Fun things to do in Georgetown

The Masonic Lodge was built 1900. This building was a major sight in Georgetown's skyline. The ground floor first housed a drugstore and a post office. The masons continued to meet upstairs until 1982 when the building was sold.

On the ground floor is a Chinese Restaurant 'Orient Square' which has two large stone lions guarding the entrance. Quite an interesting mix of architecture coupled with a touch of Asia.

McDougal-Booty Building is one of the buildings on the square which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was originally built as two separate one-story buildings in the 1890s. At the turn of the century they were purchased by a prominent local businessman who added an entrance and stairway between the two structures, then added an entire second floor which is now a bed and breakfast (Inn on the Square).

There are ornate pressed metal cornices which decorate the cut stone facade of the building. Next door on the corner is a fine crafts and gifts gallery which had some wonderfully different things but fairly pricey as well.

Williamson County's Courthouse is styled in Greek Revival. The Courthouse is actually the county's 5th courthouse since 1849. There is a large copper dome topped by the figure of justice and surrounded by four large clock faces. In 1923 the first successful case in the nation against the Klu Klux Klan was prosecuted. The victim had been kidnapped, chained to a tree and covered in tar and blood.

P.H. Dimmitt & Co was built 1901 in a Romanesque Revival style. You can actually see hand tool marks on the stone. It was originally intended as a hotel but became everything from a dry goods store, millinery, oats storage, professional offices and even a motion picture house in the 1920’s. By 1925 the corner space was used for a drugstore and soda fountain and became the favourite gathering place. There were spikes put on the arched window sill to discourage loitering.
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FROM MODERN TO TRADITIONAL, fine examples of sculpture and murals can be seen on the town square, around the courthouse.

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THE ANNUAL POPPY FESTIVAL IS HELD IN APRIL. There are bands on the courthouse square and a variety of activities.

This photo was taken on April 20th, so that must be the usual week of the festival.

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NEWER HOMES are often built from a primary local resource, Texas Limestone. Its mined just east of I-35 in the Georgetown area; if you look you can see the giant pit.