Field Guides
Caldwell, Texas
(Burleson COUNTY)
Rolling farmland where Czech heritage meets Southern hospitality.
Highlights
Burleson County and the county seat in Caldwell typify a reluctantly changing Texas. For decades agriculture dominated this part of the world. Cotton was king in the beginning, then crops for foodstuffs, and finally livestock raising gained prominence. To be sure most of the land in the county still finds animals grazing on it. But Caldwell lies between Austin and Bryan/College Station and their ever expanding populations. There are now more weekend ranchers, remote workers, Texas A & M employees, and small non-agricultural businesses popping up.
Still the new population is drawn by what has always attracted people to the area-natural beauty. Gently rolling hills usually covered in green with clear air and a skyline composed of trees exert a powerful reason to visit or stay. So maybe the best thing to do in Burleson County is to ride around in a convertible, preferably in the late spring of fall.
Lake Somerville and its state park offer the most organized approach to outdoor activity. You can hike, camp, fish, or horseback ride. Otherwise, there are a few farms to visit. Caldwell has a traditional square to spend some time on. Somerville also has an active downtown. Likely though you will just want to relax and breathe. Do it while you still can.
The County Courthouse
Caldwell has the traditional town square, dominated by the 1927 Classical Revival courthouse at its center. Built during Burleson county’s peak affluence, the building is one of the best in the state in its particular style. The intricately carved and painted wood supports on the interior evoke the area’s European heritage.
Things to See And Do
Lake Somerville State Park & Trailway serves as the gateway to the 11,000 acre lake. Four units comprise the park. Tow (Nalls Creek and Birch Creek) are the water access points. A third (the trailway) is a more than 13 mile trail connecting the water access components. Finally, the larger park contains a larger public hunting land section. The trailway is not the only hike; more than 40 miles of hiking trails can be found, with many of them amenable to horses or mountain bikes. The fishing is excellent for largemouth and white bass, catfish, and crappie. Caldwell county is not well known for hunting, but there is a whitetail deer population and of course, too many hogs. Dove in season is also a possibility.
Triple JJJ Ranch, however, is a quality exotic hunting opportunity. If that is your sport, you will think moving these animals onto this land is pretty genius.
Royalty Pecan Farms grows and sells some of the best pecans in Texas. Take a tour to see how they do it or just buy some. If you find your thrill on Blueberry Hill, Kingsbury Farm is the place for you. Pick your own basket of the superfood in season. The interior has intricately carved and painted wood pillars that evoke the area’s heritage.
There is limited but quality shopping on the square (see where to Drop a Dime). Somerville likely has more restaurants.
Food, Drinks and Music (Eat Local!)
The number one place to dine in Caldwell County is not in either of its two biggest towns. Instead head to Snook (although it technically has a Somerville address) for a prime example of Texas comfort food at Sodolak’s Original Country Inn. Texas Aggies have long detoured on game weekends for plentiful helpings of the tasty treats. The Sodolaks sensibly opened a new location in Bryan, but Snook is where it all started.
It is not like you will go hungry either in Somerville. For comfort food in a couple of varieties there is Soul Sisters Soul Food, Spanky’s Backstreet Diner, The Spot, Mama’s Kitchen, and The Sandwich Station. For barbecue there is Moe’s BBQ. Mexican entries are Los Fuentes Mexican and La Gordita Veloz.
Back in Caldwell there is we have The Rodney, Four Tines Restaurant at the Surrey, Lissa’s Restyled Sip & Shop, Papa G’s Old-Fashioned Burgers, Granpop’s Country Store, and Nonnie’s Bakery serving comfort food; Daisy Dukes BBQ and Matus Bar-B-Q serving the slow roasted meats; Texas Seafood & Steakhouse with an emphasis on gilled creatures; MasFajitas Mexican Restaurant, Tortilleria Mi Tierra, and Lo Nuestro De Mexico offering the best in Tex-Mex; and Joe’s Italian Restaurant & Pizza for casual Italian.
We have already noted that the best thing to do in Burleson county is to drive around the beautiful countryside. There are several places to stop and get a bite to heat or a beverage. Technically, these places are “in the middle of nowhere.” But go there anyway and stop if you see The Country Store, Barefootz Grocery, Bottleneck’s Bar & Grill, Cyndi’s Hawg Hangout, Neinast Mexican Grill & Steakhouse, or Country Burger.
For music and nightlife, there are two routes. First, Burleson County is awash in event venues that often host concerts and open events. Check at the Old Post Office and the Diamond 1, among others to see if someone new is in town. Second, some of the roadhouses will have music also. So a second mention for Bottleneck’s Bar & Grill and Cyndi’s Hawg Hangout.
Where To Drop A Dime (Shop Local!)
There are some interesting shops in Somerville and Caldwell. The wise traveler interested int antique/vintage/junk should recognize, however, that Burleson County is just a scoosh north of the round top/Brenham area which is the state’s biggest market for “another man’s trash.” Confined to Burleson county, however, you will find good resale pickings at The Back Porch Antiques in Caldwell and Timeless Resale in Somerville
The Humble Life in Caldwell is a unique gift store specializing in personal care products. Also in Cladwell, for boutiques there is Mimosa Mercantile and Lissa’s Restyled Sip & Shop. In Somerville, Kovasovic’s Meat Market is a home run if you are traveling with an ice chest.
Special Places to Lay Your Head (Stay Local!)
This is not the land of high end hotels. Bespoke lodgings that take advantage of the beautiful countryside are most likely found on hunting ranches, Christian retreats, or as a bed and breakfast. Here are some ideas: Iron Horse Ranch, Hidden Hills Ranch, Triple JJJ Ranch, Kingdom Ranch, Crossroads Retreat, Land of Refuge Retreat, and Seven Oaks Bed and Breakfast, VRBO’s are abundant.
