Smithville, Texas has a rich and layered history that reflects the broader story of rural Texas — from frontier settlement to railroad boomtown to modern hub of arts and community pride. The story begins in 1827, when Thomas Jefferson Gazley settled near what is now Smithville, operating the first store and drawing other settlers to the south bank of the Colorado River. The community was later named in honor of early settler William Smith — a name reaffirmed (legend says by a coin toss) when locals debated renaming the town after a railroad benefactor.
Smithville remained a quiet settlement of roughly 17 families until the arrival of the Taylor, Bastrop and Houston Railroad (TB&H) in 1886-87. Locals moved the town about two miles west to sit alongside the new tracks. In 1891 the railroad was absorbed by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad (the “Katy”), which in 1894 established major maintenance shops in Smithville — a development that triggered rapid growth. By 1895 the town had been incorporated as the City of Smithville, and not long after it became the largest town in Bastrop County for nearly half a century.
As the early 1900s unfolded, Smithville prospered. Rail workers, their families, and related businesses fueled demand for housing, utilities, retail, farms, and services. Brickworks, lumberyards, cotton gins, general stores, and medical practices sprang up — and grand Victorian homes and turn-of-the-century commercial buildings rose along Main Street. Many of those structures survive today, forming the backbone of the city’s two historic districts.
Over time, Smithville evolved. As railroad employment waned, the town leaned into its historic charm, artistic community, and scenic natural setting along the Colorado River and near Buescher State Park. Its hundreds of well-preserved historic homes and buildings — more than 200 properties are listed on the National Register of Historic Places — made it attractive for filmmakers. Indeed in 2008, Smithville became the first town in Texas designated as a “Film Friendly Community” by the Texas Film Commission, and the community has hosted a long list of film and commercial productions, bringing renewed attention and economic activity to its downtown.
Today, Smithville blends its past and present. Visitors and residents stroll its oak-lined streets, explore historic districts, and enjoy a lively arts and cultural scene rooted in the town’s long heritage. The legacy of settlement, railroads, and small-town resilience lives on — proving that in Smithville, history isn’t just preserved, it’s part of daily life.