Georgetown Sites

In 1933, the Georgetown City Council authorized the mayor to conduct negotiations to purchase land known as the Old Fair Grounds. This tract along the San Gabriel River had been a place for public gatherings for decades. The city planned to improve the property both as a swimming area and as a source of water for the city. According to the terms of the final contract, the city paid $9,267.60 for the 154-acre tract. The area was renamed San Gabriel Park. Between 1935 and 1937 the Works Progress Administration provided funding and labor to build a river wall, low water...

The bridges over the north and south forks of the San Gabriel River in Georgetown, Texas are identical designs of a cantilevered-suspended span type bridge, where a steel unit is placed between cantilevered arms projecting beyond the main supports of the bridge.The Texas Highway Department designed the bridges, and the state and the United States Bureau of Public Roads provided funding. Contractor Dean Word built the two 367-foot long bridges between 1939 and 1940. The bridges carry four lanes of traffic on North Austin Avenue and are the main north-south route over the rivers into the business section of Georgetown.

The combined efforts of Southwestern University and the Georgetown City Council secured the funds to build the Cody Memorial Library. Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson helped Southwestern and the City through the maze of federal agencies to get a grant from the Public Works Administration. The three story building was completed at a cost of approximately $81,000. The building remains intact and well preserved and is the permanent home for the Senator John G. Tower Papers.