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Smiley
water tower
Photo courtesy Jim & Lou Kinsey, April 2005 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
John Smiley was a sheepherder who settled on a lake in the vicinity
in the early 1870s. The lake became known as Smiley’s Lake
– and older Gonzales
County residents knew Smiley as Smiley’s Lake. By the turn of
the century – only the name Smiley appeared on maps.
Cattle herds driven to market watered at the lake. Businesses soon
sprang up to cater to the drovers and by the 1880s – a town was born.
A post office opened in 1884 and within two years Smiley became Gonzales
County’s number three city. By 1896 the community had several
hundred residents.
In 1905, the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway came through
the area north of “old” Smiley.
The town incorporated in 1911 but was devastated by a fire that same
year. By the 1920s Smiley had an estimated population of 600. In the
1930s and 1940s it became well-known as a poultry-processing center.
In 1964 the population fell just below 500 and remained at that level
for the next 35 years. |
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| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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