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SAN SABA, Texas

Pronounced: "SAN SAB-ah"

"Pecan Capital of the World", "Top Of The Hill Country"
"A Wonderful Place to Live, A Great Place to Do Business!"

Population (2003): 2,635COL Index (2008): 73.9
Elevation: 1,204 ftArea: 1.8 smCounty (seat): San Saba
Zip Code: 76877Area Code: 325-372Time Zone: CST
Coordinates: 31° 11'43 N, 98° 43'30 W; 31.19528° N, 98.725° W; 31.19528° N, -98.725° W
Location: Eastern part of county; 87 mi NW of Austin;
37 mi W of Lampasas; 42 mi E of Brady; 32 mi N of Llano; 22 mi S of Goldthwaite
Highways: TX 16, 190, RR 500Creeks: Mill CreekRivers: San SabaLakes: None

REFERENCES

ALAMOSA WINE CELLARS: 325-628-3313; 677 CR 430, Bend, TX 76824; www.alamosawinecellars.com; Fri-Sat 10-5; Sun 12-5; or by appt. Sangiovese, Viognier, Tempranillo and Syrah. Specialize in Mediterranean style wines made exclusively with Texas grapes. Wines include Texas Port, Orange Muscat and Texas Sherry. Complimentary tasting. Open til 9p on the 4th Fri for Picnic Night with live local music. Gift shop, gourmet items, picnic area, veranda and scenic setting on the Colorado River. Directions: 3 mi W of Bend on Hwy 580 between Lampasas and San Saba.

RISING STAR VINEYARDS & WINERY: 325-452-3033; 301 East Hwy 190, Richland Springs, TX 76871; 3 blocks E of Hwy 45. Between San Saba & Brady; Tasting room, event room, gift shop. Sat 11 - 6, Sun noon to 4p. Evenings Under the Stars are Saturdays, weather permitting, from 6 to 9p. Also in Rising Star north of Brownwood. www.risingstarvineyards.com

HISTORIC REGENCY BRIDGE: Suspension bridge over Colorado River, 143 ft, circa 1939 re-erected, at the Mills County line on CR 433 (just off FM 500) in Regency at northern border of the county. The only suspension bridge in Texas still open to vehicle traffic. The original bridge was built in 1903 as the area's first Colorado River bridge; it fell into the river in 1924, was replaced and again destroyed in a 1936 flood. Go N from town on Hwy 16, left onto FM 500. Photos & Map

PARKS: see Parks

MILL POND PARK: 325-372-3212; Hwy 190, San Saba, TX. Just E of downtown, this is a 71 acre, City owned and maintained park including San Saba Mill House and spring-fed water wheel, picnic sites, pool, pavilion, civic center, County Museum, Mill Pond House (erected 1875, restored 1956, used by the Garden Club), hiking trails, tennis courts, baseball field, playground and more.

RISIEN PARK: 325-372-3212; Hwy 190 E of San Saba, TX. Park is bordered on one side by the beautiful San Saba River and full of shady pecan trees. Picnic sites, playgrounds, a pavilion, volleyball courts and a rock amphitheatre. Tent Camping Only.

SAN SABA RIVER NATURE PARK: Hwy 190, just E of town. Under LCRA development, opening fall 2011. To be managed by City of San Saba. The 40-acre park will include camping, fishing, hike and bike trails, and wildlife viewing and archaeological interpretive areas.

NEARBY PARKS: Colorado Bend State Park. 325-628-3313; 6 mi of Colorado River frontage for tubing, fishing, kayaking, and swimming, plus guided tours of Gorman Falls and birdwatching. Open Daily. Bend, TX. See Parks

EVENT CALENDAR: For full details on each event see Chamber web site and
Festivals & Events

January: Livestock Show & Youth Fair April: Easter Egg Hunt May: Street Dance

June: Team Roping; County Pecan Fest & Rodeo; EMS Fish Fry; Cow Camp Cook-Off; 5K & 10K

Walk/Run; Golf Tournament

October: Hunter's Appreciation Event; Fire Dept Steak Supper; San Saba River Pecan Jam Festival

November: County Health Fair

December: County Pecan Food Show; Garden Club Tour of Homes

December: Christmas on the Square, mid-December. An annual event in San Saba. Children can have their pictures taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus while families take advantage of the downtown merchants extended hours and complete their last minute shopping, all the while enjoying vendors, live music and drawings, and San Saba's annual lighted Christmas Parade. Parade includes individuals, businesses, non-profit organizations, motorized vehicles and much more. Begins at 6p at 8th and Wallace Streets across from San Saba High School. Contact Chamber (see above).

