Georgetown, Texas Georgetown, Texas Nickname(s): Red Poppy Capital of Texas, Retirement Capital of Texas, Gtown Location of Georgetown, Texas Location of Georgetown, Texas Georgetown is a town/city in and the governmental center of county of Williamson County, Texas, United States, with a populace of 47,400 at the 2010 census and a populace of 63,716 at the 2016 Enumeration estimate.
Southwestern University, the earliest college in Texas, established in 1840, is positioned in Georgetown about one-half mile from the historic square.
Sun City Texas is a large retirement-oriented and age-restricted evolution that constitutes more than one-third of Georgetown's population.
In 1976, a small-town historic ordinance was passed to recognize and protect the significance of the historic central company district, and in 1977, the Williamson County Courthouse Historical District, including some 46 contributing structures, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Georgetown is also known as the "Red Poppy" Capital of Texas for the red poppy (Papaver rhoeas) wildflowers planted throughout the city.
Georgetown's Red Poppy Festival, which attracts up to 30,000 visitors annually, is held in April each year on the historic square.
One of the most meaningful discoveries in recent times is that of the ancient skeletal remains dubbed "The Leanderthal Lady" because of its age and adjacency to close-by improve Leander, Texas. The site is immediately southwest of Georgetown and was identified by accident by Texas Department of Transportation workers while core samples for a new highway were being drilled.
During the 18th century, they made the transition to a horse culture and used firearms to a limited extent.Also, small numbers of Kiowa, Yojuane, Tawakoni, and Mayeye Indians apparently were living in the county at the time of the earliest Anglo settlements. Even after most Native Americans were crowded out by white settlement, the Comanches continued to raid settlements in the county until the 1860s.
Georgetown is the governmental center of county of Williamson County, which was formed on March 13, 1848, after the early pioneer petitioned the state council to problematic it out of Milam County.
The county was originally to have been titled San Gabriel County, but was instead titled after Robert Mc - Alpin Williamson (Three-Legged Willie), a Texas statesman and judge at the time. Georgetown was an agrarian improve for most of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Shawnee Trail, a cattle trail that led from Texas to the railcenters in Kansas and Missouri, crossed through Georgetown.
Primarily to transport cattle and bales of cotton, at one time, Georgetown was served by two nationwide barns s, the International-Great Northern Railroad, which eventually was consolidated into the Missouri Pacific, and the Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad.
The county-wide Georgetown and Granger Railroad (GGR) was instead of to Austin in 1904.
Currently, Georgetown is served by the appropriately titled Georgetown Railroad, a 'short line' barns that uses portions of the former M-K-T and the I-GN to connect with the Union Pacific Railroad at Round Rock and at Granger.
Extensive damage and loss of life throughout the county from a 1921 flood led Georgetown to seek flood control.
A low-pressure fitness from a hurricane settled in over Williamson County and brought more than 23 inches of precipitation in Taylor and more than 18 inches of precipitation in Georgetown.
An estimated 156 persons perished in the flood, many of them farm workers . The flood and its horrific destruction culminated in the building of a dam on the north fork of the San Gabriel River to problematic and impound Lake Georgetown, which opened officially on October 5, 1979. Both Georgetown and Round Rock own the water rights to Lake Georgetown for municipal water use.
In 2008, Fortune Small Business periodical titled Georgetown the number-two best town/city in the country to "live and launch" a new business. In March 2015, Georgetown announced that their municipal-owned utility, Georgetown Utility Systems, would begin buying 100% of its power for its customers from wind and solar farms by 2017, effectively making the town/city 100% green-powered. Typical downtown Georgetown buildings on "The Square" This 1900 1910 "pattern book" home was moved to Georgetown from Round Rock, Texas, in 2006 and is now positioned in Georgetown, overlooking the South San Gabriel River A densely overgrown 1908 1910 Victorian home was found in Round Rock, Texas, where the La Frontera universal now sits.
The home originally was set athwart the street from an identical home which was used in the recording of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and which was also cut into seven pieces and was moved to Kingsland, Texas, to turn into part of the Antlers Hotel. It was moved in 2006 and restored by the developers of La Frontera, Don Martin and Bill Smalling (1953 2008), and sits on San Gabriel Village Blvd, prominently overlooking the South San Gabriel River.
Georgetown's resurrected interest in its historic resources came at a time when the cost of borrowing cash was soaring.
A mere two years after its Main Street program was founded, more than half the Main Street precinct had undergone some kind of positive transition. The town/city was recently titled one of the best places to purchase a historic home.
Today, Georgetown is home to one of the best preserved Victorian and pre-WW1 downtown historic districts, with the Beaux-Arts Williamson County Courthouse (1911) as its centerpiece.
Due to its prosperous preservation accomplishments, Georgetown was titled a nationwide Main Street City in 1997, the first Texas town/city so designated. Georgetown has three National Register Historic Districts: Blue Hole Park is a prominent swimming region in Georgetown, positioned on the North Fork of the San Gabriel River.
Georgetown is positioned at 30 39 04 N 97 40 53 W (30.651187, 97.681333), 26 miles (42 km) north of Austin's Central Business District.
According to the United States Enumeration Bureau, the town/city has a total region of 24.9 square miles (64.6 km2), of which 22.8 square miles (59.1 km2) is territory and 2.1 square miles (5.4 km2) (8.42%) is veiled by water.
Prior to the 2010 census, the town/city annexed part of the Serenada CDP, increasing its total region to 54.3 square miles (141 km2), of which, 52.1 square miles (135 km2) of it is territory and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2) is water-covered. The town/city is positioned on the northeastern edge of Texas Hill Country.
