2023 Bastrop County Visitors Guide

Bastrop State Park

Off State Highway 71 just east of Bastrop. Park information: 512-321-2101.

Entrance fee; $5.00 per person, over 65 with Senior Pass $3.00, 12 and under free Passport; $70 per year.

Bastrop State Park was created in the 1930’s when the CCC was building parks to create jobs for unemployed young men. Few such programs have produced such lasting benefits. The city of Bastrop, the Vaughn Lumber Company and several individuals gave the state the original 2,100 acres here. The Parks and Wildlife Department bought another 1,450 acres in 1979; so this is one of our larger parks and it has about everything a park can have except frontage on a big lake or river. The lake here is a very small one. The Colorado River is a couple of miles away. But Bastrop Park has a pine and oak forest, a swimming pool, camp grounds and cabins, and provisions for groups of up to 100 people.

The pines here are some of the Lost Pines of Texas, about 80 miles west of the main pine forest in East Texas. The pines supposedly got started here during the Pleistocene Period because climate was wetter then and because the soil was and is porous and acidic due to deposits laid down by the Colorado when it was a much bigger river.

This area was part of Stephen F. Austin’s colony before the Texas Revolution. The town of Bastrop was established in 1829 at the point where the old Camino Real crossed the Colorado. State Highway 21 along the west boundary of the park follows the route of the Camino Real. Some of the great personalities of the early days passed this way. Davy Crockett came by here on his way to the Alamo.

Birds and birdwatchers are attracted to the forest here. The park office has checklists of the birds you can expect to find in Bastrop and Buescher parks. There is a hiking trail and a scenic drive connecting with Buescher Park to the east.

The swimming pool is open May-September. There is an admission fee, call 512-321-2101 for more information.

sss Bastrop Events sss

Feb.-Apr. Sherwood Forest Faire

July Big Bang Celebration

July Patriotic Festival

August Bastrop Homecoming & Rodeo

September Bastrop Music Festival

Sept-Nov. Barton Hill Farms Fall Festival

Oct 31 Halloween Festival

November Bastrop Art Fest

November Veteran’s Day Cruise-In & Car Show

November Wassail Fest

Nov.-Jan. Bastrop’s River of Lights

Nov. -Dec Lost Pines Christmas

Dec. Lighted Christmas Parade Dec. Holiday Homes Tour

Bastrop’s Pine Street Market Days are held downtown on the second Saturday of each month from April to December.

Farm Street Opry is held the first Thursday of each month March to December at the Bastrop Convention Center.

Bastrop 1832 Farmers Market is every Saturday at 1302 Chestnut St. near the Convention Center

Points of Interest

Bastrop offers a wide variety of attractions. From the history of the area to the parks with their many facilities, a visitor can find plenty to keep a full schedule. Listed below are a few of the many interesting points to enjoy while in the area.

AREA PARKS

Fisherman’s Park - Farm St. at Colorado

Public boating, canoeing and tubing launch. Also offers picnicking, BBQ grills, fishing and playground. Area for horseshoes, baseball, volleyball and basketball. Open year round, no entry fee.

Ferry Park - 600 Main

Picnicking, playground, gazebo and steep trail to river. No entry fee.

Lake Bastrop Park

South Shore - Off Hwy 21 east

North Shore - On FM 1441 east of Hwy 95

Museum and Visitor Center of the Bastrop County Historical Society

512-303-0904

904 Main Street • Bastrop, Texas 786 02

Visitor Center and Museum hours: Mon-Sat 10am-5pm. Sunday 1pm-4pm

Bastrop Opera House

711 Spring Circa 1889

512-321-5048

Swimming, fishing, boating, picnicking and camping. RV hook-ups. Open year round. Entry fee.

Bastrop State Park

Off State Highway 71 just east of Bastrop.

512-321-2102

Swimming, fishing, boating, picnicking, biking and golf. Open year round. Entry fee.

Buescher State Park

512-237-2241

Camping, fishing, picnicking, playground, hiking. Take the 12 mile scenic drive from Bastrop State Park to Buescher along Park Road 1C. Entry fee.

McKinney Roughs Nature Park

Approx. 8 miles west of Bastrop on Hwy. 71.

512-303-5073

Open 8am-5pm Monday to Saturday; 12 noon to 5pm on Sunday. Wildlife viewing, hiking, natural science center, recreation programs. Closed major holidays, entry fee.

512-321-6283

Performing arts focusing on family entertainment. Call for current productions.

Dinosaur Park

512-321-6262

893 Union Chapel Rd. at Hwy 71 in Cedar Creek

Outdoor museum adventure.

