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Georgetown is a city in Williamson County, Texas, United States. The population was 28,339 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Williamson County. Southwestern University is located in Georgetown. Inner Space Cavern is a cave that is located here.

Geography

Georgetown is located at (30.651187, -97.681333), 26 miles (42 km) north of Austin.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 64.6 km² (24.9 mi²). 59.1 km² (22.8 mi²) of it is land and 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²) of it (8.42%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 28,339 people, 10,393 households, and 7,711 families residing in the city. The population density was 479.3/km² (1,241.3/mi²). There were 10,902 housing units at an average density of 184.4/km² (477.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.39% White, 3.39% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 8.31% from other races, and 1.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 18.07% of the population.

There were 10,393 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.6% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city the population was spread out with 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. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $54,098, and the median income for a family was $63,338. Males had a median income of $40,541 versus $27,082 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,287. About 4.4% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

Georgetown, the county seat of Williamson County, was founded in 1848 at the fork of the San Gabriel River. The town was named for George Washington Glasscock who donated the land for the new town. Early pioneers were attracted to the area's abundance of timber and good, clear water, just as the Tonkawa Indians, who thrived in the area for many years. In addition, the land was inexpensive and extremely fertile.

Georgetown remained an agrarian community for most of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The establishment of Southwestern University in 1873 and construction of a railroad in 1878 contributed to the town's growth and importance. A stable economy was based largely on agriculture, mainly cotton. The Chisholm Trail, a cattle trail that led from Texas to the railcenters in Kansas and Missouri crossed through the heart of Georgetown.

Cotton production became dominant in the area from the 1880s through the 1920s. The Georgetown and Granger Railroad (GGR) was completed to Austin in 1904. Extensive loss from a 1921 flood led Georgetown to seek flood control, an effort that culminated in the building of a dam to impound Lake Georgetown, which opened officially on October 5, 1979. An unlicensed radio station appeared briefly in the 1930s, and Radio Station KGTN opened in 1962. At one time, Georgetown was served by two railroads, the International-Great Northern, which eventually was merged into the Missouri Pacific, and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway. Currently, Georgetown is served by the appropriately named Georgetown Railroad, a 'short line' railroad 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.

Population growth and industrial expansion continued modestly in the twentieth century until about 1960, when residential, commercial, and industrial development greatly accelerated. Since then adaptive restoration has been widely practiced, with special emphasis on a Main Street program and private restoration of older homes. 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 successful preservation efforts, Georgetown was named a national Main Street City in 1997, the first Texas city so designated. In 1998, the city celebrated its 150th birthday with numerous community activies and parties. By 2000, Georgetown and Williamson County experienced tremendous growth doubling the population.

The Founding of Georgetown Texas has a great story

The *Tonkawa and *Comanche Indians where some of the earliest to have a lived on the *San Gabriel river many years before the arrival of the Spanish and settlers. Archeologists find evidence of Indian habitation that dates back some 11,700 years.

Georgetown Texas is the county seat of Williamson County which was formed on March the 13th in the year of 1848 after the early settlers petitioned the State Legislature to create it out of Milam County. But for Three-Legged Willie the county could have been named "San Gabriel" county. It was finally named after Robert M. Williamson aka *Three-Legged Willie *(see pic) a Texas statesmen and judge at the time.

The Old Chisholm Trail passed through Georgetown on its way to the the trail drives to the stock yards up north! The founding of Georgetown was in 1848. A story relayed to historians - Washington Anderson, tells of Georgetown’s beginnings. Anderson and the four other men assigned the task of locating a county seat were enjoying a brief respite under a large oak tree, when Anderson’s cousin and prodigious landowner, *George Washington Glasscock, Sr., rode up on his mule. Sensing a quick solution to their task, Anderson spoke up, “George, if you’ll give us all the land between here and the San Gabriel River, we’ll make this the county seat and name the town after you.” His cousin agreed, promptly donating 173 acres, with his partner *Thomas B. Huling.

The early Georgetown was a population of immigrants with Swedish, German, Austrian, Swiss, Moravian and Czech settlers joining transplanted Americans from Tennessee, South Carolina and other Southern states.

(to see pictures of the old timers/pioneers - *click here)

see BIBLIOGRAPHY: Clara Stearns Scarbrough, *Land of Good Water:

Sites of interest

External links

Cities in Texas | Williamson County, Texas | County seats in Texas

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Georgetown, Texas".

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