Llooking in on Llano

There are times when I really wish I had listened more carefully to the

Llano River

stories my grandmother told about her early life in Texas. What I know about Llano comes mostly from studying geology in college: the Llano uplift is a geologic dome about 90 miles in diameter made up of exposures of Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks that are surrounded by Paleozoic and Cretaceous sedimentary strata. This makes a geologist’s heart go pitty-pat as does the fact that Llanite is a form of granite that is only found in the Llano Uplift. However, there are lots of interesting things about Llano that have nothing to do with geology.





According to local historians, it was under a live oak on the south bank of

Llano County Courthouse

the Llano River, near the present site of Roy Inks Bridge, that Llano County was established in 1856. And although this was a rather monumental event, town was little more than a frontier trading center, with a few log buildings housing business establishments, a post office, and a few homes until well into the 1870s. Farming and ranching drove the town’s economy, and still pretty much does. The present county courthouse was completed in 1893. It was designed by A. O. Watson and built by contractors J. A. and G. H. Wilson of Sulphur Springs. The exterior of the building features sandstone, marble, and granite in the Romanesque Revival architectural style. All around the courthouse are reminders of the history of the county and city.



One of the structures that caught Dave’s eye was the Old Southern Hotel

Old Southern Hotel

Building. This old two-story structure appears to be in the process of restoration for use as a hotel once again. In 1880 J. W. Owen had this hotel building constructed by stonemasons J. K. Finlay and John Goodman. It actually had a fairly long life-span as a hotel with a third floor added in 1883 and an annex completed sometime later to serve as a lobby, kitchen and restaurant. It was at one time called the Colonial Inn; it was closed in the 1950s. Around the same time as this hotel was established, the Llano Rural, the town’s first newspaper, came into being. Eventually there were several other papers, the Advocate, the Searchlight, the Gazette, and the Iron City News. These were all merged into the Llano News during the early 1900s. Author and historian, J. Marvin Hunter, once worked here.

As the population grew, so did the need for education. As is usual, schools are generally built in sections to accommodate the number of

L to R: Sidewalk names, O'Henry School

current students with a bit of extra space for growth. The original portion of the two-story schoolhouse was finished in 1887, serving Llano students living south of the river; who knows if there were any students to the north or what, if any education, they received. The school was named after Texas writer William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) who wrote such stories as ‘Gift of the Magi’, ‘The Ransom of Red Chief’, and ‘The Caballero's Way’, which introduced the Cisco Kid character. The O'Henry School Building is made of native sandstone and timber in a College Building style. Until 1925 it housed grades Kindergarten – 12^th when a separate high school structure was built. In front of O’Henry there is a concrete walkway that pays homage to administrators and teachers who served the students of Llano from the origin of the school system. It’s not surprising that such an elaborate school was built because during the same time the founding fathers were anticipating significant growth. Iron deposits had been discovered in Iron Mountain in northwestern Llano County. This discovery attracted investors from all around the US, providing money for creation of an iron furnace and foundry, as well as for the development of commercial real estate, on the north side of the river. New money also led to infrastructure improvements such as a dam, an electric power plant, a streetcar system, electric street lights, a new bridge, and even an extension of the Austin and Northwestern Railroad to the north side of Llano. This was Llano’s boom; the population rose as high as 7000.

Supporting the boom, or at least concurrent with it came another industry

Granite by the river

that has continued to underlie the Llano economy. Llano County Granite industry began in about 1888 when J. K. Finlay was curious about how polishing would change the appearance of a stone from his mill site. About the same time David Stewart opened a quarry south of Llano. There are 13 varieties of granite in Llano County, the rarest, discovered by N. J. Badu, named Opalene or Llanite; it contains opalite flakes. Since its discovery Llanite has been mined for a number of uses, including headstones, buildings, and monuments. It is a very hard stone that holds its shape against erosion quite well. In 1900, sculptor Frank Teich leased a quarry from Stewart and established the Teich Monument Works. Teich was a German native who studied under master German artists and sculptors before coming to the United States. He supervised work on the State Capitol, the Tarrant County Courthouse, numerous Confederate memorials, and other monuments throughout the South.