On-Going Events: Pecan Capital Trade Days. For full details on each event see Hill Country Market Days, Trade Days, Farmers Markets

WEATHER: Weather Underground

MEDIA COVERAGE:

On-line News: Latest News (Topix)

Newspaper: SAN SABA NEWS & STAR: 325-372-5115; www.sansabanews.com; sabanews@centex.net. First newspaper in West Texas, founded Jan 1, 1873.

MAPS: Google, GeoHack

PRINCIPAL BUSINESS: Ranching, agriculture, tourism, hunting/fishing

HISTORY: Handbook of Texas Online: "It took root on the agricultural frontier in the 1850s and developed rapidly as the political and commercial center of San Saba County. In 1855 ranchers and cotton growers first settled the banks of the San Saba River, from which the settlement took its name. When the county was organized a year later, San Saba won election as the county seat. Baptist and Methodist congregations were the first to hold services in the community. By 1857 a post office had been opened and the first county courthouse completed. The court building also served as a school and meetinghouse until it was replaced in the 1880s. Cattle drives, sheep ranching, and cotton cultivation sustained the town's steady growth after the Civil War. By the 1890s San Saba had established itself as a finance, processing, and marketing center for county farmers and ranchers. Merchants and craftsmen supplied settlers on the expanding frontier with wagons, farm implements, furniture, and clothing. The local economy also supported legal, banking, and medical services. The San Saba County News, promoted as the first newspaper in West Texas, began publication in 1873. The News, which consolidated with the San Saba Star in the 1960s, was still in publication more than a century later. Within two decades of its founding the town had a population of 1,200, two newspapers, a bank, and an active gin and mill industry that processed the cotton and grains produced in the San Saba River valley. The local economy apparently sagged by 1900, when the population dropped below 900. Completion of a branch line of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway through San Saba in 1911 revived the town, which by 1925 had 2,000 residents.

San Saba weathered the Great Depression without a dramatic loss of either residential or business population. A flood in 1938-when the San Saba River inundated a third of the city and displaced numerous families and businesses-took a heavier toll. The town nevertheless recorded a 30 percent increase in population during the decade. On the eve of World War II more than 2,900 people lived in the recently incorporated county seat. Growth slowed but continued through the war and early postwar years until a three-year drought in the mid-1950s set back the local economy. From a postwar peak of 3,400, the population of San Saba fell to 2,336 in the early 1980s. Recovery from that low was incomplete in 1986, when the town recorded just half the number of businesses that it supported before the drought; nevertheless, the population exceeded 2,800. Industry in San Saba remained based on the agricultural economy of the surrounding area, which changed to reflect the post-World War II concentration on the cultivation of wheat, pecans, peanuts, fruit, and grain sorghum, and on cattle, sheep, and goat ranching. San Saba calls itself the "Pecan Capital of the World." In the mid-1970s local concerns manufactured pecan-harvesting and livestock-loading equipment, and processors prepared meat, pecans, and poultry feed for shipment. The production of construction materials was also significant. Tourism-especially hunting and fishing-also became important."

Named for the San Saba River. Birthplace of actors Tommy Lee Jones and Christian Mixon. Featured in the novel "No Country For Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy. Subject of local author Alma Ward Hamrick's book "Call Of The San Saba," the history of San Saba County.

SAN SABA HISTORICAL COMMISSION: 500 E Wallace, San Saba, TX 76877; www.sansabachc.org

PRIOR NAMES: None

AVAILABLE SERVICES: Gas: yes; Convenience Stores: yes; Restaurants: yes; Lodging: yes; Grocery Stores: yes; Banks: yes; Vehicle Repair: yes; Hospital: no; Med Clinic: yes; Post Office: yes; Public Schools: yes; Cemetery: yes

OTHER PROFILES: Wikipedia; ePodunk; City Data; Texas Escapes; Travel Texas

NOTES: CEMETERIES: BROWN (Hwy 190, E of town); San Saba Cemetery (Hwy 16, N of town); Hill Crest (Hwy 16, S of town)

NOTES:

We welcome submission of updates, additions, corrections & digital photos, without compensation.

BUSINESS & ORGANIZATION DIRECTORY

EMERGENCIES (Police, Fire, EMS/Medical) Dial 911

• San Saba Elementary School: 325-372-3019
• San Saba Middle School: 325-372-3200
• San Saba High School: 325-372-3786

CALL or e-Locate BEFORE YOU DIG! Free Texas 811 Locator 1-800-344-8377 www.texas811.com