Life-size statues, fossil digs, scavenger hunt, playground, picnic area. Available for private parties.

AREA GOLF COURSES

Colovista Golf Club

512-629-4585

100 Country Club Dr. Bastrop, Tx.

4 miles east of Bastrop

18 hole course open to public. Call for tee times and fees.

Bastrop River Club

512-321-1181

636 Riverside Dr Bastrop Tx. 18 hole course open to public. Call for tee times and fees.

Wolfdancer Golf Club

512-308-4770

575 Hyatt Lost Pines Rd. Lost Pines, Tx. Located at Lost Pines Resort & Spa

18 hole course open to public. Call for tee times and fees.

Downtown Bastrop Map

Offering Dine-In, Take-out, and Delivery (10-mile radius)!

Italian Cuisine with a Southern Flair

Daily Lunch Specials

Pasta • Pizza • Steaks • Seafood

Kid’s Menu • Desserts

512-985-5302

• Catering

• Private Parties

• Group Reservations

887 State Highway 21 W Cedar Creek, Texas Corner Hwy 71 & Hwy 21

Open Monday - Saturday for Lunch and Dinner

www.LeosItalianGrill.net

SPECIAL EVENTS

TUESDAY: KARAOKE

WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY: FREE POOL

THURSDAY: APA

FRIDAY & SATURDAY: FOOD SPECIALS

• OUTSIDE SEATING

• WASHER PIT

• STAYED TUNED FOR LIVE MUSIC

DIVE BAR & GRILL BASTROP, TEXAS

Lake House 1441 is a casual bar and grill located in the heart of central Texas right on Lake Bastrop. Stop in and take in live music, watch sports, play the bar games, or relax with friends in a cozy environment.

395 FM 1441

(Turn right on FM 1441 off Hwy 95 N.)

Phone • 512-321-3199

HOURS:

Sunday Thru Friday 12:00pm to 12:00am

Saturday 12:00 Noon Till 1:00am

Buescher State Park

Off State Highway 71 just west of Smithville. Park information: 512-237-2241. Entrance fee; $5.00 per person, 12 and under free. Passport; $70 per year.

Buescher State Park is located just north of Smithville, Texas. The park consists of 1,016.7 acres of public land donated to the state by Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher, as well as the City of Smithville.

Between the years 1933 and 1936, Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher deeded 318 acres of land to the State of Texas. After Emil Buescher's death, his heirs donated 318 acres more. The rest of the parkland was acquired from the city of Smithville.

The park features a 7.7-mile round trip hiking trail through the park's undeveloped area. There is also a small lake for canoeing and fishing. The lake is stocked with crappie, catfish and bass year around and with rainbow trout in winter. Camping and picnicking areas are available.

A mosaic of pines, oaks, shrubs, grassland and mixed flowering plants create a diverse environment here. The park is home to many species of wildlife, including the largest of the woodpeckers: the pileated woodpecker.

With its beautiful woods and tranquil lake, the park is a great place for bird watching. Birders have identified about 250 species of birds, including the largest of the woodpeckers: the pileated woodpecker.Mammals include white-tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, and armadillos.

Buescher is less than four miles east of Bastrop State Park and the two are connected by Park Road 1.

Over 75,000 acres of loblolly pines, known as the Lost Pines ecosystem, spread across sections of five counties on the Texas Coastal Plain. A portion of this pine forest is in Bastrop and

Buescher state parks.

These “Lost Pines” are the westernmost stand of loblolly pine trees in the United States. Pollen records indicate the pines have grown here for over 18,000 years. These pines are genetically unique, having adapted to 30 percent less rainfall than loblollies in East Texas and adjacent states.

Sandy and gravelly soils with a sub-surface layer of water-preserving clay help to create an environment where the loblollies can flourish. Although the climate has become drier over time, this soil has let the pines thrive. The Lost Pines are still susceptible to drought, however.

In 2015, the Hidden Pines fire torched much of the park’s pine forest. Hike on the Pine Gulch Trail to see the renewal and regrowth that follows a wildfire.

Explore nearly six miles of trails through the forest. You’ll pass by oaks and cedars on the Winding Woodlands Trail and hike under towering loblolly pines on the challenging Pine Gulch Trail. Be sure to stop by the Big Tree – it’s a former state champion cedar elm.

Bike (or drive) scenic Park Road 1C between Bastrop and Buescher state parks. The hilly 12-mile road takes you through recovering and forested areas of the Lost Pines. Learn more about recovery after the Lost Pines Wildfire. Choose your campsite: with electricity, with water only, or primitive walk-in. We also have screened shelters and cabins without restrooms. Restrooms with showers are available throughout the park. Reserve the historic group hall or pavilion for your next outing. The Civilian

The Mansion at ColoVista hosts events including weddings, parties and meetings.

