August 24, 2007

Llano - The Granite City

Llano, Texas (population: 3,325), is the Llano County seat and 73 miles NW of Austin, 64 miles W of Georgetown, 34 miles E of Mason, and 39 miles N of Fredericksburg.

From TexasEscapes.com:

Llano nearly became a steel town when huge iron deposits were found. The boom didn't last long, after someone noticed there was no coal for smelting. Many streets in Llano have names that date from those optimistic times.

Marble and granite production partially made up for the steel mills that never materialized. Marble and granite was shipped all over the U.S. until the railroad went up on their rates. Llano County today continues to be trucked away daily by the ton. A proposed railroad link to Fredericksburg never made it off the drawing board, but there's little doubt it would've been a boon to the economy of both towns.



Llano's Masonic Lodge

The Old Southern Hotel Building - built in 1880, an annex and other additions were added around 1883, renamed the Colonial Inn, and closed in the 1950s. The additions were removed in 1977 (info. from the Texas Historical Commission plaque).



Llano County Courthouse was built in 1893. This is Llano County's fourth courthouse. A fire on January 22, 1892, destroyed the previous one. It's known for its unusually off-center tower.


American Doughboy statue in front of courthouse

The Confederate statue near the courthouse is evidence of the fact that Llano had a very high percentage of votes for succession.

The plaque says it was built in 1919, using an "Alamotif," or Mission Revival style.

Lantex Theater - opened in 1927

4 comments:

  1. Went to school there, although lived 20 mi. away in Kingsland. My mom worked in the courthouse, before the restoration. I understand it's quite impressive, considering it was a firetrap prior to the restoration.

    Chasrich

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's cool, chasrich! Llano was nice.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous10:43 PM

    Great site! Found you through Lonely Pictures. Added you to my blogroll 2!

    Best,
    Frank

    http://fadingad.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you liked it, Frank. I appreciate it!

    ReplyDelete