West
Posted by: 
QuesterMark
N 31° 48.158 W 097° 05.635
14R E 680439 N 3520141
This marker stands in front of a gazebo in the front "yard" of the City Hall in the town of West.
Waymark Code: WM68AJ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/21/2009
Views: 18
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data:
Index Entry: West
City: West
County: McLennan
Subject Codes: cities and towns; railroads; stagecoach routes, stands, etc.; Czech immigrants/immigration; roads
Marker Location: 110 N. Reagan at City Hall, West.
Marker Size: 27" x 42"
Marker Number: 5758
Marker Text:
This community traces its origin to the establishment by entrepreneur Thomas M. West of a stagecoach stop, dry goods store and post office here in the late 1860s. Known as the Bold Springs Settlement, these commercial structures were built on a section of the "Dallas Road" leading to West's ranch property. Early Anglo-American settlers were soon drawn to the area by its abundance of good water and the availability of rich wooded prairie blacklands.
In 1880 the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas (Katy) Railroad erected a depot at Bold Springs and in 1882 the name of the community was changed to West in honor of Thomas West. The coming of the railroad and the emergence of cotton production in the 1880s attracted many Czech and German immigrants to this area.
By 1900 the town had become the economic and cultural center of the thriving farming region of north-eastern McLennan County. The community soon added its first newspaper, bank, volunteer fire department, and its first block of brick buildings. By 1910 West was a bustling town of about 2000 people. Since then the community has experienced slow but steady growth. Westfest, an annual event since 1976, celebrates the community's Czech heritage. (1993)
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