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Community
Features
La Grange is
the county seat of Fayette County and is located on State
Highway 71 and U.S. Highway 77 on an old Indian camp. La
Grange is rich in scenic beauty, lies below the Bluff on the
Colorado River, and the J. Eblin League which was selected as
the location for the Capitol of Texas until vetoed by Sam
Houston who wanted the capitol to bear his name.
La Grange was first settled in the
1820's on land granted to John H. Moore. The town is named
after General La Fayette's county home in France near the
Swiss border. The county seat is the largest town in Fayette
County and provides the county citizens with governmental,
commercial, medical, civic, and cultural facilities.
The town is laid out around a
public square on which is located the Fayette County
Courthouse built in 1891. Postal service officially came to
rural Texas communities on August 1, 1899 with the opening of
the first Texas Rural Mail Route Station in La Grange. La
Grange was also the site of the organization of the S. P. J.
S. T. in Texas. La Grange
has a vibrant and diversified economy. It offers an excellent
school system and a public library and museum. The town was
small in 1836 with only two stores, but in 1850 it was large
enough to be incorporated. La Grange is typical of small town
county seats in southeast central Texas. The Monument Hill and
Kreische Brewery State Historical Park is not only the site of
the burial of remains of the Dawson and Mier expedition of
1842 and 1843 but also the remains of the first brewery in the
State of Texas. La Grange is also the site of the Texas Czech
Heritage and Cultural Center located at the Fayette County
Fairgrounds. There are
over 250 historical cemeteries in the Fayette County area;
however many are on private property and as a result, are not
listed in this brochure. For further information, you may wish
to contact the Fayette Heritage Museum & Archives at 855 S.
Jefferson (979) 968-6418. This library also houses archives
and genealogy information dated back to the early 1800's.
Further tourist information may be
obtained at the La Grange Area Chamber of Commerce, 171 S.
Main, La Grange, TX 78945, or call 1-800-LaGrange.
The Chamber office is housed in the historical Old Jail and
receives visitors Monday through Friday. |
