Bastrop’s bygone Texas
“Unlike some other old Texas towns that are fading and decaying, Bastrop is a shiny little gem of preservation and restoration,” said Zofia Smardz in The Washington Post. In town, beautifully restored Victorian homes line the well-groomed streets, while shops and restaurants are housed in original storefronts with “tin-ceilinged awnings and brass moldings.” Located just 30 miles southeast of Austin, this “warmly welcoming little burg” is home to more than 130 historic buildings. You can hardly “stop for a bite without hearing some entertaining” tale, such as how the place came to be named after “Baron de Bastrop,” a Dutchman with a phony title and a taste for embezzlement. True, the veracity of some bits of local lore “is dependent on certain caveats too detailed to go into here—but there’s no denying Bastropians’ pride in their history, their heritage, and their homes.”
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