neighbouring Austin’s rapid growth and urban expansion encouraged residential, commercial, and industrial development. In 2008, Fortune Small Business magazine ranked Georgetown the second-best place in the United States to “live and launch” a new business.
Georgetown stated in March 2015 that their municipal-owned utility, Georgetown Utility Systems, would begin purchasing 100% of its customers’ electricity from wind and solar farms by 2017, essentially making the city 100% green-powered.
Next Point of Interest: Southwestern University