I had few expectations when I drove through the little town of Granger, although I had on my map to find the beautiful Catholic church of Saints Cyril and Methodius and also a notation to check out the City Hall building, although darned if I can find those Internet references now that I go back and look for them. I had to be tipped off somehow. My first thoughts as I arrived in Granger was that it was a dying town divided harshly in halves by the railroad tracks. I since have learned that the Czechs lived on the west side and the Anglos lived on the east. The entire area of Central Texas was the center of a large Czech Moravian immigrant population and the influences are still very apparent today. All you have to do is visit a local cemetery and see the names on the headstones to see the Czech ancestry. The Czechs brought Catholicism with them to Texas, along with some Protestant denominations such as Lutheranism. In Granger up until the 1980s there was still a Czech-language newspaper and they even had Czech schools well into the 20th century. Saints Cyril and Methodius was built in 1916 but it's not the only spectacular in building in town. I opted to take a photo of the side of the church rather than the front because of the confluence of electrical lines!
This fabulous Victorian structure serves as Granger's City Hall. Since I couldn't find that earlier reference I did a search of Texas Historical Markers and discovered that this building, erected in 1908-1909, originally housed the Farmers State Bank which closed in 1926. It has been the City Hall since 1929. An architectural hybrid of the late 19th century Victorian era, it exhibits influences of Italianate, Moorish, and Romanesque design styles. It is one of the few remaining buildings that reflect Granger's propserous economy during the early 20th century.
Today Granger only has about 1400 residents. There are stone lions up and down the main street. You guessed it. The Granger school mascot is the Lions! Granger is located in Williamson County and is about 50 miles northeast of Austin. I did not visit Austin on this trip. That's a three-day trip by itself!
Tomorrow we'll take a look at one of Granger's predominantly Czech Catholic cemeteries.
P.S. I so loved all the dramatic skies that I encountered on this day of my road trip. They certainly enhanced my photographic experience.
9 comments:
Fabulous buildings! I enjoyed your information about the Czech heritage. Who would have guessed?!
Love that City Hall building!
I would love to see this restored, the windows put back and cleaned up a little, i like the mixture...
Yes, the skies are dramatic! The lion at city hall almost looks real. The architecture is amazing - and so historic. Don't you wonder if in 90 years, people will look at today's glass high rise/skyscrapers with the same nostalgia?
Lovely, Kathy!
i do like that moorish 'temple' like top on the city hall.
and go czechs! (i'm half bohemian). :)
I guess with only 1400 people it would be hard to get enough money together to fix up the City Hall. It would be a shame to lose these historic buildings.
That sky is spectacular.
Very interesting history and I love the old buildings in the last several posts. I always thought of Texas as this vast, dry wasteland. I now have a new opinion.
That city hall building is quite interesting. It could be beautifully restored and be spectacular. Sounds like a very interesting little community.
What a grand church! Love the windows and that spire!
When I saw the picture of the city hall I thought how much it looks like some of the old bank buildings around here. And it was a bank building at one time.
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