Utley ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Bastrop County Bastrop County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in Central Texas and its county seat is Bastrop. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,216. Bastrop County is included in the Austin–Round Rock, Texas, metropolita ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. According to the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

, the community had a population of 50 in 2000. It is located within the

Greater Austin The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan statistical area (or Greater Austin) is a five-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area is situated in Ce ...

metropolitan area.

History

Utley was founded by James Harvey Wilbarger in the early 1850s as the site of a

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

and

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

for

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s in the community. Wilbarger named it for his wife, which was her

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" is also used ...

. A post office was established at Utley in 1892 and remained in operation until 1922. It reopened that next year. There were two general stores in the community in 1896. Its population was 25 in 1914 but only had one general store. It jumped to 250 from the 1930s to the 1940s, which plunged to 30 at the end of the decade, which remained at that number through 1990 and grew to 50 in 2000 after being at that number in the 1960s. Today, the community is now a put-in-point for

canoeists A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

on the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...

. The Wilbarger family also named a nearby creek.

Geography

Utley is located along

Farm to Market Road 969 Farm to Market Road 969 (FM 969) is a farm-to-market road located in Travis and Bastrop counties in the U.S. state of Texas. Route description FM 969 begins at an intersection with Loop 111 (Airport Boulevard), east of Interstate 35. It pr ...

, northwest of Bastrop, southeast of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and south of Elgin in western Bastrop County.

Education

Utley had a school for Hispanic students in the 1930s. The west half of Utley today is served by the

Elgin Independent School District Elgin Independent School District is a public school district based in Elgin, Texas (USA). The district is located in northern Bastrop County and extends into small portions of Travis and Lee counties. It includes parts of Manor. In 2009, ...

and the east half by the

Bastrop Independent School District Bastrop Independent School District is a public school district in Bastrop, Texas, United States. The district serves the communities of Bastrop,Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

'' with

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (19 ...

. The gas station/general store building was used for the scene of the Milk Bottle Motel. There they built several facades for the motel rooms as well as the milk bottle. Episode 509 of the TV series '' Fear the Walking Dead'' was also filmed in and around Utley.

References

Unincorporated communities in Bastrop County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas {{bastropCountyTX-geo-stub