texas tourism

See Georgetown and the Texas Hill Country in an RV! Georgetown RV rentals are rented out by the owners! https://rvshare.com/rv-rental/georgetown/tx

You should experience Georgetown! During 2017 I have been exploring and traveling in the Texas Hill Country. I recently paid a visit to Georgetown, Texas, 30 miles north of Austin, to experience the Georgetown Wine Festival, but I ended up experiencing so much more! Marcy, from the Visitor’s Center, took me on a wonderful tour of downtown Georgetown, and I learned about a lot more than wine.

This was the first time I actually went into the historic district of Georgetown. I have to say that Georgetown has the prettiest town square I have seen so far in the Hill Country! The courthouse is in the center, surrounded by historic buildings, cute shop fronts, and a grassy lawn. Georgetown is in Williamson County, Texas, and has a rich history. Williamson County is named after a Texas judge and statesman, Robert McAlpin Williamson, aka Three Legged Willie! Willie was three legged because of contracting polio which deformed his leg so that it could not bend. In order to walk, Willie constructed a peg leg and was thereafter known as three legged Willie! You have to admit that is quite a story!

Poppies are a big theme in Georgetown. There are shops and restaurants that display poppies, and Marcy filled me in. They actually have a Poppy Festival every April. The story is that a guy named “Okra” (yep, Okra!) aka Henry Purl Compton, a soldier in the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, loved the poppies in Europe and sent seeds home to his mother, who planted them. They became popular in Georgetown and grew everywhere. Now, they celebrate a Poppy Festival every April, and I’m sure that would be wonderful to see!

The Williamson Museum is chock full of fascinating facts, and is in an old bank building. The building was actually built around the safe! The builders wanted to be sure the safe could not be stolen, so they built it first. Another tidbit of Georgetown history is the Ku Klux Klan trials in the 1920s. Georgetown was the first to successfully prosecute Klan members. The District Attorney was Dan Moody. Talk about a history to be proud of!

“THESE TRIALS WERE CONSIDERED THE FIRST PROSECUTORIAL SUCCESS IN THE UNITED STATES AGAINST MEMBERS OF THE 1920s KLAN AND QUICKLY WEAKENED THE KLAN’S POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN TEXAS. FURTHER, THE PUBLICITY GARNERED BY MOODY FOLLOWING THE TRIAL LED TO HIS SUCCESSFUL RUNS FOR STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL IN 1924 AND TEXAS GOVERNOR IN 1926 AND 1928. HE WAS THE YOUNGEST PERSON EVER ELECTED TO BOTH STATEWIDE OFFICES.”  Williamson County Historical Commission.

The Georgetown Wine Festival took place on the town square, and some of the roads were closed off to be sure there was no problem with traffic. The festival included several wineries, food trucks, and booths. A fun day with perfect weather! It could not have been nicer! I wandered around, taking photographs, just enjoying the beautiful day and the people.

In closing I want to thank the Georgetown Tourist Office and Visitor’s Center for such a wonderful day! What a great place for a Texas trip! There is more to come from me about Georgetown!