Famous Nissan Heisman House

Spanish soldiers lived temporarily at the current site of Bastrop as early as 1804, when a fort was established where the Old San Antonio Road crossed the Colorado River and named Puesta del Colorado.

Bastrop’s namesake, Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop (he was actually a commoner named Philip Hendrik Nering Bogel wanted for embezzlement in his native country of the Netherlands), assisted Moses and Stephen F. Austin in obtaining land grants in Texas, and he served as S.F. Austin’s land commissioner.

In 1827, Stephen F. Austin located 100 families in an area adjacent to his earlier Mexican contracts. Austin arranged for Mexican officials to name a new town there after the baron who died the same year

On June 8, 1832, the town was platted along conventional Mexican lines, with a square in the center and blocks set aside for public buildings and officially named Bastrop, but two years later the Coahuila y Texas legislature renamed it Mina in honor of Francisco Javier Mina, a Mexican martyr and hero. The town was incorporated under the laws of Texas on December 18, 1837, and the name changed back to Bastrop.

Overlooking the center of the town is the Lost Pines Forest. Composed of loblolly pine, the forest is the center of the westernmost stand of the southern pine forest. As the only timber available in the area, the forest contributed to the local economy. Bastrop began supplying Austin with lumber in 1839 and then San Antonio, the western Texas frontier, and into Mexico.

The first edition of The Bastrop Advertiser and County News (now just The Bastrop Advertiser) was published on March 1, 1853, giving it claim to being the oldest continuously published weekly (semi-weekly since September 5, 1977) in the state of Texas.

A fire in 1862 destroyed most of downtown Bastrop’s commercial buildings and the county courthouse. Thus, most current downtown structures post date the Civil War.

Numerous homes and buildings were nominated in 1978 to the National Register of Historic Places. There are 47 historical markers and 131 houses in all. This earned Bastrop the title of the “Most Historic Town in Texas”.

A walking or driving tour through Bastrop is a pleasure for the casual observer, however as all homes are private residences and they are only open to the public during annual home tours held the second Saturday of December. For further information about the home tours contact the Visitor Center at 303-0904.

Bastrop State Park, situated among the famous Lost Pines of Texas, is a perfect setting for campers and nature lovers. Famous for it’s fishing, nearby Lake Bastrop has 900 acres for boating, water skiing, camping and swimming.

The Colorado river winds it’s way through Bastrop’s two city parks offering nature trails and numerous activities.

2011 Bastrop County Complex Fire

September 4 to October 29, 2011

The Bastrop County Complex fire was a extensive fire that engulfed parts of Bastrop County, in September and October 2011. The wildfire was the costliest and most destructive wildfire in Texas history. Also among the costliest in U.S. history, destroying 1,696 structures. An exceptional drought, accompanied by record-high temperatures, affected Texas for much of 2011. In early September 2011, the presence of Tropical Storm Lee to the east produced strong northerly winds over the state, causing the preexisting dry weather to produce critical fire conditions.

On the afternoon of September 4, 2011, three separate fires ignited east of Bastrop, after strong winds caused by the nearby tropical storm snapped trees onto power lines. Within 48 hours, fires merged into one blaze that quickly consumed parts of Bastrop State Park and parts of the Lost Pines Forest, as well as homes in nearby subdivisions.

The wildfire was largely contained in September, though the firebreak was briefly breached in early October. On October 10, the Bastrop County Complex Fire was declared controlled and the fire was declared extinguished on October 29 after 55 days.

Two people were killed by the wildfire and another twelve people were injured. The fire perimeter encircled an area spanning 32,400 acres. Homes were destroyed in ten subdivisions, of which Circle-D County Acres and Tahitian Village sustained the most significant property damage. The wildfire destroyed more homes than any single fire in Texas history by nearly a factor of ten. Around 96 percent of Bastrop State Park was scorched by the wildfire. Roughly 1.5 million trees across 16,200 acres of forest were destroyed.

Smithville Points of Interest

Having over 30 filmings with some popular movies and commercials, Smithville is fast becoming known as a “movie town” in the industry and among fans.

Smithville, Texas, a town of under 4,000 according to the census, is filled with historic charm in its downtown district. Smithville has 206 properties, including commercial and residential, listed in the National Historic Register.

