Streetcar changed the face of Lampasas, before its use faded

EDITOR’S NOTE: Lampasas historian Jeff Jackson has researched numerous local history topics. The following is the second part of a story offering details about the city’s streetcar line and its one-time reputation as the “Saratoga of the South.” Part one ran in the Jan. 25 edition of the Dispatch Record.

  • The Santa Fe Railroad built this depot in 1902. Although a Texas Historical Marker honoring the city’s mule-drawn streetcar resides here, the streetcar did not make stops at this location. COURTESY PHOTO | MARKWARD FAMILY
    The Santa Fe Railroad built this depot in 1902. Although a Texas Historical Marker honoring the city’s mule-drawn streetcar resides here, the streetcar did not make stops at this location. COURTESY PHOTO | MARKWARD FAMILY
    One of the original founders of the street railroad, George M. Snodgrass (1841-1938) moved away from Lampasas. He was a machinist at McGregor in 1900; a dairyman in Harris County in 1910; a farmer in 1920; and at age 85, he was a watchman at an oil refinery in 1930. He died at Baytown in 1938. His death notice claimed he was owner of the first trolley system in Texas. “Snodgr...

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