Downtown San Angelo Summer '25 - Magazine - Page 19
Lines from San Antonio, Austin, Abilene and Colorado City
had been proposed and subscriptions started. In 1886, after
failing to secure a Texas and Pacific line from Colorado City, a
narrow-gauge link from Ballinger proved possible, at a cost of
$8,000 per mile. Louis Schwartz was named railroad
commissioner and our city merchants pledged $41,000. On
September 15, 1888, the Santa Fe Railroad reached San Angelo.
To celebrate the arrival, the merchants had also set aside an
additional $5,000 to provide free train transport to the city,
where “[s]uch an exhibition of enterprise, energy and natural
ambition to excel never before was witnessed in any city of
twice its size,” The Galveston Daily News, September 18, 1888.
More than 3,000 visitors came for the celebrations, with an
almost two-mile parade of decorated floats, U. S. Marshals on
horseback, and bands playing through the streets where the
merchants had hung bunting and streamers and wreaths and
flags. A barbecue, horse races, clay pigeon shoot, and baseball
games were followed by a grand ball, an exhibition of
enterprise, indeed. San Angelo still appeased the people’s desire
for circuses, but it was growing up, and such celebrations were
tempered by the merchants’ industry and ambition–they were
making their own bread and creating opportunities for others
to do the same.
Today, transportation is still a critical component
of insuring our city’s continued economic
development, vital to securing the latest
technology, infrastructure, goods and services, as
well as the art, culture, and entertainment that
add to our quality of life. Our rivers, and the
parks that line their banks are still of great
importance to our economic health, a unique
feature bringing not only critical water for our
reservoirs, but tourists who are drawn to the
surprising beauty of our city, and providing our
residents with pleasant public spaces. While we
now have many national chains, our local
merchants are still key players in driving the city
forward, serving on boards and committees and
engaging with government locally as well as at
state and national levels. And women continue to
shape our city, serving at the highest levels of
administration, and owning and operating
businesses, using their strengths not only for their
own personal success, but continuing to add the
grace notes of art, music, dance and culture that
make San Angelo a better community for all its
residents.
The Santa Fe passenger depot, circa 1908. Photo Courtesy of Txrhistory.com
Sources for this article include Women Behind Stained Glass by Dana Glossbrenner; Tanya L. Lee’s “The Avenue:
A Social and Economic History of Concho Avenue,” Master’s Thesis, Angelo State University, 1998; National
Archives/Records of the Post Office Department; Newspapers.com; the Texas State Historical Association website;
and the Downtown San Angelo Project, research essays by Dr. Shirley Eoff’s Honors History Classes graciously
made available by the West Texas Collection at ASU. Any errors are the author’s.
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