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Downtown Dilley.
TE Photo, 2002 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
With all of the
strange place names in Texas, perhaps this is the only town to be
named after the first man to step off a train. The first man in this
case was George M. Dilley of Palestine,
Texas. Maybe it was the first rich and influential man to step
off the train, for George was the president of Dilley Foundries -
the firm that made the rails for the International and Great Northern
Railroad, or at least the portion that went to Laredo.
If the legend is true, then there are many far worse names that Dilley
could've taken. Darlington was Dilley's working title when George
showed up. It's not known if a Mr. Darlington stepped off an earlier
train.
Before the railroad, stray longhorns
were driven to Kansas up the Chisholm trail, and this provided
an income for the few residents in the area. Later, irrigation provided
a way to produce produce. They referred to this as truck farming to
avoid sentences like the last one.
Our source states that in the 1920s tourists would ride the train
from San Antonio
to "enjoy the winter sunshine." Today we're not impressed with being
60 miles closer to the equator, but evidently they were in the 20s.
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Watermelon
TE Photo, 2002 |
Dilley
Today
Dilley
has fewer citrus trees and more production of watermelons and peanuts.
An oil boom occurred in the 1970s/ 80s. A large watermelon in the
city park adds Dilley to the roster of towns that have larger-than-life
animals, vegetables and minerals on their squares (Floresville,
Seguin, Hidalgo,
Ft.
Stockton et. al.).
The lobby of the Dilley State Bank has a gallery of Texas landscapes
in oil.
© John
Troesser
Source: Little Towns of Texas, Jayroe Graphics, Jacksonville,
Texas, 1981 |
1935
Flood
scene of the Frio River
north of Dilley, Texas
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Dilley Tourist Information
Chamber of Commerce: Miller and Main Streets - 830-965-1742
Book Hotel Here > Dilley
Hotels |
Dilley, Texas
Forum
Subject:
Enjoyed Dilley, Texas website
I had to locate Dilley in association with my job duties and was
very impressed with your Dilley, Texas website. I look forward to
visiting with my family someday to say we've been to Dilley. Thanks
for the smiles this morning. - Renee Zeller, Katy, TX, September
29, 2006
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
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