Bug's Guidebook to Texas.

[Bugman]

La Grange is the county seat of Fayette County, about 65 miles southeast of Austin on Hwy. 71.

For centuries before the arrival of white settlers bands of Lipan Apache and Tonkawa Indians made their home there. The first known Anglo settlers were Aylette C. Buckner and Peter Powell. By 1822 formal settlement was underway and between 1824-1828 ten members of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred received land grants along the fertile Colorado River. The Apache and Tonkawa got along well with the newcomers and often joined them in fighting marauding bands of Comanche, Waco and Kichais.

In 1837 the state organized Fayette County and residents of La Grange established a formal town government in January 1838. First settled largely by former residents of the Old South by the 1840's German immigrants were flocking to the county in search of land and opportunity. This was followed by a wave of Czech immigration in the 1850's.

The years after the Civil War brought hard times to the county. By 1860 slaves constituted as much as one third of taxable property. While they were now free this did little to improve their lives. Most stayed in the county but were forced to work for their former masters for meager wages or trying to scratch out a living as sharecroppers, receiving little in return for their backbreaking labor.

As the economy recovered cotton returned as the leading cash crop and production peaked between 1900-1930. The Great Depression once again visited hard times on Fayette County. Overproduction combined with drought and boll weevil infestations to devastate cotton crops leaving many farmers destitute. By the 1950's dairy cows and cattle raised for beef largely replaced cotton in importance and by 1987 cotton was no longer planted.

Today beef cattle, sorghum, hay and peanuts are the primary agricultural products. Oil and natural gas production and tourism also contribute to the local economy.

The 2014 census counted 24,833 residents in the county with almost 5,000 of those in La Grange.

 

[milagros317]

Very interesting history, Bugman. I had never heard of Fayette County prior to your post.
😀

 

[Bugman]

Very interesting history, Bugman. I had never heard of Fayette County prior to your post.
😀

Thanks Mils, glad you enjoyed it. More is on the way.

 

[Bugman]

La Grange has a long and colorful history of organized prostitution. A Mrs. Swine arrived in 1844 with three girls. They found rooms in a hotel and set up shop in the lobby with a room upstairs for more intimate moments. A practical woman, Mrs. Swine and her girls cultivated relationships with law enforcement and the community at large. This served them well until the Civil War when Mrs. Swine and one of her girls named Tillie were branded as Yankees and traitors and run out of town.

Miss Jessie Williams came to La Grange in 1905 and bought a house. She also became involved in the town, becoming friendly with the police. Politicians and law officers were frequent guests. Informed of a coming crackdown on prostitution in town she sold the house and bought another house on eleven acres outside the city limits. Sheriff Will Lossein stopped by every evening in search of information on any criminals that might have visited.

Miss Jessie ran a tight ship. There were no locks on the bedroom doors and she roamed the halls listening for customers who may have been rough with the girls. She chased troublemakers out of the house wielding an iron rod and threating to bash their skulls in.

Two sisters joined the house in 1917 and were quickly put in charge of public relations. During WWI the girls sent packages and letters to Doughboys fighting in Europe. One of the sisters married an older wealthy customer and moved to San Antonio, becoming a beloved and respected patron of the arts. The other stayed with the brothel the rest of her life.

During the Great Depression times were tough even for a brothel. Lower prices failed to bring in much business and the girls sometimes went hungry. Jessie came up with an innovative solution; the favors of one of the ladies could be had in return for a live chicken or, as she put it "one screw for one chicken". Soon so many of the birds were running around the brothel became known as the Chicken Ranch.

During WWII the practice of sending packages and letters to men fighting overseas was revived. By the end of the war Miss Jessie was crippled by arthritis and confined to a wheelchair, later becoming bedridden. The last years of her life were spent living with a sister in San Antonio where she died in 1961 at age 80.

In 1952 twenty-three year old Edna Mitton bought the Ranch for $30,000. The practice of community involvement continued with Edna donating to civic causes. As business grew rooms were added onto the house until it became necessary to construct several small houses on the property.
Sheriff T.J. Flournoy had a direct telephone line from his office to the ranch, with nightly calls taking the place of personal visits.

At its peak 16 girls worked for the Ranch but on some weekends customers were lined up outside. Also on staff were a doorman, two attendants, maids and a cook. One military base provided a helicopter shuttle service on weekends and a visit to the Chicken Ranch became a rite of passage for incoming freshmen at Texas A&M.

In 1973 Marvin Zindler was a young ambitious reporter for KTRK-TV in Houston. In mid-January Zindler aired an expose on the ranch which was picked up by the networks and became a national story. The resulting hue and cry forced Gov. Dolph Briscoe to act and he ordered the ranch closed. The ranch discreetly reopened a few months later but Zindler pounced on the story and by summer the Chicken Ranch closed for good.

In 1977 two Dallas businessmen bought the original house and furniture. They moved everything to Dallas and opened The Chicken Ranch Restaurant in October with Miss Edna as hostess but it closed early in 1978.

The Chicken Ranch story is the basis for the Broadway musical and film The Best Little *****house In Texas.

