La Grange ( ) is a city and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Fayette County,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, United States, near the
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
. La Grange is in the center of the Texas-German belt. The population was 4,391 at the
2010 census,
and in 2018 the estimated population was 4,632.
History
La Grange was the site of an early crossing of the Colorado River along ''La Bahía'' (Lower Road) of the ''
El Camino Real'' (Kings Highway), during the
Spanish period. The earliest
Anglo-American
Anglo-American can refer to:
* the Anglosphere (the Anglo-American world)
* Anglo-American, something of, from, or related to Anglo-America
** the Anglo-Americans demographic group in Anglo-America
* Anglo American plc
Anglo American plc is a ...
settlers in the area were Aylett C. Buckner and Peter Powell, who lived slightly to the west. The first Anglo-American settlement on the city's present location was by
Stephen F. Austin's
band of colonists in 1822.
John Henry Moore built a
blockhouse
A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...
in 1828 (some sources cite 1826) as protection from the
Comanche
The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...
. The building is known as
Moore's Fort
Moore's Fort is a twin dogtrot type blockhouse in Round Top, Texas. Built by John Henry Moore in 1828, it is the oldest building in Fayette County. It was originally located where La Grange is today, as a shelter for settlers from Comanche raid ...
and can be found today in nearby
Round Top Round Top or Roundtop may refer to:
Communities
* Kirkwood, California, formerly Roundtop, a census-designated place
* Round Top, Pennsylvania, a community adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park
* Round Top, Texas, a town
* Roundtop, Wes ...
, having been moved there for restoration.

By 1831 a small community had developed around Moore's Fort. The town of La Grange was
plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1837, during the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
period, as the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
for the then-new
county of Fayette. Both of these place names were in honor of the
Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...
, who fought with the Americans and aided the cause of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
; he died in 1834. Lafayette's castle in France for which La Grange was named is the
Château de la Grange-Bléneau
A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking reg ...
.
In the immigration wave of
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
after the revolutions of 1848, the town was a major site of German settlement; newcomers said (like the
Czechs
The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
who followed them) that the rolling hills and forests were reminiscent of their homelands. In the 21st century, the German and Czech influences on the town are still visible in many local customs, the architecture, and the town's reputation for rejecting
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
of alcoholic beverages during the 1920s and 1930s—beyond a token effort by the local authorities. German and Czech culture had a more social tradition around drinking. La Grange became the home of many
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
immigrants in the late 19th century, who entered the region through the port of
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
.
La Grange has a number of properties 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 ...
. The town was the departure point for the
Mier Expedition, known for the Black Bean Episode. Team members had gathered at a historic oak that is a local landmark. The tree survives, although it was damaged from being hit by the car of a drunk driver. The tree has a concrete support for stability.
Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites
After independence, Texas continued to have armed confrontations with Mexican forces over control of the territory between the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
and the
Nueces River
The Nueces River ( ; , ) is a river in the U.S. state of Texas, about long. It drains a region in central and southern Texas southeastward into the Gulf of Mexico. It is the southernmost major river in Texas northeast of the Rio Grande. ''Nu ...
. In what is known as the 1842
Dawson Massacre, numerous Texas militia were killed by Mexican forces near
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
. Several years later, the remains of those dead and of those from the black bean death lottery (
Mier Expedition), were exhumed and reinterred in La Grange in a large common tomb with a sandstone vault. This took place in a ceremony on September 18, 1848, at the location now known as Monument Hill; more than 1,000 people attended, including former president of the Republic of Texas,
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
.
On January 17, 1849, Heinrich Ludwig Kreische, a recent German immigrant, purchased of land which included the tomb. He built a three-story house and, in 1860, began building a
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
. By 1879, it was the third-largest brewing operation in Texas, with its flagship product being "Kreische's Bluff Beer". Kreische maintained the tomb for the rest of his life, but the tomb and Kreische Brewery began to deteriorate after his death in 1882. The brewery closed in 1884.
The Kreische family asked the city to remove the tomb from their property, as it was frequently vandalized. On April 15, 1905, the Texas Legislature passed a bill to authorize acquisition, by purchase or condemnation, of the of land occupied by the tomb. The state acquired the land by
condemnation on June 24, 1907.
In 1933, during the Great Depression, the State Highway Commission fenced the 0.36 acres and agreed to maintain it as a state park, as one of the infrastructure projects of this period. In the same year, the
Daughters of the Republic of Texas
The Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT) is a lineal association dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the founding families and soldiers of the Republic of Texas. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas is best known for its former role as ...
purchased a new granite vault for the tomb. For the 1936 Texas Centennial, the Texas Centennial Commission erected a shellstone monument with an
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
mural to mark the mass grave.
In 1949, the state transferred authority for the site to the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitat (ecology), habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state park, state's parks and historical ar ...
