August 10, 2007

Yoakum

Yoakum, Texas (population: 5,731), is 26 miles SE of Gonzales, 100 miles E of San Antonio, and 60 miles W of Columbus. Yoakum came to be when the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroads joined to complete the shipping routes for thousands of Longhorn cattle in 1887. Yoakum would later be a hub for booming tomato crops which were also shipped via the route.

The Green & Welhausen Building, c. 1912


Yoakum is known for its leather goods (it's sometimes called the "Land of Leather"), and the streets frequently smelled of leather. This is the entrance to Double D Ranch Wear (which is primarily leather).








Ghost signs galore:


Buggies for sale



probably a Wrigley's Spearmint Gum ad



This was a complete surprise, as my usual source has no listing for The Grand.

2 comments:

Lisa said...

These people need to hire you for their chambers of commerces or tourism bureaus or whoever brings the visitors in -- every time I read one of these posts, I just want to hit the road, and stroll around taking it all in. It's like balm for the nerves of a stressed-out urbanite.

Chris said...

I love to be the balm. That's awesome.