Smithville City Hall is located at 317 Main Street, Smithville, TX 78957. Phone: 512-237-3282.
Photo: Burleson House, 207 Northeast Eighth Street, Smithville Residential Historic District in Smithville, Texas. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. Photographed by User:Renelibrary (own work), 2014, [cc‑4.0], via Wikimedia Commons, accessed July, 2025.
Neighborhoods
Neginnings [†]
In 1827, Dr. Thomas Jefferson Gazley arrived and catalyzed the area's growth. Near the present-day location of Independence Park, dedicated on March 2, 2014, Gazley constructed the first home and opened the first store, serving both new settlers and the amicable Lipan and Tonkawa tribes. He served as a Clerk and Secretary in the Mexican government and obtained a Mexican medical license. Gazley played a key role in drafting the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Texas Constitution. During the Texas War for Independence, he served as a citizen soldier and surgeon in the battles of Gonzales, Concepcion Mission, and San Jacinto. After the war, he relocated to Harrisburg, practiced Probate Law, and was elected to the Republic of Texas's Second Legislature. Returning to Smithville in 1846, he established a riverboat landing for the Kate Ward, which operated between Matagorda and Austin. After his death in 1853, Gazley was buried in Smithville’s Gazley Cemetery, and in 1937, his remains were reinterred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
Several years later, William Smith’s family arrived and significantly shaped the region, including informally naming the area Smithville†a name later secured through a legendary coin toss with the Burleson family. Approximately seventeen families resided along the Colorado River’s south bank, while notable figures like entrepreneur John Fawcett and statesman Thomas Hardeman lived west of town. Local businessman Murray Burleson, aware of the approaching Taylor, Bastrop, and Houston (TB&H) railroad, collaborated with partners to acquire land in the Gazley and Loomis Surveys. They planned a new town site adjacent to the railroad tracks, and through negotiations and a land donation, Burleson convinced the railroad to build a depot there. The TB&H arrived in 1887, sparking rapid growth as railroad workers, followed by businesses and services, supported the influx of new residents.
In 1891, the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas (MK&T) Railroad acquired the TB&H. By 1894, the MK&T established central shops in Smithville, driving expansion that made the city the largest in Bastrop County for nearly half a century. The growing population fueled demand for homes, shops, and essential services. The Hill family introduced retail marketing and founded the first bank, while the Buescher brothers developed the town’s initial electrical and water systems. Prominent families, including the Bueschers, Powells, Cooks, Eaglestons, Turneys, Rabbs, and Buntes, partnered to establish cotton gins, general stores, drugstores, lumber and brick yards, churches, and organizations like the Masons and Oddfellows.
Smithville was officially incorporated as a city in 1895, and its leaders prioritized education by establishing the Smithville School District. At the time, it was Bastrop County’s largest city. Between 1900 and 1910, the population reached 3,500, with 119 businesses, including two hotels, 14 grocery stores, five saloons, medical and dental practices, a bank, and a newspaper. The town boasted modern amenities like indoor plumbing, electricity, and telephone service. Many buildings from the prosperous 1890s to 1930s remain standing, serving as points of pride and occasionally generating revenue through Smithville’s thriving film industry. The town has a rich tradition of plays, concerts, art, and films. The Smithville Opera House, built on Main Street in 1893, operated until it burned down around 1928. Today, Playhouse Smithville, located at the former Charlie’s BBQ at 110 Main, continues the community theater tradition.
Smithville’s two historic districts (the residential area north of Loop 230 and the commercial district on Main Street), Independence Park (situated on Dr. Gazley’s historic homestead), and the “undertold stories” marker at West End Park, honoring the Chitlin Trail musicians and the Negro Baseball League, highlight the significance of Smithville’s rich history.
† Adapted from: www.ci.smithville.tx.us, accessed July, 2025