The History of Georgetown Texas

Georgetown, Texas, the county seat of Williamson County, once solely a farming community, is now a lively destination for tourists and students alike. Initially a settlement for Swedish pioneers, the town has seen steady growth since its inception.

The town was founded in 1848 nestled in the fork of the San Gabriel River. Swedish pioneers initially settled the area due to the fact that land prices were considerably cheaper than some surrounding areas, and also due to the fact that the land was particularly fertile. From its inception, Georgetown lived most of its life as an agrarian community and only recently started to fall away from the farming lifestyle.

The town was named after George Washington Glasscock, a prolific businessman from Kentucky who had lived in many different places, from St. Louis to Illinois to Texas. In 1846 he donated 172 acres of land for the purpose of starting the town and as a result the town was named in his honor.

In 1873 a University was founded in the town of Georgetown. Southwestern University, the oldest school in Texas, is still there and has a storied history all its own. This University, coupled with the advent of the Austin and Northwestern Railroad, brought a steady influx of new residents to the area. This pattern continued steadily all the way throughout the city's history.

Agriculture, specifically cotton, was a driving factor of population growth in the town until sometime around the 1950s when the general makeup of the city began to change. As Austin continued to grow larger and quicker, the effect of that growth was felt by many neighboring communities. By the 1960s, the main form of growth within Georgetown was no longer one based on railroads and agriculture, but was instead one based on an influx of residential and commercial properties.

In 1963, while building an interstate, a large cave was discovered, the first in the area. Inner space cavern, as it was to be known, was a massive cave structure that prior to this point was completely undiscovered. Large portions of the cave structure remain unexplored and for this reason the cave has become a very popular tourist destination. The cave opened for tourists in 1966 and has remained active ever since. Visitors are loaded into a cable car that descends into the cave and are able to tour over a mile of the cave's structure.

As of last census the area could boast approximately 30,000 residents. Thanks to the attraction of the College and the cave, the area has been relatively untouched by the recession affecting the rest of the nation. Home prices have remained steady, as has the median income of the area.