Georgetown's Small Town Charm

Start with a small Texas county seat. Add a sprinkling of cultural attractions, a pinch of recreational sites, a dash of locally owned businesses and a heaping helping of restored historic buildings and what do you have? The perfect recipe for one charming small town.

Georgetown has refined its recipe for community charisma as the city has grown and prospered. Serving as seat for the second fastest growing county in the nation, Georgetown continues to hang onto its cozy charm, resulting in a town where residents and visitors can shop for produce from local growers in the day then enjoy a world-class piano concert or theater performance at night. While some communities have tried and failed in their attempts at enjoying the best of both worlds, Georgetown may have just found the secret ingredient: preservation.

Local residents agree. "A lot of people have moved here from large cities and have tried hard to keep Georgetown's small town appeal," notes resident Jeannette Holliday. "They like the small town atmosphere and the slower pace here."

Preserving that appeal has been a community-wide effort. As it approaches its sesquicentennial birthday in July 1998, the city has firmly grasped the historic foundations of the community. These roots bind Southwestern University, the oldest college in Texas, and rich Victorian architecture from the late 1800s to modern additions such as retirement community Del Webb's Sun City Georgetown and businesses which have benefitted the Georgetown economy without altering its environment.

Recognition of Georgetown's success in integrating its past and present has come from several national sources. From 1982 to 1986, Georgetown participated in the Main Street project, renovating and rejuvenating historic structures to bring back the look of the 1890s. With the help of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, over $8 million was invested in this project.

The investment paid off in both appearance of the downtown and its appreciation not only by the residents of Georgetown but by the nation. Georgetown was selected in 1997 as one of five national winners of the Great American Main Street Award. Cosponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation's National Main Street Center, the award recognizes communities that demonstrate active public and private participation in revitalization, broad-based community support, success in boosting their downtown economy, and adaptive use and preservation of key historic buildings. According to National Trust president Richard Moe, "These towns recognize that by capitalizing on the past they could build a better future."

Today visitors walking along that award-winning downtown square get a feel for the small-town atmosphere that makes Georgetown so special. Just as it was over a century ago, the courthouse square still thrives as the heart of the Georgetown business community.

The square really comes alive during seasonal special events. Just as it did a century ago when it was used for First Monday horse trading days or events like the firemen's picnic, this site hosts many of Georgetown's get-togethers. MayFair on the Square and the Christmas Stroll unite residents and visitors in a spirit of celebration and pageantry on the historic square.

Georgetown's recognition has also come from many national publications, thanks in part to Southwestern University.

Like the community itself, the university has changed and developed over the years, recently embarking on a renovation and building project that includes a health and wellness center, a high-tech academic building, a new women's residence hall, a multi-purpose campus center, and expansion of several other campus structures. In the midst of the improvements, however, the university still clings to its historic roots and to the town as a vital resource.

The university also offers residents and visitors big-city cultural opportunities.

Today the community reflects a fresh look not only in its downtown and university neighborhoods, but into the surrounding areas. North from the courthouse square, San Gabriel Park has served for centures as a gathering site. Native Americans camped on the verdant grounds, pioneers met here, and early Georgetown residents congregated on the river banks for parades and meetings, including one event that featured speaker Sam Houston.

Today park lovers enjoy shady picnics on the oak- and pecan-dotted grounds. Children romp on the playscape while fishermen try their luck from the grassy river banks. West of the park at Blue Hole, where river waters reflect limestone cliffs, a new revitalization has made this beautiful spot again a place to be appreciated by residents and visitors. Upstream, the North San Gabriel River has been controlled to create Lake Georgetown, a 1,310-acre lake popular with fishermen, boaters, water skiers, and swimmers. Four shoreline parks draw campers, hikers, and day visitors.

South on I-35, Inner Space Cavern, discovered during the construction of the highway, draws family travelers. It remains one of the most accessible caverns in the state due to its roadside location. Guests enter the cavern on a cog railroad car, descending from the visitors center to the well-lit, easy-to-follow trail.

Over 80,000 years of dripping water carved Inner Space Cavern from the easily eroded limestone. Today visitors view discoveries such as the remains of Ice Age mastodons, wolves, sabre-toothed tigers, and glyptodon (a kind of prehistoric armadillo) as well as delicate cave formations on their walk through the cool cave.

Just across the highway lies another popular visitor attraction: the Georgetown Candle Factory. This operation really "lights up" for visitors, and on most days travelers watch workers producing the candles.

Georgetown Candle Factory typifies the type of business Georgetown attracts: clean industry that integrates into the community. The large operation makes hundreds of styles of candles in an assortment of colors, scents, and sizes, from tiny votive candles to hand painted candles, arrangements, and ceramic candle holders.

Just as the Georgetown Candle Factory has become a vital part of the community, the city's largest development links the small town with newcomers. Del Webb's Sun City, best known for its Phoenix area development, moved into the Georgetown region with a Texas style. Sun City has also worked to integrate its new residents into the Georgetown community and to make the town feel welcomed by sponsoring performances at the Southwestern University summer theater, hosting Chamber of Commerce banquets, and encouraging residents to take part in local festivals.

With its trickling brook, stone dam, and native plants, the development blends into the community and surrounding countryside, another example of the preservation that helps the city maintain its small town atmosphere in the face of change.

When...Where...How

Georgetown rests on the border of farmland to the east and ranchland to the west. Located 10 miles north of Round Rock on I-35 and approximately half an hour north of Austin on I-35, the community easily accessible.

To have a look at the award-winning downtown, take exit 261 off I-35 and continue right to Austin Avenue. Turn left at the light for a look at the restored courthouse square. With its stately oaks and shady lawn, it is so typical of Texas that it's been used as a set for several movies and TV shows.

Visitors' Stops

Make your first stop at the Georgetown History and Visitor Information Center, located at 101 W. Seventh Street on the square. Stop by for a copy of a Georgetown map, brochures on area attractions, and walking tour booklets and cassettes. The center also sells many Georgetown items, from posters to coffee cups.

Family travelers especially enjoy Inner Space Cavern, located west of I-35 at exit 259. Discovered during the construction of the interstate, this cave is a cool getaway for summer travelers and was once a hideaway for animals as well. The cave is open daily.

Just across I-35, the Georgetown Candle Factory contains huge vats of hot wax where employees dip tapers and the Candle Factory's own special creation, the basket candle, made of wicks woven into a basket shape. No matter what the season, it feels like Christmas at the factory; shop for green and red candles, holiday arrangements, and snowballs: candles made of whipped white wax so lifelike it could pass for the real thing. A miniature ceramic village, complete with cottony snow, makes visitors feel like the drifts must be piling up outside the scented haven of the Georgetown Candle Factory.

Three and a half miles west of Georgetown on FM2338, Lake Georgetown was constructed on the north fork of the San Gabriel River. Three public park offers swimming, fishing, boating, camping, and hiking opportunities. The 17-mile Good Water Trail follows the upper end of the lake.

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