Of course, since there were more people in Llano, they needed more goods and services. In about 1892, stonemason, John Goodman, built a row of commercial structures that housed a sequence of dry goods

Left: Llano County Jail, a.k.a. Red Top
Right T to B: Acme Dry Goods, Ford Street Comercial
Row

stores, including Mrs. Riley's Millinery, and Carlton's Dry Goods. The single-story brick structure is a bit unusual in that it has round-arch transoms, keystones, and double store-front windows. In 1919 the Acme Dry Goods Company took over the building. Of course, not only did purchasing increase, but so did the town’s social life. However, the boom didn’t last long; mineral resources did not exist in commercially exploitable concentrations, except for granite. Some people turned to crime, so the Llano County jail was constructed. The first floor was used by the jailer for his office and living quarters; the second floor had four cells and two drunk tanks. The third has a walkway around the walls with a hole in the center; fourth floor housed the gallows. The exterior of the building is grey granite that was quarried from the county, constructing this Romanesque Revival jail. Prisoners called this building Red Top because it’s got a red roof. On Ford Street, not too far from the jail is Commercial Row. As with the commercial buildings in downtown Llano, these three the buff and red brick structures may also have been built by John Goodman. They show the typical features of early 20th century commercial structures, including corbelled brickwork. Since 1904, there have been a variety of businesses located in them, including furniture stores, liquor stores, cafes, saloons, mercantile establishments, bakeries, a saddle shop, a domino hall, a feed store, and a theater. However, in 1989 the buildings were turned into the Llano County Library.

At the other end of the social spectrum from the criminals were the women of the Llano Woman's Culture Club. Jennie Clopton organized the

Left: First Woman's Culture Club
Right: Woman's Culture Club in Watson House

Woman's Literary Society with 16 charter members in 1901. Their goal was to work for the betterment of Llano. The club established a public library, arranged for landscaping in public areas, provided scholarships, and coordinated a Works Progress Administration project to build a public library building. The first president of the Woman’s Culture Club was Lutie McLean Watson. She and her husband built a craftsman-inspired house with fenestration detailing, a low-pitched roof with deep eaves, and ornate wood craftsmanship in 1916. They lived in this house for many years, then gave it to the Women’s Culture Club for their use in the late 1940s to early 1950s.

Historic Episcopalian Church

Llano has continued to grow slowly, supported by farming, ranching, and the granite industry. While cattle and the cotton industry did well until about the 1940s, those industries have slowly declined. Granite quarrying and finishing retained their importance, creating a million-dollar-a-year industry throughout the 1950s, but this too has declined. Llano has become important link in the chain of tourist areas throughout the Texas Hill Country, attracting many hunters during the deer season. New industries include a winery, a feed processing plant, as well as insecticide and commercial talc production.

We decided to spend the night in Llano before heading back to Keller the next day. This gave us time to sample two places to eat and to stay at one of the hotels in this little town. For information about my rating system, see Reading the Reviews.

Where we stayed

Three Carrots

Best Western Llano (901 W Young St, Llano, TX 78643, 325-247-4101)

Top: Best Western
Bottom L to R: Bedroom, Bath

is a basic hotel on the western side of Llano. Its traditional rooms have all the normal accoutrements, including free WiFi that is pretty good. There was included a free breakfast buffet but we opted to eat elsewhere. The folks were friendly and helpful; the air conditioning worked well, which was a real plus for Texas in the summer!

What we ate

Three Carrots

Llano’s Hungry Hunter (702 W Young St, Llano, TX 78643, 325-247-4236) is a cute little local restaurant that serves hearty meals with lots of

Top L to R: Menu, French Toast
Bottom L to R: Pancakes, Restaurant

flavor. We both enjoyed our breakfast, particularly knowing that we would have a long day ahead. I had a plate full of French toast with a large side of bacon – I ate it all and enjoyed it. Dave had pancakes with eggs. The coffee was hot, plentiful, and tasty; the prices for food and beverages were very reasonable. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Two Carrots

Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que (604 W Young St, Llano, TX 78643, 325-247-5713) had been recommended to us as a really good place for traditional food. This is one of those barbecue places that you line up

Left: Beverage
Right T to B: Sauce and Beans
Ribs and Pork

outside in front of the pit and order your food by the pound or part thereof. Once inside, there are side dishes in pre-packaged containers that you purchase separately along with your beverage. Dave got some ribs and I ordered a quarter pound of pork. Dave said that his ribs were some of the best he’d ever had; he was not impressed with any other part of this experience. I was completely underwhelmed with my food, the service, and the seating. Not one person serving us smiled, spoke beyond asking what we wanted, or made any effort to talk to us about their offerings. The lady taking money at the cash register did smile and told us that there was free bread on the table and free beans at the counter with the condiments; she was the only pleasant person in the place. Seating was at picnic tables, and you were with whomever you sat next to; that’s okay, but not the most conducive for enjoying dinner. My pork was roasted, maybe…there was no barbecue or smoked flavor in evidence and I received almost twice what I ordered. The only barbecue sauce was vinegar based rather than tomato based – my least favorite variety of sauce. The beans were pretty good, particularly since they’d been simmering all day. The bread was plain old white loaf bread from the grocery store. Prices were very high, particularly for the food, service, setting, and so forth; I was very disappointed. We won’t be back.

Red Top Jail Deer

©2018 NearNormal Design and Production Studio - All rights including copyright of photographs and designs, as well as intellectual rights are reserved.