 

[milagros317]

Ah, yes, the famous chicken ranch. Thanks for the detailed history its rise and fall.
Fascinating that prostitutes were welcome in the the town but not Yankees.

 

[Bugman]

In 1890 the courthouse was declared unfit for use and too far gone for renovation. A committee was formed to find an architect and builder. A Colorado City Texas company was awarded the contract to build the new courthouse for $82,750. Construction began in January 1890 and Commissioner's Court formally accepted the building December 1 1891. And to demonstrate some thing never change, the final price to the taxpayers was $99,407.04.

The Cenotaph in the first picture honors Nicholas Mosby Dawson and 36 volunteers who died at Salado Creek September 18 1842. More on that later.

 

[Bugman]

Ah, yes, the famous chicken ranch. Thanks for the detailed history its rise and fall.
Fascinating that prostitutes were welcome in the the town but not Yankees.

Glad you enjoyed it Mils. That post was getting so long I left out a lot.

Yep. In those days calling someone a Yankee was the most grievous insult one could imagine.

 

[Bugman]

A few more courthouse pictures.

 

[rdhd]

The Chicken Ranch. Also immortalized by Z. Z. Top (that little ol' band from Texas) in the song La Grange. Mah-how-how.....

 

[Bugman]

In 1858 ten German immigrants formed the Casino Association of La Grange to raise money for a building that could serve as a school and community center. In July 1880 Casino Hall opened, at a cost of $12,000. By 1924 the school had outgrown the hall and the building was renovated to serve as city hall and home of the fire department. The city moved into a new building in 1968, followed by the fire department in 1992.

The first floor is now home to a visitors center. The former classrooms upstairs are now a now a single large room with a stage for community theater. The room is also rented out for wedding receptions, proms and other activities.

 

[Bugman]

The Chicken Ranch. Also immortalized by Z. Z. Top (that little ol' band from Texas) in the song La Grange. Mah-how-how.....

Yeah. They don't really promote the Chicken Ranch much, from what I could tell. Two of the houses are still standing but in very bad shape. I didn't take any pictures because it's private property.

 

[Bugman]

The Depot Museum and M-K-T Railroad Depot is a block or so from Casino Hall. The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway began regular service to La Grange in 1880. This building dates to 1950. It replaced the 1906 depot which was badly damaged by a fire. The railroad lanterns are in the old waiting room.

 

[Bugman]

Third picture. Switch locks were used to prevent trains from being diverted off the intended direction. Lower left, timetables dating to the 1920's. The depot masters desk from the 1906 depot.

 

[milagros317]

Very interesting stuff. I like railroad museums. 😀

 

[Bugman]

More depot pictures.

 

[Bugman]

The interior of this caboose has been restored. I've been in vintage railroad cars but had not seen the inside of a caboose before.

 

[Bugman]

This is one of only ten caboose of this type there were made. It dates to around 1970 and has not been restored yet.

 

[Bugman]

Monument Hill & Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites are just south of La Grange.

Nicholas Mosby Dawson was born in Tennessee and later moved to Texas. He served in the Texas Revolution earning the rank of captain. In the fall of 1842 a Mexican army led by General Adrian Woll captured San Antonio. Dawson raised a small company of volunteers and rode towards the fighting. Approaching Salado Creek they found Mexican and Texas forces engaged in battle. Thinking their help was needed they rushed forward and encountered a Mexican cavalry force of around 500 men. Dawson and 35 of his men died in what came to be known as the Dawson massacre. The remains were recovered in 1848 and entombed here. 17 members of the ill fated Mier Expedition also rest here.

 

[Bugman]

The monument and tomb sit 200 above the Colorado River, providing a sweeping view of the countryside.

 

[Bugman]

Heinrich L. Kresiche immigrated from Saxony to Texas in January 1849. He bought 172 acres of land on Monument Hill which included the tomb site. A stonemason by trade, Kresiche built a large home for his family along with a smokehouse and barn. In 1860 he built one of the first commercial breweries in Texas. The business flourished and at its peak was the third largest brewery in the state. The business floundered after his death in 1882 and the building was abandoned.

 

[Bugman]

Located in the visitors center this sewing machine, trunk and wringer washer were owned by the Kresiche family. A scale model of the brewery. A millstone used to grind grain for the brewery.

 

[Bugman]

Nathaniel Faison was born in Kentucky and moved to Texas in the 1830s. He moved to La Grange in 1839 where he worked as a surveyor and merchant. Faison was a member of the Mier Expedition and was among the men captured and taken to Mexico City where they were imprisoned. Seventeen of the men were chosen for execution in the black bean episode. Freed in 1844 Faison returned to La Grange, built a small house and resumed his career. A long time land speculator, by the time of his death he owned 50,000 acres scattered across Texas. After his passing his brother Peter moved his family to La Grange and added on to the home over several decades.

First picture. What looks like an addition is actually the three room house Faison built in the 1840's, making it one of the oldest surviving houses in Fayette County. The fireplace in his sitting room and his office.

 

[Bugman]

Most of the furniture and personal effects in the house were owned by Fasion or a member of the family.