. In 1956, the citizens of Fayette County purchased around Monument Hill and deeded the land to the state for parkland. Another , including the Kreische Brewery and the Kreische Home, were added to the park site in 1977. The complete site, called
Monument Hill and Kreische Brewery State Historic Sites, opened to the public in 1983, after
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
studies were completed.
Outside La Grange was a
brothel
A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...
known as the
Chicken Ranch. It closed in 1973 after its operations were revealed, largely through the investigative and reporting efforts of Houston television journalist
Marvin Zindler
Marvin Harold Zindler (August 10, 1921 – July 29, 2007) was a news reporter for television station KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas, United States. His investigative journalism, through which he mostly represented the city's elderly and working class, ...
. The brothel inspired the 1973
ZZ Top
ZZ Top is an American rock band formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969. For almost 56 years, it consisted of vocalist-guitarist Billy Gibbons, drummer Frank Beard (musician), Frank Beard, and bassist-vocalist Dusty Hill prior to his death in 2021. ZZ ...
song "
La Grange". The band performed in La Grange at the Fayette County Fair on September 5, 2015. The Chicken Ranch also served as the basis for the 1978
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
''
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grang ...
'' and its
1982 movie adaptation.
In 1974, a
little league team from La Grange won th
Texas state championship
The Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center is located at 250 Fair Grounds Road in La Grange. The center constructed a new
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...
s building, aided by a seed donation in 2007 from the estate of
Adolph R. Hanslik of
Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...
. Hanslik was known as the "dean of
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...
cotton producers" and was a native of
Hallettsville in
Lavaca County.
Geography
La Grange is located slightly northeast of the center of Fayette County.
U.S. Route 77
U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico borde ...
passes through the center of town as Jefferson Street, leading north to
Giddings and south to
Schulenburg and
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...
.
Texas State Highway 71
State Highway 71 (SH 71) is a Texas state highway that runs . The western terminus is at US 87 and US 377 south of Brady and its eastern terminus is at SH 35 near Blessing. This highway is designated the "10th Mountain Division Highway" from ...
passes through the northern part of La Grange on a bypass, leading southeast to
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio
* Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...
and Interstate 10, and northwest to
Smithville.
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
is northwest via Highway 71, and
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
is east via Highway 71 and I-10.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which , or 0.25%, is water.
The city sits in the valley of the
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
, primarily on the northeastern side, although the city limits now extend across the river along West Travis Street as far as the Highway 71 bypass.
The center of La Grange has an elevation of above sea level.
Climate
La Grange has sweltering summers, and comfortable winters. It is the 6th hottest city in Texas.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 4,391 people, 1,698 households, and 1,043 families residing in the city.
2010 Census
According to the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 4,641 people and 1,854 households residing in La Grange. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 1,292.4 people per square mile. There were 2,064 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 56.6%
non-Hispanic White
Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
, 8.7% Black or
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 ...
, 0%
Native American, 0%
Asian, 0%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
.
Hispanic or Latino
''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...
persons were 35.6% of the population.
2000 Census
According to the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 4,478 people, 1,792 households, and 1,146 families residing in the city. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 2,067 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 74.27%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 10.36%
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 ...
, 0.54%
Native American, 0.69%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 12.19% from
other races, and 1.92% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino people of any race were 20.81% of the population.
Of the city's 1,792 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18, 48.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. Individuals made up 32.8% of all households, and 18.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,392, and the median income for a family was $39,718. Males had a median income of $28,631 versus $21,023 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $15,288. About 9.2% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
Sister cities
*
Frenštát pod Radhoštěm
Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (; ) is a town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument z ...
,
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
*
Olfen
Olfen is a town in the district of Coesfeld, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
History
Bishop Wolfhelm, who originated from the Ulfloa Oberhof, gave the small town its name in 889. Wolfhelm was the fourth bishop of "Mimingardeford", today cal ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
Education
La Grange students attend school in the
La Grange Independent School District.
Students attend La Grange Elementary School, La Grange Middle School, and
La Grange High School.
Notable people
*
Homer Bailey
David Dewitt "Homer" Bailey Jr. (born May 3, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds from 2007 through 2018, the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics in 2019 ...
, former MLB pitcher, born and attended high school in La Grange
*
Walker Keith Baylor, Alabama judge and politician, accidentally killed in La Grange in 1845
*
J. K. Dobbins, running back for the Los Angeles Chargers, attended La Grange High School
*
Johnnie Johnson, retired NFL cornerback and safety, born and attended high school in La Grange
*
Jeff Kelly, retired NFL linebacker, born and attended high school in La Grange
*
Keith Koehl, Roman Catholic prelate, born in La Grange
*
Gabbie Nolen, country music singer, born in La Grange
References
External links
City of La Grange official websiteLa Grange Area Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1822
Cities in Texas
Cities in Fayette County, Texas
County seats in Texas
Czech-American culture in Texas
1822 establishments in Mexico