For the Professional Traveller (Campgrounds and RV Parks)
Special Events
The Texas Woodstock happens every year in unassuming Snook. Check out Chilifest each April for big-name acts, particularly country & western, great food, and drunk Aggies.
Late September brings the Burleson County Fair & Rodeo. Given the area’s long history with livestock, this is a particularly good version of a Texas staple.
Caldwell has a substantial Czech Heritage. It only makes sense that they celebrate the Czech’s biggest contribution to humanity-the Kolache. Mid-September means the Kolache Festival!
Fore! (Golf Courses)
Copperas Hollow Country Club is a pretty and well-maintained 9-hole course, open to visitor rounds. Texas Ten will say that there is plenty of great land for someone who wants to build a golf destination resort. Only a matter of time.
Getting to Burleson County
It is hard to describe what region of Texas Burleson county occupies. East Texas, the start of the Hill Country or the far north end of the Walley all have a claim. Texas Ten is going to go with “Central South.” The county is northwest of Houston and northeast of Austin. Caldwell is at the X intersection of SH 21 running southeast to northwest and SH 36 running southeast to northwest. The nearest interstates are not close; I-10 is 65 miles to the southeast at Sealy and I-35 is 80 miles mostly east at Austin. All of that puts Caldwell three hours and 15 minutes southeast of the geographic center of the state in Brady, Texas. Windshield time from other Texas cities can be found here.
If you are flying commercial, you are flying and driving. Austin Bergstrom is the closest major airport, approximately an hour and half away, while Houston’s George Bush Airport is almost two hours distant and Houston Hobby is a two hour and 15 minute car ride. Smaller craft can use a small municipal airport in Caldwell or opt for larger facilities like Easterwood Airport (22 miles) ,or Coulter Field (36 miles) in Brazos county.
History
Archeological evidence in the area dates back as early as the Archaic Era, and the earliest known inhabitants were the Tonkawas, who left remnants of stone and ceramic artifacts behind. Tonkawa comes from the Waco term “they all stay together” and had a plains Indian culture of subsistence farming and hunting. It most likely consisted of bears, alligators, and buffalo that once roamed this region but were extinct by the 19th century. These natives were considered “friendly” by Anglo-Americans, though their petty crimes were seen as an annoyance to these settlers.
Due to its vast natural resources, this area was prime for international trade and competition between the Spanish and French in the 17th and 18th centuries. Evidence indicates that French trader and explorer Louis Juchereau de St. Denis was the first European to enter the area, forging the vital trade route to Mexico known as the Old San Antonio Road and later establishing six Spanish missions and presidios, mainly due to an advantageous marriage to Manuela Sanchez.
Anglo settlement started in the 1820s and grew after the Republic of Texas was settled.
When the Mexican government passed the Law of April 6, 1830, Anglo settlement was halted, adding fuel to the fire, eventually leading to the Texas Revolution just five years later. The building of Fort Tenoxtitlán later that year only made Texans more defiant, sending fifty Tennesseans to occupy areas surrounding the Mexican garrison.
By 1833, Tenoxtitlán had been abandoned, and settlers returned to the area. The old Southern culture was brought to the area along with the establishment of several large Plantations with slave populations. When news of the Alamo’s fall occurred in the spring of 1836, and the Runaway Scrape began, many of these residents abandoned their homes in fear of advancing Mexican Troops, only to return soon after to find their homes still intact.
After Texas won independence in 1836, settlement advanced in this area, and black and white populations expanded. In 1837, a black “Free Settlement” was established, but by the end of the antebellum period (1820-1860), the culture of the “Old South” was prominently felt. In 1840, a small county area was named Caldwell, which later became the county seat. In 1846, Burleson was officially designated as a county, named after General Edward Burleson, a statesman, war hero, and Indian fighter.
Plantations in Burleson County accounted for the majority of the economic profits, and cotton and corn were the primary cash crops grown. By the dawn of the Civil War, livestock ranching was as common as agriculture. Clashes in ideologies developed within the county over secession, ultimately winning the Burleson County vote in 1861. Hundreds of residents enlisted in Confederate outfits. Between the years 1860 and 1864, the population in Burleson for both whites and enslaved blacks increased as enslavers fled areas of the South to find safe places to obtain land.
Reconstruction in Burleson was no less tumultuous than other Southern towns post-Civil War. Angry veterans, outlaws, and cattle rustlers operated in a lawless state as gangs of outlaws seemed to rule the day. No Federal Troops were posted in Burleson, so a law enforcement division of the newly instated State Police was established, made up entirely of Blacks. This created even more unrest within the county, and by 1868, a cell of the Ku Klux Klan had emerged. Though the Republicans protected the Freedmen and State Police, it was the Democratic Party that seized the political majority by 1870.
As the economy improved, the Brazos River opened commercial trade by ferry operators moving products across the river and between counties. The opening of a branch of the Chisolm Trail in the 1870s furthered economic development. In 1880, the expansion of the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railways opened Burleson to even more opportunities. By the early twentieth century, Caldwell had become a commercial hub, which only grew after WWI. The New Deal Projects brought job opportunities and improvements in transportation and infrastructure but dramatically reduced the amount of farmland.
After WWII, the number of manufacturing plants in Burleson County expanded with an influx of workers. Today, Burleson’s population is 17,642. The Median household income is $71,745, and 22.5% of the population has a bachelor’s degree or higher. 68.8 % are white, 21% are Hispanic or Latino, and 10% are black or two or more races.
Burleson County is proud of its residents and solid musical history. Notable residents called Burleson home are Grammy winner Kelly Clarkson, Country Music singer Casey Donahew, and Western Swing Band the Quebe Sisters.
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