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LAMPASAS, TEXAS
Lampasas County Seat, Texas
Hill Country
31°3'57"N 98°11'0"W (31.065868, -98.183444)
On Sulphur Creek
At the junction of U.S. Hwys 183, 281, and 190
69 miles NW of Austin
on Hwy 183
22 miles N of Burnet
37 miles SW of San
Saba
28 miles W of Killeen
ZIP code 76550
Area code 512
Population: 7,291 (2020 )
6,681 (2010) 6,786 (2000) 6,382 (1990)
Book
Hotel Here › Lampasas
Hotels |
History
in a Pecan Shell
Originally named Burleson, after John Burleson, a Texas revolutionary
soldier, the town was built on land given to him for his war service.
The name was changed when Lampasas
County was created in 1856. The town was officially incorporated
the same year the courthouse
was finished (1883). |
Lampasas, Texas
Attractions / Landmarks / Photos
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| 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
The 1870 Keystone
Hotel Historical Marker
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, July 2009 |
Historical Marker:
Keystone
Hotel
1870. Famous early-day stagecoach inn of J. L. N. Gracy. Windows have
keystone arches. Native rock was hauled to site by oxen.
In rear was grave of boy killed by Indians; also bell tower, house
for employees. Wagon yard was across road.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965 |
Formerly Central
Christian Church of Lampasas
Now a Funeral Chapel
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, July 2009 |
Hancock Park:
A city park of 109 acres; amenities include a pool, golf course and
the Hancock Springs. These springs drew many health seeking
tourists in the late 1800s, but had been in use long before the area
was settled. A marker in Hancock Park shows where a bathhouse was
built for steam baths.
The current attractive suspension bridge is a replica of the
one that connected the Park Hotel with the bathhouse. |
The bridge at
Hancock Park over Sulphur Creek
Photo courtesy Jim & Lou Kinsey, 2003 |
One of the many
stone structure around Lampasas
TE photo, 2002 |
Lampasas, Texas
Nearby Destinations
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Colorado Bend
State Park:
Colorado
Bend State Park by Chandra Moira Beal
From U.S. 183 North, take FM 580 west at Lampasas... more
Colorado
Bend: It Is What It Is by Clay Coppedge
"..Colorado Bend is pure Hill Country: stands of live oak and
juniper, thick with wildflowers in the spring, whitetail deer all
year long and, every spring, the white bass moving up the Colorado
River to spawn... more"
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Cemetery:
Lampasas
County’s Longmeadow Cemetery by Mike Cox
"Many of their forebears are buried in this small rural cemetery,
a fenced graveyard accessible only by an unpaved private road...
While its exact location is unknown, the first burial in or near
this cemetery 8 miles east of Lampasas occurred in 1793. And it
may well be the oldest Anglo burial in Texas... more"
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People:
"Skelped"
by Mike Cox
Oak Hill Cemetery - Chiseled on his simple tombstone, in addition
to his name, birthday and date of death, is the story of his fate
in five words -- “killed & skelped by Indians.”
What
Stanley Walker Saw by Clay Coppedge
Stanley Walker, the legendary journalist and editor from Lampasas,
was a man ahead of his time. Though he lived and worked in a time
far removed from ours, his perceptions and comments hold merit more
than 40 years after his death...
O.
Henry by Mike Cox
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Lampasas, Texas
Driving Tour & Map
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The first stop
when visiting Lampasas is the Chamber of Commerce located
in the 1902 Santa Fe Depot.
501 East Second Street (Corner of 2nd and Live Oak Streets)
Phone: 512-556-5172.
http://www.lampasaschamber.org/
The reason for making this your first stop is to pick up the excellent
Driving Tour and Map. A lot of work went into this, and it
is complete. Towns wishing to do a driving tour would do well to
study this one.
Another interesting brochure is a detailed history of the local
Horrell-Higgins
feud, which came to a head in a bloody downtown shootout on
June 7th 1877. Unlike the Hollywood shootouts which produce scores
of bodies in a five- minute fight, this one took an hour and a half
and resulted in two fatalities with one wounded.
In addition to an active Chamber and its membership in the Main
Street Cities program, Lampasas has also formed a Courtyard Square
Association "dedicated to the preservation of the historic downtown
district."
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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 recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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