|
SAN ANGELO,
TEXAS
Tom Green County Seat, West
Texas / Texas
Panhandle
31°26'34"N 100°27'1"W (31.442628, -100.450145)
State Highways 126, 208
US Highways 67, 87, 277
220 miles from San Antonio
86 miles SE of Big
Spring
43 miles SE of Sterling
City
Population: 101,004 Est. (2019)
93,200 (2010) 88,439 (2000) 84,462 (1990)
Book Hotel Here › San
Angelo Hotels |
 |
|
History
in a Pecan Shell
San Angelo had originally been named after the wife (or some say
the sister-in-law) of Bartholomew DeWitt. Mr. DeWitt had bought
the 360 acres opposite Fort
Concho for $1.00 per acre. The town had been spelled San Angela
but that spelling was rejected by the postal authorities for its
"ungrammatical construction". They would accept either Santa Angela
or San Angelo and so the city fathers chose the easier-to-pronounce
San Angelo.
San Angelo grew as a direct result of its proximity to Fort
Concho. The town was a pretty rowdy place, and so was the fort.
But Fort Concho's
post hospital (built in the 1870s) served as the city hospital until
St. John's Hospital and Health Center was constructed in 1910.
Five miles away from the fort - a rival town was prospering and
indeed, it became the county seat. But the town, later to be named
Ben
Ficklin was washed away in an 1882 flood. Ben
Ficklin's colorful story is worth reading.
After the courthouse at Ben
Ficklin was swept away, San Angelo became the logical choice
for the county seat. Shortly after the flood, Oscar Ruffini
showed up and asked if anyone needed a courthouse. They did.
Ruffini had been sent west for his health and ended up outliving
his "healthy" brother by decades. He stayed in San Angelo and made
it his home, dying in the late 1950s. He is said to have contributed
more than 40 buildings to the city - some of which are still standing.
Between Oscar and brother F. E. - the Ruffini Brothers dotted the
Texas landscape with courthouses, jails and durable structures from
McKinney (The Collin
County Prison) to the Concho
County courthouse in Paint Rock.
San Angelo has always had a diverse economy. It developed a sheep
raising industry in the 1870s and the railroad came through in 1888.
Oil discoveries helped and in 1940 Goodfellow Air Field was developed,
which later became Goodfellow Air Force Base.
|
San Angelo
Landmarks / Attractions
|
Some of the oldest
buildings in San Angelo on E. Concho Ave.
including the 1884 San Angelo National Bank Building
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
The First Baptist
Church at E. Harris Ave. and Oakes St.
The current sanctuary was completed in 1952.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
The First Presbyterian
Church across from the City Hall.
Built between 1906 and 1908.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
The 1910
Orient-Santa Fe Depot
703 S. Chadbourne Street
Museum featuring West Texas Railroading.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017
More Texas
Depots |
Mural on a building
on S. Chadbourne St and Concho Ave.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
Another mural
on a building on S. Chadbourne St. north of Twohig Ave.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017
More Texas Murals
|
The Cactus Hotel
(formerly the Hilton Hotel)
at E. Twohig Ave. and S. Oakes St.
Built between 1928-29, the 14 story building is the tallest building
in San Angelo.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
Cactus Hotel Lobby
Photos courtesy Lou Ann Herda, 2001
|
San Angelo from
the 15th floor of the Cactus Hotel
|
The Naylor Hotel
(later known as the Town House Motor Hotel)
at Concho Ave. and S. Chadbourne St.
It was built in the 1930s at a location where three previous hotels
burned down.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
The Trust Building
at S. Chadbourne St.and Beauregard Ave.
Construction on this six story building began in 1908.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
The San Angelo
City Hall at the intersection of N. Irving St. and W. College Ave.
It was built by the El
Paso architectural firm of Trost and Trost in 1928.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
The 1909 O. C.
Fisher Federal Building and Courthouse
across E. Twohig Ave. from the Cactus Hotel.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017 |
Running
of the Sheep ›
by Audrey A. Herbrich
On the last Saturday in September, local West Texan’s showcase their
idea of “fun” by releasing a herd of sheep in the downtown streets. |
Bronze "Pearl
of the Concho" mermaid statue, which was dedicated in 1994, sits in
the Concho River just west of the Celebration Bridge at S. Oakes.
St.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2017
More Texas
Statues & Monuments |
Concho
Avenue:
Many fine examples of San Angelo's early architecture, beautifully
restored.
San Angelo
State Park:
Camping, boating and fishing on 7,000 acres on O. C. Fisher Reservoir.
3900 - 2 Mercedes San Angelo TX 76901
325-949-4757
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
|
Ice Company
in San Angelo, 1931
[Picture from the papers of Robbie Nell Wood Fulton, 1927-2018, of
San Angelo, Texas.
Transcription of back of photo:
Charley Stages
Bert Allen worked Angelo Ice
1931
Name of Mules Tom on Right Jerry on Left]
- Trudi Becht, February 24, 2021 |
San Angelo
Vintage Postcards
|
Chadbourne Street
Postcard courtesy Danny Whatley |
San Angelo Chadbourne
St. showing Hilton Hotel (Cactus Hotel) & Naylor Hotel
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
San Angelo Chadbourne
St. viaduct and business section
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
1940s street
scene showing the Cactus Hotel
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
San Angelo U.S.
Post Office
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
More Texas
Post Offices |
San Angelo City
Hall
1940s Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Goodfellow Air
Force Base
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Guinn Field,
Home of the San Angelo Colts
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
| San Angelo
Nearby Attractions: |
San Angelo,
Texas Forum
I recently
purchased a travel book on Texas here in Germany, in which they
focused on about five cities in Texas and San Angelo was one of
them. They pointed out that San Angelo, in their opinion, is the
real Texas, with genuine friendly people, etc. I am very proud of
my home!! Take care and best greetings from Hamburg, Germany - Glenn
Du Pree, December 2001
|
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories
and recent/vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
|
|
HOME
