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Cattle
drinking in Donahoe Creek
TE Photo 9-04 |
History in
a Pecan Shell
The town dates from 1877 when Austrian immigrant Bernard Schwertner
and his three sons recognised the areas potential for farming.
The town itself was established by one of the sons (Adolf) when he
built a cotton gin in 1903 and donated land for a townsite in anticipation
of the railroad.
The Bartlett and Western Railway arrived in 1909 and three years later
a post office was granted.
By 1915 Schwertner was thriving with a weekly newspaper, boarding
house, doctor and a brass band complementing the essential businesses
(saloon and blacksmith) that every town had. From only ten people
(most of them Schwertners) in 1925, the town swelled to nearly 500
by the end of the decade. By 1933 it had shrunk back to 100 and the
Bartlett and Western Railroad came to a halt two years later.
The population increased to 200 where it remained into the 60s. Schwertner
was consolidated with the Bartlett
ISD in the fifties. |
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Old
store fronts in Schwertner
TE Photo 9-04 |
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Silos
in Schwertner
TE photo 9-04 |
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One of Schwertner's
feline residents
TE Photo 9-04 |
| 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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