The ups and downs of local option elections in Lampasas County

COURTESY PHOTO | JACKSON DIGITAL COLLECTION Billy & Joe Saloon sat just off the courthouse square on the south side of Third Street. It was one of more than 30 saloons that operated during the 1880s and 1890s in Lampasas.
COURTESY PHOTO | JACKSON DIGITAL COLLECTION Billy & Joe Saloon sat just off the courthouse square on the south side of Third Street. It was one of more than 30 saloons that operated during the 1880s and 1890s in Lampasas.

The prohibition movement got its start in Lampasas in the early 1870s. The early stages of the movement did not make a lot of news. The first hint of this growing issue posed a conflicting question: “The temperance cause is said to flourish here [Lampasas]. Then why so many barrooms?”

Several temperance organizations began holding regular meetings. The Lodge of Good Templars and the Council of Unit…