Smithville Railroad Historical Park and Museum

This museum features Union Pacific and Missouri-Kansas-Texas cabooses. The Katy depot is built of materials salvaged from a station dating to the 1890s. Located at 102 West First Street, at the south end of Main Street at railroad tracks. The museum is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m. Call (512) 237-2313. Admission is free.

Railroad Park

Historical park located off NE 1st St. The park is dedicated to the railroad workers of Smithville and built on the site where the depot station was located. It features restrooms, playground and several historic train cars.

Calendar of Events

4 Day Jamboree Celebration • April 13-15

Annual Airport Fly In • May 13

4th of July Celebration • July 2

Community Wide Garage Sales • 1st Saturday in October

Sustainable Home & Garden Show • Oct. 7

3rd Annual Golf Tournament • TBA

Wing Fest • Oct. 21

Halloween Spooktacular • October 31 - Downtown

Airing of the Quilts & Tour of Homes • November 11

Festival of Lights & Lighted Parade • December 2

Holiday Sip and Shop • December 9

Smithville Chamber of Commerce.......................512-237-2313

Vernon Richards Riverbend Park

Located on Hwy 71, Riverbend Park, officially named after former mayor Vernon Richards, is the city’s finest outdoor recreational spot and borders the Colorado River. The park is busy year round.

There is a walking trail, fishing pier, barbecue pits and picnic tables near the river. There are also washer and horseshoe pits for tossing a few with friends. A 9-hole disc golf course was recently added.

Outside the fence are a lighted softball field and sand volleyball, a large playscape area, open to the public free of charge with tables and small barbecue pits.

The covered Park Pavilion offers kitchen facilities and may be rented for events such as carnivals, banquets or reunions. A rodeo arena is also on site. Nineteen RV hookups are available; call 512-237-3282, ext 7 to reserve space or to rent areas of the park for events.

dates and events subject to change.

Smithville, Texas

1872-2023

Smithville, just off State Highway 71 and ten miles southeast of Bastrop in southeastern Bastrop County, was established by Thomas Gazeley, who in 1827 settled near the present site. Gazeley operated a store there until his death in 1853, and the community that sprang up around the store was named Smithville, after William Smith, another early settler. J. P. Jones and Frank Smith opened a store in the community in 1867, and four years later the Smithville Presbyterian Church was organized.

A post office was established in 1876, and Smithville was described in May 1879 as a thriving village. With the coming of the Bastrop and Taylor Railway eight years later, the community of seventeen families moved two miles west to meet it. By 1890 Smithville had 616 residents, and its businesses included two hotels, three millineries, and a medical practice.

In the 1890s the community boomed. Extension of the railroad line to Lockhart in 1892 brought more business, as did extension of the line to Houston the next year. The line was renamed the Taylor, Bastrop and Houston in October 1886, and it was merged with the Missouri, Kansas and Texas system in 1891. The biggest boost came in 1894, when the Missouri, Kansas and Texas established its central shops in Smithville. The population quickly doubled, and the town was incorporated in March 1895. In 1896 it had an estimated 2,500 residents, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Catholic churches, two hotels, and numerous other businesses, including four physicians’ offices.

In 1900 Smithville had a population of 2,577, which was 10 percent of the Bastrop County population. A 1909 newspaper account described Smithville, headquarters for three divisions of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas line, as having a population of 3,500 and railroad shops, a roundhouse, and “a fine Y.M.C.A. building.” At that time it had a bank (established in 1907), and the Smithville Times had already been publishing for fifteen years. The population level through the early 1900s hovered between 3,000 and 4,000. It peaked in the mid-1940s at an estimated 4,200.

Though railroad jobs were beginning to disappear, in 1949 the railroad still employed several hundred workers in Smithville. The town at this time had a dentist, two lawyers, three doctors, and six ministers and priests. By 1962 the population had dropped below 3,000, but it soon rose again.

In the mid-1970s the town had a new library, a city hall, and a storm drainage system and received a statewide award for the best United States Bicentennial program.

By 1984 the Smithville Times was still being published, and the town was a manufacturing and trading center with more than seventy rated businesses and an estimated population of 3,470. Local products included cedar cabins, fencing, furniture, and ship doors and components. Smithville also remained a center for farming and livestock raising. It is the site of an annual 4 day festival, the Smithville Jamboree.

Elgin, Texas

1872-2023

The City of Elgin was created by the Houston and Texas Central Railroad on August 18, 1872 and named for Robert Morris Elgin, the railroad’s land commissioner, following the practice of naming new railroad towns after officers of the company. The original plat placed the train depot in the center of a one square mile area.

