Small Towns of Texas - Lockhart

Although many Texas small town downtown areas have suffered as people move to the suburbs and stores move to the strip malls, some, like Lockhart, have managed to make the transition to become areas of quaint shops, restaurants, and historical sites. Lockhart, the self-proclaimed "BBQ Capital of Texas", has done an admirable job of restoring their downtown to a place well worth visiting, even if you're not in the mood for BBQ. But if you are, the "big four" are Black's, Kreuz's, Chisum Trail, and Smitty's - which claim to have 250,000 visitors a year. You can't walk anywhere in the downtown area without smelling the BBQ....and getting hungry. Many of the Texas towns we've visited have interesting old courthouses, but Lockhart's is one of the best maintained, impressive ones that we've seen. It's easy to see why Lockhart has been used as a location in so many movies; two that we remember are "The Great Waldo Pepper" and "Second Hand Lions". As we toured the downtown area we came across these two gentlemen who were entertaining the sidewalk shoppers with Christmas carols; a nice touch for the holiday shoppers. We were impressed with the beauty of the public library, the oldest continuously operating library in Texas at over 108 years old. A major converging point for the Chisolm Trail, Lockhart is rich in frontier history, and the Battle of Plum Creek is an interesting and enlightening story of the conflict between settlers and the Commanche Tribe.
After visiting downtown, we followed the signs to Lockhart State Park, another of the great Texas state parks. Along with a full-hookup campground, the park has fishing and a nine-hole golf course. The RV sites were large and well separated from one another. This is another great place to stay while visiting the area; not too far from Seguin and within range of a day trip to San Antonio or Austin. We had an enjoyable time on our exploration trip, and look forward to another visit and a stop at one of the barbecue restaurants. Since this will be our last entry before the holidays, Brenda and I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a successful and Happy New Year!