Maxwell is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Caldwell County,

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, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, it had a population of 500 in 2000. The community is located within the

Greater Austin The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan statistical area, or Greater Austin, is a five-county United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of ...

metropolitan area.

History

The community's original name, New Martindale, was changed to Maxwell in 1887 when the

Katy Railroad Katy or KATY may refer to: People and Characters * Katy, a short form of the name Katherine * Katy (given name) * Katy (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a fictional character * Katy Perry * Katie Perry, Australian fashion designer * Katy Perry (prison ...

was built through it. Thomas Maxwell, who received a grant for the land on which the community is located in 1845, was honored by the name change. The majority of Maxwell's early immigrants came from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

and other states, but

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

groups began to migrate there in the 1880s; their impact may still be seen today. Adding a second sizable segment to the local population were Mexican

farmworker A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...

s. Early Maxwell's social life was dominated by the singing, dancing, and shooting clubs common to German settlements. The Maxwell Social Club was established in 1953 to oversee sporting and leisure activities as well as to support charitable, humanitarian, and other community programs. In 1888, the Maxwell post office was founded. Between 1890 and 1892, the town's population rose from 25 to 100, and it added two general stores, a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

, and a gin. Maxwell came dangerously close to being destroyed by fire three times: in 1887, in 1910 (when the town rebuilt its commercial district in brick), and in 1922. In 1914, Maxwell had 225 residents, two churches, two general stores, two

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); ...

s, and a bank. Later, the town added three cotton gins, a restaurant, a doctor's office, a drug store, and a number of retail stores. The village had 400 residents and eighteen enterprises in 1929. It subsequently declined. The area served as the backdrop for the 1980 filming of

Raggedy Man ''Raggedy Man'' is a 1981 American drama film based on William D. Wittliff and Sara Clark's 1979 novel, and directed by Jack Fisk. It follows a divorced mother and telephone switchboard operator (Sissy Spacek) living with her two sons in a sma ...

, in which residents had small roles. In 1989, the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

acquired the Katy Railroad and added new routes to San Marcos. The post office, nine small enterprises, and 185 people were all present in Maxwell in 1990. 500 people were living there in 2000. The Nagle Manufacturing and Supply Company, the major employer in the area, made coathangers. Although it is unincorporated, Maxwell has a post office, with the ZIP Code 78656. The Gospel Broadcasting Network films a syndicated network called ''World Video Bible School'' in the community. The National Hispanic Institute is headquartered in the community. MCVFD - Line of Duty Deaths On June 20, 2022, Assistant Chief Jonathon Coco and firefighter Hunter Coco of the Maxwell Community Volunteer Fire Department were killed in the line of duty when another vehicle struck the fire apparatus they were in. The brothers were leaving a wildfire and heading to another call when the incident occurred. They were added to the

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Roll of Honor in May 2023. Ebenezer Lutheran Church The local Ebenezer Lutheran Church was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

2016 Maxwell Hot Air Balloon Crash

On July 30, 2016, the town gained attention due to the 2016 Maxwell Hot Air Balloon Crash. The hot air balloon struck a

power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and Electric power distribution, distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more electrical conductor, conductors (commonly mu ...

in Maxwell and caught on fire, killing all 16 occupants aboard. The accident in Maxwell is currently the deadliest in the United States and the second deadliest in the world.

Geography

Maxwell stands on the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad along the junction of Texas State Highway 142 and Farm to Market Road 1966, approximately eight miles west of Lockhart in northwestern Caldwell County. It is also located east of Martindale and east of San Marcos.

Education

There was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church in the community that was built in 1882 by Rev. Ulrich Steiner that was also used as a school. A

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

church was built to provide classes for teaching German and English in the community from 1886 to the early 1940s, as well as church services. A social club also provided educational assistance for the community. The community's earliest school was located three miles outside of Maxwell and a school district called the Maxwell Common School District was formed. The campus was constructed with private subscriptions. It then became an independent school district in 1907 and the building only served

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

students. Three separate schools served a combined total of 438 students. These students were White, Black, and Mexican. Today the community is served by the

Lockhart Independent School District The Lockhart Independent School District is a public school district based in Lockhart, Texas. In addition to Lockhart, the district also serves the portions of Mustang Ridge, Niederwald, and Pettytown in Caldwell County, as well as the uninc ...

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Texas Unincorporated communities in Caldwell County, Texas Greater Austin