Granbury
is the county seat of Hood County, Texas. Located 35 miles
southwest of Fort Worth, Granbury is nestled on the edge of the scenic Texas Hill County on
the shores of Lake Granbury, a 30-mile long recreational haven.
"Granbury's historic town square, established in 1871, was the first
in Texas to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places,
and it became a model for the Texas Main Street Program. Today more
than 50 antique and specialty shops, restaurants, and boutiques
are housed in 1880s historic buildings." (Quoted from
Preserve America Community).
About ten to fifteen years before the Civil War, settlers from the east began
to arrive in the area now known as Hood and Somervell Counties, Texas.
Charles E. Barnard was one of the earliest of these and set up a trading post
and Barnard's Mill at a site now in Somervell County. George B. Erath, for whom
an adjacent county is named, surveyed the Brazos River around 1846-50.
In 1854, stock raisers and farmers led Uncle Tommy" Lambert and Amon Bond
started settling the Brazos and Puluxy river valleys in this area. In this same
year, Elizabeth Crockett brought her family to settle on a league of land awarded to her by the Republic of Texas.
In November, 1866, the Eleventh Texas Legislature established Hood County.
The new county was named after Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood of the
Confederate Army.
The county seat of the new county was to be named for General Hiram
Bronson Granbury, another Confederate General. However, a controversy
soon developed over where Granbury should be located. A commission was
appointed to resolve the controversy voted in favor of the northern location,
which was donated by Thomas Lambert, J. F. Nutt, and J. Nutt. This decision led Texas legislature
to create Somervell County out of the southern part of Hood County in 1875.
The new town became an agriculture center, and when the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway came
to town in 1887, a spurt of building ensued. The Old Opera House was built in 1886 and has
become a main tourist attraction. The red brick railroad depot was built in 1887 and is now
the Genealogical Museum. Of commercial note, the arrival of the railroad led to Granbury and
Hood County becoming a cattle ranching center.
Granbury and Hood County remained a rural agriculture and ranching community until 1969 when
Lake Granbury was impounded on the Brazos River. The community responded immediately with marinas
and shopping malls to serve expanding residential developments. In the 1980's, the construction of
the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant brought a new influx of skilled and professional residents.
Granbury's attractions include its historic square, live entertainment, golfing, water sports, and of
course, fishing. Of particular interest is the Historic Granbury Cemetery. Local history records that
Billy the Kid and John Wilkes Boothe are buried there.
Historical resources used include
The Handbook of Texas
and
roadsideamerica.com.
Google Map of Granbury, TX
North America View
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