The City of Elgin owes its existence to a major flood of the Colorado River in 1869. Originally, the railroad was to have run from McDade, ten miles east of Elgin, southwest to the Colorado River at a point somewhere between Bastrop and Webberville, then to Austin following the river.

Many of the original residents of the new town of Elgin came from Perryville, or Hogeye as it was nicknamed, located 2 miles to the south. The community was known by three different names. The post office was officially named Young’s Settlement, and the churches and Masonic Lodge carried the name Perryville. The name Hogeye was given to the stage stop at the Litton home where the community dances were held and according to legend, the fiddler knew only one tune. “Hogeye”, which he played over and over as the crowd danced on the puncheon floor.

In 1885, a group of citizens met in Elgin to organize a new north-south railroad which would run from Taylor, the rail head for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas (“Katy”) Railroad 16 miles to the north, through Elgin to Bastrop, the county seat, 16 miles to the south. The Taylor, Elgin and

Bastrop Railroad were formed in 1886 and began building the line. That same year the “Katy” acquired the line and continued the construction on to Houston. Thus, Elgin became the beneficiary of two major rail lines with eight passenger trains daily.

By 1890, the population of Elgin had reached 831, and Elgin was growing during the next few years many new businesses were started. The construction business, brick making, farming, and nearby coalmines brought many Latin American and Black citizens to the area.

The year 1900 produced a bumper crop of cotton and Elgin prospered. The population had increased to 1,258. The city incorporated in 1901, electing Charles Gillespie, building contractor, Mayor; J.D. Hemphill, Marshal; W.E. McCullough, J. Wed Davis, Ed Lawhon, Max Hirach, and F.S. Wade, Aldermen. Local law enforcement was established to enforce newly established civil and criminal codes.

By 1910, Elgin was enjoying a period of great prosperity as families from out on the prairie and surrounding communities moved to Elgin and built nice homes.

Elgin rapidly became the most important agricultural center in Bastrop County. Five cotton gins and a cotton oil mill were in operation at the same time. Three manufacturing brick companies in the area gave Elgin the title, “The Brick Capital of the Southwest”.

‘Sausage Capital of Texas’

Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse

On September 8, 1943 R.G. and Hermina Meyer purchased the Rock Front Store located on the corner of 101 Harris Street (Main and Loop 109) At this site R.G. constructed their home, and a garage apartment which still stands today. R.G. began making his family recipe for smoked sausage that was taught to him in 1915 by his father, Henry Meyer who immigrated from Germany to the United States in the late 1800’s. R.G smoked the sausage in a little smokehouse located in their back yard, and with a growing customer base for the delicious sausage, he then constructed a second smokehouse on the rooftop of the store. Over the next 10 years the small Rock Front Store was expanded on six different occasions, a modern smokehouse was added, and in 1949 Meyer’s Sausage Company was born.

R.G.’s son Buddy Meyer worked with his dad from 1955 until R.G.’s passing in 1959. Buddy’s wife Betty joined the business in 1959. Buddy stuck firmly to his family’s commitment to quality, and through modernization and two additional expansions, the company continued its growth. In 1964, the new processing plant was built and is the current operating manufacturing plant today, located at 600 S. Main just steps from the Rock Front Store which underwent demolition in 2016.

After Buddy’s passing in 1989 his sons Gregg and Gary Meyer became the fourth generation of sausage makers to carry on the family tradition. Gregg and Gary continued building the family business through eight additional expansions, continued modernization and new product development. In 1998 Gregg, Gary along with their wives Denise and Becky Meyer purchased Bigger’s BBQ restaurant and opened Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse. At the restaurant you can savor Buddy Meyer’s beans, Hermina’s flavorful barbecue sauce, along with savory slow-smoked meats featuring Meyer’s mouth-watering spices. Over the last 25 years the restaurant was expanded on 10 different occasions. Meyer’s Elgin Smokehouse is located at 188 Hwy 290 in Elgin. Meyer’s Sausage can be found in HEB and most grocery stores across the State of Texas.

Elgin Tour of Historic Sites

1. Houston & Texas Central Freight Depot 114 Central 1872

2. Veteran’s Memorial Park 1912

3. O’Conner Building 116 Depot St. 1890

4. Wood/Beltran Building 14 North Main 1895

5. Jones Drug Store 28 Main St. 1895

Elgin Calendar of Events

Music in the Park Fridays in April & May

Local Lore ~ Elgin’s History

Fourth of July Celebration

Pearls Before Swine Art Fest

Art of Holiday Giving

All dates and events subject to change. Please call Chamber for more information

Attend the Church of Your Choice

BASTROP