Portions of Georgetown are positioned on either side of the Balcones Escarpment, a fault line in which the areas roughly east of IH-35 are flat and characterized by having black, fertile soils of the Blackland Prairie, and the west side of the escarpment which consists mostly of hilly, karst-like terrain with little topsoil and higher elevations and which is part of the Texas Hill Country.
The North and Middle Forks of the San Gabriel River both run through the city, providing over 30 miles of hike and bike trails, a several parks, and recreation for both inhabitants and visitors.
Invertebrate species found only in Williamson County live in the cave-like fissures on the west side of Georgetown.
According to the Koppen climate classification system, Georgetown has a humid subtropical climate, Cfa on climate maps. Georgetown, like much of Central Texas, is characterized by its long and hot summers with cooler, mild winters.
Georgetown has over 300 days of at least partly cloudy skies per year, with over 225 of them being mostly sunny to sunny.
In the city, the populace was distributed as 23.4% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older.
Georgetown Independent School District (1,650) City of Georgetown (455) Without question, the single most meaningful copy relating to economic evolution was the locale of Interstate 35 through Georgetown.
Meanwhile, Round Rock and Georgetown leadership firmly lobbied for a route along the Balcones Escarpment fault line, which would later turn into U.S.
The second-largest economic evolution activeness in Georgetown history was the selection in 1995 of Georgetown as the site for the first-ever Sun City locale in Texas.
Originally called Sun City Georgetown, the universal today is called Sun City Texas due to its size and because it draws inhabitants from all over the state.
A Sun City Texas pool at the most recent neighborhood amenity center at Cowan Creek Opened in June 1995, Sun City Texas is a 5,300-acre (21 km2) age-restricted improve positioned in Georgetown, about 10 miles west of I-35 on Williams Drive (RM 2338).
It is part of the chain of Sun City communities started by the Del Webb Corporation (now a division of Pulte Homes). Residency is restricted to persons over age 55 (at least one person in a couple has to be 55 or older). Sun City Texas is made up mostly of single-family dwellings, but also has duplexes.
Opposition to the universal has been vocal at times, especially at the start amid the zoning process, with arguments against the size of the community, its effect on Georgetown as a family-oriented town, concerns about the costs of providing town/city utilities, concern about lowered property taxes fixed for retirees under Texas law, and the excessive effect of town/city voting. Sun City has had a momentous impact on Georgetown in terms of populace and demographics.
Georgetown is considered to be one of the best places to retire in the country because of its fairly warm climate year round, close adjacency to both the countryside and Austin, excellent medical care including Alzheimer's care, and its increasing populace of retirees. In 2007, Georgetown was titled by Retirement Places Rated (seventh edition) as the Best Place in America to Retire.
Part of this is because Sun City Texas, a large master-planned improve for "active grownups 55 and over", calls Georgetown home.
Fifteen years after the universal groundbreaking, Sun City is now home to nearly 11,000 inhabitants nearly 70% retired with a median age of 65 and has been a driving force behind growth, development, and the very shape of Georgetown since its inception. Numerous other active adult communities are also found in Georgetown, including the well-respected Wesleyan at Estrella, the Oaks at Wildwood, Heritage Oaks, and many others. Various projects offer differing levels of care, including assisted living.
The city, county, and churches also maintain compassionate-care facilities for the elderly at the Bluebonnet Community Residence.
The City of Georgetown is a home rule town/city and adopted its initial home-rule charter on April 24, 1970.
Under this form of government, the town/city council provides leadership by establishing the city's goals and policies.
The town/city council appoints a full-time town/city manager to achieve the desired end set by the town/city council.
The manager oversees the day-to-day activities of the town/city and all town/city departments, and executes council-established laws and policies.
The county judge presides as chairman over the court, and is propel every four years by all voters in the county.
The City of Georgetown is served by the Georgetown Independent School District and Georgetown High School, a National Blue Ribbon Award school, serves the community.
The Palace Theater is a historic theater in downtown Georgetown.
Sun City Texas Lockett building in Courthouse Square in Georgetown The Georgetown Heritage Center is positioned in a former church building downtown.
Ryan lives in the exclusive gated improve of Cimmaron Hills in Georgetown.
"Pete" Snelson, former member of both homes of the Texas State Legislature from Midland; spent his last years in Georgetown, where he died in 2014 Ryan Ludwick, a Major League Baseball outfielder who last played for the Cincinnati Reds in 2013, resides in Georgetown with his wife Joanie and son, Stetson Tyler.
"Georgetown Mainstreet History".
"Handbook of Texas Online, "Gault Site" entry".
Historical Round Rock Texas.
""Pre-history" Handbook of Texas entry".
""Williamson County" Handbook of Texas entry".
Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb.
Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association.
Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb.
Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association.
Georgetown Texas.
Georgetown Texas.
Georgetown, Texas 1997 Great American Main Street Award Winner.
"Population and Housing Unit Counts, 2010 Enumeration of Population and Housing" (PDF).
"Boundary Map of Georgetown, Texas".
Balcones Escarpment from the Handbook of Texas Online.
Texas State Historical Association "Georgetown, Texas Koppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".
"Georgetown Quick - Facts".
Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb.
Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association.
Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb.
Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association.
"Fifteen years later, Sun City still drives town/city growth".
"Del Webb Sun City Texas, About Our Community".
"Fifteen years later Sun City still drives Georgetown growth".
Katie Kelley, Office Manager Texas Film Commission.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georgetown, Texas.
Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclop dia Britannica article about Georgetown, Texas.
City of Georgetown website Williamson County Historical Commission page on Georgetown Georgetown from the Handbook of Texas Online Municipalities and communities of Williamson County, Texas, United States County seats of Texas
Categories:
Cities in Texas - Cities in Williamson County, Texas - County seats in Texas - Greater Austin - Populated places established in 1848 - Georgetown, Texas
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